It’s very sad because this is not how you want a Donnie Yen film to be and that’s unfortunate. “Iceman: The Time Traveler” may entertain those who enjoyed the first film, but unfortunately it’s a sequel that may leave you feeling disappointed.
TITLE: Iceman: The Time Traveler
FILM RELEASE: 2018
DURATION: 88 Minutes
BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (16:9 widescreen), Cantonese, English, Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Subtitles: English
COMPANY: Well Go USA Entertainment
RATED: Not Rated
Release Date: February 19, 2019
Directed by Wai Man Yip
Written by Fung Lam, Mark Wu
Produced by Jianxin Huang, Albert Wing-Ho Lee, Christopher Lap-Key Sun, Donnie Yen
Cinematography by Yuen Man Fung, Kenny Tse
Edited by Alan Wai-Lun Cheng, Derek Hui
Starring:
Donnie Yen as He Ying
Wang Baoqiang as Sao
Huang Shengyi as May
Yu Kang as San Ko
Simon Yam as Cheung
Lam Suet as Tang
Kurata Yasuaki
Jiang Shuying as Niang Yu
In the action-packed second chapter of the Iceman saga, Ying s heroic fight to rewrite history and reclaim his honor continues but those he trusts most may be leading him into a deadly trap.
Actor Donnie Yen (“Ip Man”, “Hero”, “Blade II”, “Iron Monkey”) is no doubt one of the most popular actors from China.
Having had a successful career that dates back to 1984, he continues to be one of the box office stars for action films and has able to work on films that range from drama, comedy and action.
In 2014, Donnie Yen collaborated with director Wing-cheong Law (“Election”, “Running on Karma”, “Triad Election”) in an action adventure in 3D titled “Iceman” that is a loose adaptation of Yuen Biao’s 1999 film (with the same title).
With the popularity of the first film, a sequel was released in 2018 titled “Iceman: The Time Traveler”.
To understand the sequel, one will have to understand what happened in the first film.
What was “Iceman” about?
“Iceman” is a film that stars Donnie Yen as He Ying, a bodyguard of the Ming Emperor who has traveled long and far to bring back a mysterious disc that would allow a person to time travel. Unfortunately, upon his return, he is setup and framed by his good friend Cheung (portrayed by Simon Yam) for colluding with Japanese pirates and he and his family and clan were sentenced to death.
While trying to escape from Sao (portrayed by Wang Baoqiang) and Niehu (portrayed by Yu Kang), all three men were buried and frozen in time for 400 years. As a vehicle accident leads to their life pods being opened, He Ying finds himself in modern day Hong Kong. But while he is able to roam around Hong Kong, so are the others who have awakened and are now finally set free.
While confused to see his homeland changed, he eventually is taken in by a drunken May (portrayed by Huang Shengyi) into her home during Halloween. Thinking he is costuming as a royal guard, when she wakes up, she and her friends are scared by He Ying and leave her to handle him.
Sao and Niehu end up searching for He Ying and end up being assisted by Indian thieves (who Sao rescues from police) who entice them with curry chicken and curry fishballs. Because Sao and Niehu shot and killed police officers, they become wanted by police officer, Cheung (portrayed by Simon Yam). But why does Cheung want to catch these three so badly and how is it that he knows about these individuals?
Meanwhile, May tries to show He Ying around in this new world unlike where he lived before.
In “Iceman: The Time Traveler”, now directed by Wai Man Yip, He Ying is thought that a misunderstanding between him and his brothers took place and they would work together in using the orb to go back home. But once he takes Cheung and Niehu to the location where the orb is located, Cheung has lied and told him that he is in control of the orb and that the world will be his. And Cheung forces Hi Ying to recant the chant to activate the orb or else they will kill May. So, He Ying uses the incantation to allow for the two to escape.
But when Hi Ying discovers the Linga, he uses it for him and May to transport back to the past during the 16th year of the republic (1927) and they come across a group protecting the Tanaka Memorial (an alleged Japanese strategic planning document of how Japan would take over the world).
He Ying and May are whisked again to the correct time period (1620 AD) of where He Ying returns to his clan in hopes to prevent them from being killed by bandits.
While everyone in the clan is happy about He Ying’s return back home (although shocked of his modern hairstyle), waiting for him is the woman that has loved him (as he loved her), Yu Niang. But with May with him, it leads to a love triangle between the three individuals.
Meanwhile, Cheung is working with the Japanese to conquer the world with the use of the orb but they know that they need Hi Ying, as he knows how to operate it via the incantation.
But will Hi Ying be able to protect his family and villagers from being massacred? And what happens when he discovers Cheung’s plans and who was really responsible for his family and clan’s deaths?
VIDEO:
“Iceman: The Time Traveler” is presented in 1080p High Definition (2:39:1 aspect ratio). Picture quality shows vibrant colors, clarity and also wonderful lighting, considering many scenes are shot outdoors. The CG for the most part worked well with the film and there are moments that you can tell, were made for 3D as certain objects come flying out toward the screen. It’s important to note that the film was only released in the United States as a normal Blu-ray release, not in 3D.
I didn’t see any artifacts nor major banding during my viewing of the film. If anything, “Iceman” looks great!
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“Iceman: The Time Traveler” is presented in Cantonese 5.1 DTS-HD MA, English, Spanish and French Dub. Dialogue is crystal clear and there are a good number of action scenes that utilized the surround channels and also crowd ambiance.
Subtiltes are in English, Spanish and French.
SPECIAL FEATURES
“Iceman: The Time Traveler” comes with no special features.
EXTRAS
“Iceman: The Time Traveler” comes with a slipcover and both a Blu-ray and DVD version of the film.
When “Iceman” was released in 2014, it was an interesting departure for Donnie Yen to take on a role that looked like all action and drama in the trailers, but turned out to be an action comedy.
With the release of “Iceman: The Time Traveler”, we have a film that is not comedy, more action but also a big mess.
So, big of a mess that the film bombed in Asia and producers of the film and Donnie Yen had a war of words that played out on social media.
The producers accused Donnie Yen for changing his lines, changing what the action choreographer proposed and for refusing to take part in promotional activities for the film. Donnie Yen said he was unable to take part in promotional activities because he is busy working on Disney’s live action version of “Mulan”. But Yen posted on Weibo speculating that producers are trying to whip up controversy to bring interest to the film.
This left Yen saying, “In the future, I will try mu best to work only with professional teams to produce excellent works that will live up to my fans’ expectation and live up to my passion for the film industry”.
“Iceman: The Time Traveler” tried to incorporate some of the humor as it showcased May trying to show off her modern beauty supplies to Yu Niang and friends. But while the film tries to play off a love triangle, Hi Ying’s goal to protect his family never happens because he ends up going to the minister’s house and encountering Cheung and thinking he can change the outcome of his family being assassinated.
In the process, nothing goes right for Hi Ying and leaving May at his home during the massacre, doesn’t lead to anything. The love triangle that the film focused on is not even prominent and Hi Ying is not mourning.
He’s back right into the thick of things again after Cheung betrays him over and over again and the film ends abruptly and you are expected to be excited for a part 3.
But can there be a part 3 for this film since both sides have gotten into this squabble? The film underperforming and didn’t last that long in the theaters?
There is a lot of pacing errors in the sequel, there are a lot of unexplained answers, there are scenes that don’t make sense. For example, Hi Ying and May are whisked to 1927 to fight Japanese imperialist trying to arrest a woman for being her protests against the Japanese.
Sure, the scene was able to show how Hi Ying can give May some of her power to fight but the scene had nothing to do with the film. In fact, Hi Ying and May are whisked back to the past right afterward. So, in other words…10-15 minutes of film time dedicated to a scene which really makes no sense at all.
Perhaps it was the criticism of the first film having too much comedy that the writers of the first film, felt they had to skimp on the comedy and play off action between both characters.
The film looked as if it was rushed, there was not enough time to have a cohesive film. In fact at 88 minutes long, the first 10-15 minutes feature footage from the first film as to create an intro. for those who missed the original “Iceman”.
I was disappointed by “Iceman: The Time Traveler” and the film deserves every bit of critical panning because not even filmmaker Wai Man Yip (“Lost on Journey”, “The Warlords”, “The House that Never Dies”) is able to fix. If there was any good thing about the film is that it had talented actors such as Donnie Yen and Simon Yam trying to carry this film on their shoulders despite the bad writing and overall direction. Roles for Baoqiang Wang’s short role as Sao and Shengyi Huang’s role as May were not well-planned at all.
It’s very sad because this is not how you want a Donnie Yen film to be and that’s unfortunate.
“Iceman: The Time Traveler” may entertain those who enjoyed the first film, but unfortunately it’s a sequel that may leave you feeling disappointed.
