THE ICEMAN was on my movie watch-list since I first heard of it. A true-crime film about an infamous hit-man spanning from the 1960s-1980s starring a contemporary actor I don't actually hate (Michael Shannon) in the titular role. Now I admittedly had low expectations for this film considering neigh every recent limited-release movie I've went to see has turned out to be a disappointment. Even contemporary films from great 70s/80s genre directors like Friedkin and Cronenberg (heck, even Don Coscarelli to a degree) turned out to be more on the artsy/fartsy side and just seemed to do anything but leave me cold by their weirdness, non-endings or pretentiousness. THE ICEMAN is a movie (while somewhat of a clichéd depiction of the eras it is set) feels closest to a legit 70s/80s crime movie than most new films I've seen recently that seemingly try to achieve so (except for maybe Walter Hill's BULLET TO THE HEAD, but that's more on the action side of things). Great performance by Michael Shannon (the guy has charisma even when playing a brutal killer who "doesn't give a sh!t") and some great familiar "crime" faces like Ray Liotta and Robert Davi. Appearances by David Schwimmer (at parts looking like poliziotteschi hench Riccardo Petrazzi and then Jesus from THE BIG LEWBOWSKI) and a sleazy James Franco are worth noting...I guess. The film has good cinematography (none of this shaky cam and MTV style crap), minimal (and when noticeable) appropriate uses of CGI, and plenty of good practical effects like the hard-hitting squibs and stunt driving. These elements (and Robert Davi's worthy of framing weathered face) were enough to gain my tough, gritty 70s crime film fan seal of approval. We really need more serious, medium sized (both in scope and budget) films about real-life like this out there these days.
Review of The Iceman
