Les guerriers du temps

"Iceman Cometh" starts out as a manhunt by Ming royal guard Yuen Biao after a rapist-killer of thirteen women in the royal palace, including a relative of the emperor. The guard is transported along with the killer to a snow covered area by a Tibetan wheel with time travel properties. After the two are frozen in the snow, a scientific expedition finds them years later and brings their frozen bodies back to modern Hong Kong. The guard and killer are accidentally thawed out, and the guard ends up getting involved with a call girl (Maggie Cheung)

Maggie Cheung steals every scene she is in. Yuen Biao is tops in action scenes with his opponent, the actor who played Panther in "Supercop," but Biao is no match for Maggie. She uses him first as a housekeeper to clean up her messy apartment, then as an enforcer to shake down her clients for additional payoff money. She is the one with most of the problems, from a pimp who threatens to throw acid in her face if she doesn't go out with a client to her later run in with the rapist murderer.

The movie also has some nice technical effects when the Tibetan wheel goes into its time traveling mode at the end of the movie, but the real special effect is Maggie Cheung's acting range. She can project some personality on the screen.

This is a cheesy but enjoyable film about two warriors who live in the Ming Dynasty and quite simply - one is good, the other a womanising rapist. They get transported into modern day Hong Kong where the main character ends up meeting a prositute (Maggie Cheung) who hires him as her servant to do some chores around the house as well as being her bodyguard.

This is a film not to be taken seriously and you'll enjoy it the more if you don't. It is a no brainer action comedy flick that has a silly plot that works well in this type of genre. Maggie Cheung is terrific as the self centred prostitute who just doesn't really konw what to do with her life and Biao Yuen as Ching (the protagonist) is pretty good in his role and both of the leads work well together The action scenes are the sort you sort of expect in the Hong Kong action film and they remain believable if slightly outrageous. Essentially what makes the story work is its humour and I wasn't expecting this to be a comedy at all - in fact I think I must have not read the blurb at the back of the DVD cover properly as I didn't realise Ching was going to be transported to another era - and it surprised me the more when I watched it.

Check it out - it's a good film. Sure it's not a masterpiece nor will it be helmed as one of the greatest movies of our time but for what it is worth - it is worth the watch.

I'm not really sure why Yuen Biao never had the same popularity as Jackie or Sammo, after films like 'Project A' and 'Wheels on Meals', one would think that Yuen would become just as big of a name as those other two. I did watch 'Righting Wrongs' not too long ago and sadly it wasn't a memorable film, but probably most because of the direction and also that they had taken out most of the comedy from that film. This film however is like the good old Hong Kong action comedy you're used with from Jackie and it shows both Yuen's comedic skills as well as his amazing martial art.

The story is a crazy mix between Highlander, Demoliton Man and Terminator with two men from a different time ending up in present time, one good and one really bad. We get to see some silly, cute scenes with Yuen's character trying to accept and learn the customs of today's society and also a bit of romantic comedy with Maggie Cheung, done like they only do it in Hong Kong, mostly portraying the woman as a liar, a cheater or someone with a bad personality and only becomes good when she got to prove her love for her hero. It's a dated view on women, but you just have to accept the film for what it is - I don't think many people would watch this film for the romantic parts.

What everyone should watch this film for, is the great action between Yuen and Wah Yuen (the landlord from Kung Fu Hustle) playing the baddest of the bad, a rapist and a murderer, brutally murdering the people he rape by breaking their arms and legs, it a bit too much sometimes, but also the bigger reasons why Yuen is in such a hurry to stop him.

I was very entertained by the film and even chuckled a couple of times through the film. I can only hope it will get a proper release on bluray someday so it gain some more popularity to show off what Yuen Biao did when he wasn't doing films with Jackie and Sammo. I would warmly recommend this film.

Opera School colleagues Yuen Biao and Yuen Wah face off in this action/drama film, (oh, and Maggie Cheung tags along for good measure). This film has seems to have slipped off the radar somewhat, but if you manage to see it, you'll find it has some very powerful moments.

The scope of the film is huge. We start off in Imperial China (the Ming Dynasty), where we are introduced to the characters of Fong Sau-Ching (Biao), and Fung San (Wah) - perfect symbols of good and evil respectively. As in real life, the two are 'brothers', in that they have trained and lived together as Royal Guards. However, Fung has become corrupted, and is a known rapist and murderer. Fong must capture him within twenty days, or face execution himself.

Did I mention that they travel into the future Hong Kong, the year 1989? Well they do via a Buddhist Wheel - a kind of primitive Delorian (but built sturdier).

This film is by no means perfect, but it's main draw-cards are the exquisitely choreographed (though all too rare) action sequences, and the overall excellent production values. The performances vary somewhat, (Yuen Wah is maybe a little too comical in his delivery), but the film is ripe with powerful scenes and a surprising amount of subtext, if you're willing to look for it.

The most interesting contrast the film makes is between the past and the (then) present. We find that honour, loyalty, and friendship mean totally different things in the modern age, and Biao's character has the most difficulty adjusting to his surroundings. Wah's character however (rapist, thief, murderer) adjust very quickly, and has even managed to adopt the most cutting-edge in fashion. The subtle distinctions drawn between Hong Kong and the Mainland are also of interest - though how relevant they are today I cannot say.

Clarence Fok has undertaken a very ambitious task here - a film that deals with so much (in my mind) cannot succeed in every area. However, it does succeed in the most important areas for me, and I can only recommend at least one viewing. It does, however, seem to improve with multiple viewings. The rich visuals and and action sequences alone make this a stand-out from it's era.

i thought this movie was a GREAT one. Its about a hero and a villain from ancient china getting teleported to modern times. Storyline is definitely good for action movies. The acting was great as Maggie Cheung put up a charismatic performance as usual, Yuen Biao was wonderful at acting like a conservative ancient times man, clueless about modern times. Wah Yuen was one of the coolest villains I've ever seen, You just cant help but like him. The fighting scenes were great and kept you glued to your seat unlike a lot of other kung fu movies. Overall this was an amazing movie, i wouldn't even think about giving it less than a 9