The Iceman (2013)
Average Rating: 6.2/10
Reviews Counted: 118
Fresh: 79 | Rotten: 39
While it deserved stronger direction and a more fully realized script, Michael Shannon's riveting performance in the title role is more than enough to make The Iceman recommended viewing.
Average Rating: 6.5/10
Critic Reviews: 30
Fresh: 19 | Rotten: 11
While it deserved stronger direction and a more fully realized script, Michael Shannon's riveting performance in the title role is more than enough to make The Iceman recommended viewing.
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Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 18,335
Movie Info
Inspired by actual events, The Iceman follows notorious contract killer Richard Kuklinski (Academy Award (R) nominee Michael Shannon) from his early days in the mob until his arrest for the murder of more than 100 men. Appearing to be living the American dream as a devoted husband and father; in reality Kuklinski was a ruthless killer-for-hire. When finally arrested in 1986, neither his wife nor daughters have any clue about his real profession.(c) Millennium
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Cast
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Michael Shannon
Richard Kuklinski -
Winona Ryder
Deborah Pellicotti -
Chris Evans
Mr. Freezy -
Ray Liotta
Roy Demeo -
David Schwimmer
Josh Rosenthal -
Danny A. Abeckaser
Dino Lapron -
John Ventimiglia
Mickey Scicoli -
Ryan O'Nan
Terry Franzo -
McKaley Miller
Anabel -
Megan Sherrill
Betsy -
James Franco
Marty Freeman -
Stephen Dorff
Joey Kuklinski -
Hector Hank
Tender Bar Earl -
Robert Davi
Leonard Merks -
Zoran Radanovich
Jimmy -
Shira Vilenski
Coffee Shop Waitress -
Kelly Lind
Hospital Nurse -
John P. Fertitta
Uncle Bill -
Erin Cummings
Ellen -
Jimmy Lee Gary Jr.
Homeless Man -
Johnny Martin
Marielli -
Nick Gomez
Alvaro -
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Brian Kinney
Slick BMW Guy -
Ashlynn Ross
Alex -
Weronika Rosati
Livi -
Christa Campbell
Adele -
Alexandra Doke
Park Little Girl -
Bill Martin Williams
Club Maitre D' -
Lindsay Erin Clift
Club USA Dance Partn... -
Katarzyna Wolenjino
Romy -
Jay Giannino
Dominick Provenzano -
Freddy Bosche
Detective Beaumont -
Tim Bell
Cop -
Garrett Kruithof
Stanley Kuklinski -
Ray Gaspard
Dennis -
Juan Michael Konshuk...
Mr. Freezy's Son -
Ehud Bleiberg
Trial Judge -
Jonathan Vender
Trial Judge Voice -
Tommy Alastra
Documentary Intervie...
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The Iceman Trailer & Photos
All Critics (118) | Top Critics (30) | Fresh (79) | Rotten (39)
Even the always-watchable Shannon can't give much life to Kuklinski's two-dimensional presence: he's little more than a series of murders and pained looks.
Top CriticShannon gets at his character's pent-up torment as well as his efficient disconnect. When his two worlds start to converge -- on his daughter's sweet 16th birthday, no less -- you feel for him.
A true-crime thriller directed with grit, gristle and punchy energy by Ariel Vromen, The Iceman is never less than fascinating, even if things get a little ham-fisted here and there.
As the body count mounts, the movie begins to spin out of control, but Shannon and Vromen don't let it derail. Their focus keep things from melting down.
Michael Shannon is an overpowering actor, and in The Iceman, the best that he can do is wrestle the movie around him to a stalemate.
It's a fascinating subject - the beast that lurks inside the family man - but the movie blows it.
It's as though they were in a rush to get so much killing in that they forgot all of the important elements that would make us care. As a consequence, a fascinating story and character have been flattened and turned into a hurried mess.
'Big bad' with a side dish of bats--t crazy is the specialty of Michael Shannon, and so scarily good he is in mining this wheelhouse that one does not dare to complain about him repeating himself.
An exploitation film trapped in the stifling body of a respectable crime drama.
The Iceman rests on the power of one hell of a performance from Shannon, with this monster of an actor playing a monster of a man with frightening intensity.
The killings quickly begin to bleed into one another and it's sometimes hard to sort out the identities and roles of everyone involved.
Ariel Vromen doesn't do so much in terms of the story (which spans 20 years, with corresponding hair fluctuations), but he seems to know his violence, and he's a true artiste when it comes to the queasy polyester ambience that holds this thing together.
The film is able to capture its period setting, but the script is a collection of generic Mafia dialogue and cliched violent shootouts.
The Iceman is dark and gritty but there's not enough excitement or tension to really pull you in.
Shannon's mesmerising performance has a Frankenstein edge to it.
Mistaking leaden atmosphere for gravitas, Vromen turns what could have been a vibrant period drama (it runs from the 1950s through to Kuklinski's arrest in 1986) into a sludgy ordeal ...
A truly mesmerising turn by Shannon that allows him to cultivate all his ugly thoughts into one brooding menace ...
As a chronicle of one of America's most infamous criminals, it's a chilling one. Much of that credit must go to Shannon however, who delivers inspired work sometimes in spite of the mostly conventional feature around him.
Much more involving than the usual hitman thriller, this film takes a deliberately personal approach to its characters that makes it unusually involving.
Both compelling character study and well crafted mob thriller ...
What makes it at all special is Shannon, who's terrific playing the human being behind the murderer, a man so psychopathic that he doesn't realise he's actually a monster posing as a man.
The Iceman is a welcome adult thriller and its neat period touches will help to transfix many from start to finish.
Unfortunately, the movie runs out of things to say about its monosyllabic hero within a half-hour, after which the killings become repetitive.
The Iceman is like a gangster's cold locker: all the nutritive items have been taken out to make room for the dead bodies.
Nothing else in Ariel Vromen's movie is remotely on Shannon's level, from the plodding, Scorsese-clone script to the needlessly lifeless editing and cinematography.
Suspect barnets aside, there's not a lot to take away from this by-the-numbers genre piece.
Audience Reviews for The Iceman
Super Reviewer
Michael Shannon is one weird, creepy actor and he is awesome for it. Here, he is at his creepiest as a serial killer hitman nicknamed The Iceman. Based on a true story, he kills over a hundred people. This isn't so much about his murders(although there are a lot of them). It's more about how he balances his home life as a husband and father of two, with his life as a killer. It's interesting and intense. The supporting cast is great with Winona Ryder, Ray Liotta, James Franco, and Chris Evans, who is completely disguised. But this is Shannon's movie. If you enjoyed him in "Take Shelter" or on "Boardwalk Empire", then this is a must watch. I can see him getting award recognition for this. The biggest issue with the movie is the pacing. It's kind of slow and tedious in spots, but overall it's still entertaining. Worth a watch.
Super Reviewer
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- Mr. Freezy: I only feel alone around other people. Couldn't be truer.
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- Richard Kuklinski: You see the Iceman crying?
Discussion Forum
| Topic | Last Post | Replies |
|---|---|---|
| Guess they don't care about resemblance | 20 days ago | 7 |
| Have they begun showing any Iceman trailers in theatres yet? | 4 months ago | 6 |
| Winona Ryder | 2 months ago | 3 |
| The Iceman made a decent debut... | 4 months ago | 2 |
| Critics don't know their mob history very well | 5 months ago | 0 |
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April 29, 2013:
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