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.

I really like this beautifully shot and choreographed action-fantasy/time travel yarn from Clarence Fok, the director of the moody "Gun and Rose" and the highly regarded "Naked Killer". It is an ambitious, rich production that boasts several stunning martial arts sequences and not a few jaw-dropping stunts. It is such an aesthetically rich and varied piece of entertainment that it never fails to please.

Yuen Biao plays the film's hero, a Ming Dynasty palace guard who resumes his pursuit of a nasty rapist/butcher, the great Yuen Wah ("Eastern Condors"), in the 20th century after their bodies, long encased in ice, are thawed. There are elements of Schepisi's wonderful "Iceman" here and aspects borrowed from Mulcahey's "Highlander", but, despite the film's varied influences, this is a fresh, fascinating synthesis of its raw elements and a damn great example of energetic film-making.

Biao is excellent as the naive palace guard who comes into contact with sweet-natured callgirl Maggie Cheung. He is totally believable as the fish out of water and stunning when asked to demonstrate his extraordinary physical skills. A fight atop a crane is masterful, as is a snow-bound sword fight, a duel inside a museum and a heart-stopping leap over a speeding car on a freeway. Yuen Wah, whose character warms immediately to 20th century firearms and criminality, is also amazing in his demanding, bone-punishing role.

Fok, who always brings a strong visual style to his movies, directs the sometimes brutal action with consummate professionalism and fills the cast list with memorable character actors and assorted beauties. A great score helps, too.

A gem.

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

Excellent movie, in my opinion. I like Yuan Biao's kung-fu better than Jackie Chan's and the humor in this movie is excellent. Luckily, it seems to transfer into English well, so you can have fun even with just subtitles. The movie has enough dark moments (not child-safe) to remind you what the stakes are, the love interest between Yuan Biao and Maggie Cheung is touching and poignant, and the kung-fu action is excellent.

But it is important to remember that there are certain conventions in Honk Kong action flicks. It's also important to know which kind this is: mainly fist/leg action, with a little wire-work that doesn't detract from the excellent fight choreography. Heck, there's some decent sword-work in this one, too, which is a nice bonus in my opinion.

But "Hero" or "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" or "Farewell My Concubine" it is not. Don't expect a deep movie that will change your life, and you won't be disappointed. Expect a decent kung-fu movie with humorous touches and serious issues and you'll probably be satisfied.

Most fans of martial arts films can never understand why Yuen Biao somehow never made the big time like Jackie Chan or Jet Li. He came from the same background had a boyish charisma and charm shown to great effect in this film. His athletic abilities are legendary and the fights here show he had real martial arts abilities. This film has genuine comic moments and to my mind Maggie Cheung gives one of her best ever performances as the hooker /model with a heart of gold. Wah Yuen is a great evil brother and the final fight is surely one of the best recorded. OK the effects are fairly poor even for 1989 but the stunts are terrific. My Hong Kong Legends has good interviews with Yuen (where he shows the snow burns he got making this film) and Wah and a very clear print. An underrated film from an underrated artist.