The Iceman: Blu-ray Review
The Movie:
In the 1960s, Richard Kuklinski (Michael Shannon) is working as a porn film lab tech until his mob bosses persuade him to change his career into that of a contract killer. For years, Kuklinski gains a reputation for cold blooded professionalism even as he raises a family who are kept in the dark about his true career. Unfortunately, mob politics ultimately forces him to secretly work independently with the psychopathic Robert ‘Mr. Freezy’ Pronge (Chris Evans). As much as Kuklinski tries to keep his lives separate, circumstances and his own weaknesses threaten a terrible collision as the consequences of his choices finally catch up to him.
This was a crazy story! To think that a man that was seemingly normal, had a double life. Not just an innocent secret but one so ruthless that it involved death. This just goes to show that sometimes even people that look innocent on the outside can be evil on the inside. The one thing that this film does show is that he got into the line of work he was into to support his family and give them a good life. That was the ongoing presence in the film was that he was very much a family man that loved his wife and daughters. In a weird sense you almost sympathize with him a bit because he just seems like a man that got too caught up in a world that he had no business in but in the end he committed crimes and he definitely paid for them. Although the film was “inspired” by true events I think it gave the audience a good enough look at Kuklinski and his life. Shannon has become quite the actor and can give really intense performances. When he flips the switch you see the change in his eyes and his face goes completely blank. That’s a sight that is rather scary to see in someone. The weirdest and most different change to see was that of Chris Evans. He totally played against everything he’s usually played and was almost unrecognizable for a bit there. Ray Liotta is almost a constant in crime films such as these but you can see that over the years he has gotten better and better at what he does. I can EASILY recommend this film to anyone and you’ll end the film with your head shaking just because it is so unfortunate at how the story ends. A must see!
Special Features:
Making Of “The Iceman” – Director Ariel Vromen gives a lot of insight on the film and you hear from the cast and crew on the their experiences with the story.
“The Iceman” Behind The Scenes – A short feature that shows a bit of the film from the production side of the fence.
