Truly Dreadful Film

Good start, but then it gets ruined

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

I was completely unfamiliar with the story of Richard Kuklinski, but was attracted to the movie by the compelling true story that served as the description of the movie. In "The Iceman, we're given a look at Kuklinski's life. Played here by Michael Shannon, Kuklinksi was an ice cold (thus, along with freezing his victims, his nickname and the name of the film) contract killer who over the course of his life murdered perhaps as many as 200 people - possibly even more. The movie gives us a taste of his "career" as a serial killer, along with a look at his home life with his wife (played by Winona Ryder) and two daughters. The most interesting part of the movie (and the real story of his life) is the way he essentially compartmentalized the two parts of his life, to the extent that his family (while they may have had some suspicions that he was involved in crime) never knew that he was a contract killer. It was interesting watching that aspect of his life, interspersed with some of his experiences with various mob figures. And I'd say that the performances of both Shannon and Ryder were pretty good. But I felt that the movie itself could have been better; could have accomplished more; could have given us more of a feel for Kuklinski's life. Instead, it seemed rushed and disjointed. There wasn't enough depth given to Kuklinski, and the result was that the movie, while interesting, was also at times confusing. It was hard to make the connections from one scene to the next. Sometimes it seemed as if years had elapsed between scenes. At times, this seemed more like a series of vignettes of Kuklinski's life rather than a well developed account of how he became who he was. I certainly wanted to see it through to the end - there was never any sense that I had wasted my time by watching it. But it wasn't entirely satisfying, either.And having researched a bit about Kuklinski I wondered why they makers of the movie felt the need to take such great liberties with the "family" side of the story. I can understand why they would change the names of his wife and daughters - but a lot was off in the timing. I do't remember any mention of him having been married before. In the movie there were only two daughters - but there was also a son. And the movie strangely claimed that after he was finally arrested and sent to prison, he never saw his family again - which wasn't true. There were phone calls, and there were some visits (and in fact his wife and one daughter visited him in the prison hospital shortly before he died.) Was there a feeling that the made up story would make this a more interesting movie? It didn't. Once I found out the truth, it just seemed like a strange decision.It was a decent movie, and it inspired me to want to find out more about Kuklinski's story. So it deserves some credit for that. (6/10)

The distribution team and the creative team behind The Iceman must have had different views on what the film was. The distributors must have seen a more prestige picture, hence the Venice and Toronto festival screenings along with a limited theatrical release. The creators, on the other hand, saw this as a mid-level gangster-thriller that was more for general audiences than festival crowds. This difference probably led to the film following into obscurity quickly. A silver lining to that previous statement is that this film could now be considered a hidden gem for fans of straight-forward entertaining gangster films. The film tells the violent middle life of Richard Kuklinski aka "The Iceman"(Michael Shannon), a hitman for the mob who is estimated to have killed between 100-250 people in New York from the 60s to 80s. Richard is a devoted family man, especially to his loyal wife Deborah (Winona Ryder). He never lets his family know what he really does, hiding the truth behind lies about working for banks and dubbing Disney films. Richard is good at what he does, which initially leads him to work for mob boss Roy Demeo (Ray Liotta). After years of working for Demeo, Richard is forced out and teams up with fellow hitman "Mr. Freezy" (Chris Evans). Together they make a great pair as Richard does the hits and Freezy dumps the bodies. Eventually, Richard's job takes hold of his life, turning everything he loves upside down and against him.The Iceman never presents itself as a prestige gangster film like Goodfellas. The director and crew know they are making an ordinary film that is purely for entertainment. However, just because this is for entertainment doesn't mean it's is perfect. The overall plot is handled rather poorly as some characters don't get enough time to make themselves unique. Ray Liotta's storyline is never completed and is left on a bad note. James Franco pops up for about three minutes in a subplot that feels too forced into revealing Richard's motivations. The Iceman is also strife with historical inaccuracies. Liberties must be taken when adapting real life, but this film takes it a step too far. Richard's true past and violent relationship with his wife are scrubbed for a version that is more cinematically useable. Anybody familiar with the real story of Kuklinski will most likely not enjoy this film.The camera work by Bobby Bukowski gives the film a documentary look. Even though this is a biopic, we never get that feeling. Darkness is always on the edge of the frame as we watch every moment with constant fear. Tension is always present as each character is always in danger of being killed.Michael Shannon is brilliant again as one of America's most infamous killers. Shannon uses his natural psychotic looks to blend in perfectly. He also uses his rage and stone cold face to create a feeling of fear and mystery around Richard. Winona Ryder gives one of her better performances as the oblivious wife that cares too much. She's in over her head, but she doesn't realize it until it's too late. Chris Evans is almost unrecognizable behind long hair and facial hair. He does an acceptable job as a killer that gets almost too much pleasure from his work.Finally, Ray Liotta keeps his streak of supporting roles going. He just does an alright job as he plays the stereotypical mob boss. He doesn't add anything new and mostly spouts the same lines we've heard in every other gangster film.If you're coming into this film expecting a high-grade gangster film, you're going to be disappointed. This film is for the audience that enjoys linear action and straightforward storytelling. Boasting one of Michael Shannon's best performances, The Iceman is an acceptable and entertaining film that doesn't take itself, or history, too seriously.

This is simply awful and one wonders if the screenplay writers bothered to read the biography on Kulkinski (The Iceman) on which the film is allegedly based . In it they would have discovered a soulless psychopath, shaped by his unimaginably cruel childhood and which he in turn visited on his own wife and family. Instead the movie attempts to portray a killer with a heart - a family man who loves his wife and dotes on his kids. it neglects his method of practising his "art" by murdering homeless and poor sleeping on the streets and his experimentation with disposal of bodies.it also omits his cruelty and torture of many of his victims. The book wasn't perfect, repetitious and in parts poorly written but it did capture the monster that was Richard Kulkinsky. The movie hasn't and isn't worth watching

The story nicely balances between the depictions of the ruthlessness of the contract killer Richie and the loving husband and father of two Richie. The two sides of the characters are nicely given equal portions of screen time and detail depth. Those depictions get even better with adequate support from experienced actors and actresses acting on them. I like to see the fact that only Michael Shannon's Richie, as the central character is actually the one character who links Chris Evans' character Frezzy and Winona Ryder's Deborah, while Chris and Winona don't even get to do a scene together. On the acting side I think Michael Shannon's performance here is one of his best. He did enough in surfacing all the characters emotions while keeping the character's calm and cool as a killer. I am quite amazed at how Chris Evans swerves his schedules in and out of movie shoots, from The Avengers, to Snowpiercer, and to this movie, all with significant roles.