DVD Synopsis: Frozen in time for 400 years, Ming Dynasty General He Ying (Donnie Yen, IP MAN trilogy, ROGUE ONE) wakes in modern China only to learn the terrible fate of his home village. Racing back to the past and battling former allies, he fights to protect his family, his country, and the woman he loves from invaders before time runs out... (83 Mins)

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Views: Although it was shot at the same time as Iceman 3D, this sequel was pretty much shelved indefinitely, which just showed the producer's faith in it after the backlash of its predecessor. Four years later, Iceman: The Time Traveler opening to even more scathing reviews than before that hailed it as an 'incoherent mess that is incomplete and nonsensical', making it one of the biggest bombs at the box office in 2018 and a film that went on to create somewhat of a rift between Donnie Yen and its Chinese Production company. Although it only runs for 83 mins, Iceman: The Time Traveler begins with a 10-minute recap of what happened in Iceman 3D, mixed in with some jargon on the science of time travel and random shots of He Ying's past (Donnie Yen). In theory, that leaves just over 70 minutes to continue the story of where these Ming Dynasty soldiers are going and the only reason I can think it was offered up like this, was to sell this sequel as a stand-alone movie – just in case anyone hadn't caught the first chapter. There's nowhere (at least on this UK DVD release, Netflix release, or anything I've seen) that states that this is a part 2 of anything. It is simply titled Iceman: The Time Traveler. Regardless, the film wastes no time in jumping right into where it left off as we see Yuan Long (Simon Yam) blackmailing He to help send him and Nie Hu (Yu Kang) back to the Ming Dynasty so that they can take over the kingdom. As the villains shoot off through time, He and May are trapped in the cave that houses the Wheel Of Time. After trying to escape, the pair realise their only way out is to jump through time themselves, which lands them back in the Ming Dynasty – after a detour on a train to fight some Japanese invaders...

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As the story continues, He and May soon arrive back in his village where everyone is overly excited and throws a party for his return – complete with lots of food and traditional music (that sounded very Irish). It's a very Hollywood moment and is over before we know it (like a lot of scenes in this movie). On top of that, He's potential village wife realises she now has a bit of competition in May, which leads to a romantic subplot that nobody really cares about. In the midst of another villager's wedding party, Sao (Wang Bao Qiang) suddenly returns to the village. Of course, this is not the same Sao from the future, but his brother still invites He to dinner with Japanese General Hojo (Yasuaki Kurata) the following night – the very event that sparks his attempted execution, the massacre of his village, and the whole time-traveling adventures seen in part one. Meanwhile, Simon Yam's Yuan Long has made plans with General Hojo for an attack on He Ying's village along with the services of Eunuch Wei (Chen Kuan Tai). We're now 50 minutes in, and there really hasn't been too much of interest happening to be honest. Sao soon comes across General Hojo and his brother, Nie Hu, planning their attack on the village and confronts him about it. This leads to a swift but fun fight scene on Hojo's boat, as a small army attacks the village under the cover of darkness. Unfortunately, He Ying returns too late and finds his friends and family murdered. It all leads to a showdown between He, Yuan Long, and General Hojo as they travel through time and space in a duel to the death!

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I really don't know what to say about Iceman: The Time Traveler that hasn't already been put out to the world by a thousand critics and even more disappointed fans. Even the fact that it had a four-year delay and a change in directors and writers, it just seemed to have been doomed from the start. Even with hits like Sixty Million Dollar Man, Portland Street Blues, Bruce Lee My Brother, and Anna In Kung Fu Land behind him, Raymond Yip Wai Man still couldn't save this from being the mess that it was, regardless of veteran actor/writer Manfred Wong's involvement as producer and scriptwriter – who incidentally co-directed Bruce Lee My Brother with him. I actually thought the addition of legendary stars such as Chen Kuan Tai and Yasuaki Kurata would help make it more appealing – and even though the latter probably gets one of the best action scenes in the film, again, it still doesn't prove to be enough to help. And it's such a damn shame given the talent involved in both films because these should have been such mega-hits from the get-go! In fact, I really do believe that had this been re-edited by a much stronger editor and storyteller then released as a two-and-a-half-hour movie, it would have been much better received and somewhat of a hit. There are the workings of a great movie in there somewhere, but it's just a pity that wasn't recognised before either films were released. So is there anything worth seeing here? Well – not a lot to be honest. The film is very neatly shot and offers some gorgeous scenes throughout, and although some of the VFX come across as questionable, other scenes offer quite fun and exciting visuals such as the fight through time around the train and the black and white forest scene in the finale.

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And yes, the finale. Although not perfectly executed, the finale 20 minutes of Iceman: The Time Traveler offers some crazy action that (I'm sure) was thrown in there to try and make up for all the crap that came before it. It's not as amazing as it should have been, but after a wonderful sword battle in and around the time machine, Donnie and Yasuaki set off on a battle through time which definitely had some imagination and certain elements that reminded me of H.G. Wells' classic The Time Machine. While there are sprinkles of action throughout the film's short running time, this end collection of fight scenes are definitely the best of the bunch. Ugh! It just annoys me even thinking of what could have been with both of these films. The trailer had given me very high hopes when I first saw it, but alas, it was not meant to be. Perhaps someday we will get to see the Donnie Yen cut of Iceman 3D that combines the best of both films with a cohesive storyline, and less nonsensical ending. Until then, I'd stick with the Clarence Fok/Yuen Biao original, The Iceman Cometh – which I'm going to watch right now!!

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Overall: A legitimate disappointment and mess of a film, Iceman: The Time Traveler should have been so much more, but opts to confuse and anger its viewers instead!

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DVD Extras: Trailers