The Iceman
Metascore
60 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 25 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 25
  3. Negative: 1 out of 25
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  1. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Stephen Holden
    May 2, 2013
    90
    If the narrow biographical focus of “The Iceman” prevents it from being a great crime movie, on its own more modest terms it is an indelible film that clinches Mr. Shannon’s status as a major screen actor.
  2. Movie Nation
    Reviewed by: Roger Moore
    Apr 30, 2013
    88
    The dialogue is hard-bitten and Mamet-sharp.
  3. Arizona Republic
    Reviewed by: Bill Goodykoontz
    May 16, 2013
    80
    The film is anchored by a searing, incredibly intense performance by Michael Shannon, whose remorselessness as a hit man is as relentless as Shannon’s portrayal of him.
  4. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Joe Neumaier
    May 2, 2013
    80
    As Richard Kuklinski, the Garden State guy who sleepwalks into an infamously deadly life he was born for, Shannon hits a whole other level.
  5. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: David Rooney
    Apr 26, 2013
    80
    The Iceman is a vivid evocation of a remorseless sociopath sustaining a double life as a contract killer and devoted family man. Gritty, gripping and unrelentingly intense, Ariel Vromen’s film boasts richly detailed character work from an ideal cast.
  6. St. Louis Post-Dispatch
    Reviewed by: Joe Williams
    May 17, 2013
    75
    Because the sociopath at the center of this family portrait never asks for forgiveness, The Iceman is truly chilling.
  7. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Phillips
    May 16, 2013
    75
    So it's a bit squishy at the center. But the film is sleek, purposeful and extremely well acted.
  8. ReelViews
    Reviewed by: James Berardinelli
    May 4, 2013
    75
    It's an unsettling piece that reminds us how even monsters aspire to living the American dream.
  9. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Claudia Puig
    May 2, 2013
    75
    Shannon's restrained and mesmerizing portrayal, bolstered by an excellent offbeat supporting cast, makes for an edgy and compelling Mob yarn.
  10. New York Observer
    Reviewed by: Rex Reed
    Apr 30, 2013
    75
    The point of The Iceman is “Even monsters are human,” but it takes a great actor to make a dubious theme convincing.
  11. Time
    Reviewed by: Richard Corliss
    May 2, 2013
    70
    This Mafia tale doesn’t aspire to the heights of a "Godfather" or the epic sprawl of "The Sopranos." Vromen and cowriter Morgan Land are content to bring subtle shadings to the tale of a strange man in a dirty business.
  12. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Chris Nashawaty
    May 1, 2013
    67
    Ultimately, this is a grim (both visually and thematically) character study of an unsympathetic character, leaving Shannon, who manages to deliver another impressive performance, twisting in the ice-cold wind.
  13. New York Magazine (Vulture)
    Reviewed by: Bilge Ebiri
    May 6, 2013
    60
    The problem might actually be (gasp) Michael Shannon himself — shocking, because he’s one of our greatest actors — who is only half-right for this film’s portrait of Kuklinski.
  14. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Rebecca Moss
    Apr 30, 2013
    60
    Ultimately The Iceman is a blend of Mafia-film cliché and the jarring reality of lives undone by crime.
  15. The Guardian
    Reviewed by: Peter Bradshaw
    Apr 26, 2013
    60
    As a demonstration of the banality of evil, The Iceman is certainly effective and Shannon's performance gives the film its power.
  16. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Ben Kenigsberg
    May 1, 2013
    58
    Alternating scenes of the psycho-as-family-man with an increasingly grisly and desperate series of hits, it makes for a surprisingly monotonous sit for a movie that also features a killer named Mr. Freezy.
  17. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Adam Nayman
    May 17, 2013
    50
    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.
  18. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Ty Burr
    May 16, 2013
    50
    Director/co-writer Ariel Vromen has made a grimly passable crime drama in the sub-“GoodFellas”/“Sopranos” vein, and if you’re looking for something to order up on a slow Saturday night, it’ll do.
  19. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Lou Lumenick
    May 2, 2013
    50
    The overall effect tends to be as chilly and monotonous as Shannon’s demeanor as Kuklinski — a real disappointment.
  20. The Playlist
    Reviewed by: Oliver Lyttelton
    Apr 30, 2013
    50
    It’s never a painful watch, more of a faintly dull, seen-it-all-before one. If nothing else, it’s evidence that these days, being based on a true story isn’t enough to elevate a film in a well-worn genre ahead of the pack.
  21. Film.com
    Reviewed by: Laremy Legel
    Apr 26, 2013
    45
    Discordance, meet The Iceman, a film so wrong-footed it should take Eugene Levy out for a coffee.
  22. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Louis Black
    May 15, 2013
    40
    There is an enormous amount of effort put into this film which at its end just seems like noise, wind, and dust.
  23. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Betsy Sharkey
    May 2, 2013
    40
    The great failing of The Iceman is not in giving us a monster, but in not making us care.
  24. Time Out New York
    Reviewed by: Keith Uhlich
    Apr 30, 2013
    40
    There’s a ruthlessly effective movie to be made from this material, and you couldn’t hope for a better performer than Shannon, who can turn on a dime between quiet malevolence and volcanic rage, to inhabit the sociopathic central figure. Unfortunately, this overproduced biopic constantly counteracts the actor’s committed efforts with its pale-imitation slickness.
  25. Slant Magazine
    Reviewed by: Tomas Hachard
    Apr 29, 2013
    38
    Michael Shannon has no interior to play with, since the film seems intent on ridding Richie of any emotion other than love for his family, and also no catharsis to build toward.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.9 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 11 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. Matteo
    4
    Beyond a disappointment. Shannon is a major talent, but he had a very flawed script to work with. There is zero empathy for the lead character. You could care less if he cares about his family, he's such a ridiculous psychopath and not clever enough to be interesting.. And the script, it sets up Ray Liotta's character as the antagonist and the narrative makes you want a climax between him and shannon, but you never get it, instead you get melodrama asking us to try and feel sorry for a psychopath who killed over a hundred people.... Skip it.… Full Review »
  2. cammyland
    10
    There was a subtle development of a character I couldn't imagine possible with a figure like Richard Kuklinski. the performances were uniformally excellent. The writing and directing were especially strong. Kudos to Michael Shannon...if he's not nominated for an oscar, there's no justice.… Full Review »
  3. Nesbitt10
    6
    Claiming to have pulled off over one hundred hits to his name, Richard Kuklinski was a legendary mafia contract killer known for his intimidating stature, and his cold-hearted, nonchalant approach to murder. "The Iceman" is based on a true story, and is a fairly standard biopic that is only elevated by a gripping performance from Michael Shannon. Shannon's commanding performance is the overall highlight of the film- as the actor effortlessly transforms his character into a consistently engaging and genuinely frightening figure. "The Iceman" exhibits an array of methods Kuklinski employs to commit murder from the '50s until his arrest in the mid '80s. However, his method of freezing his victims is all but passed over, barely even mentioned. A minor detail perhaps, lost in the story line due to the ever-growing body count. But when your protagonist is a deranged killer, and nicknamed "The Iceman," it's a significant element of the story all but ignored, which led to his eventual undoing.

    In Ariel Vromen's "The Iceman," we first meet Kuklinski as a young man out on a date with a woman destined to become Mrs. Kuklinski (Winona Ryder). She is shy and naive, but ultimately won over by the man's charisma, devotion, and persistence. Incredibly, Richard was able to maintain a double life, never mixing his unwavering devotion to his family, and his work for the Mafia. Recruited by local Mafia boss Roy (Ray Liotta), Richard begins to make a name for himself as a hit-man for the mob. Our protagonist is an outsider however, a Polish American who can never be fully integrated into the Mafia. This is a character study of a man that you have seen before in a number of gangster films--the killer in black leather gloves, sporting a trench coat, and void of any emotion when committing murder. The litany of killings administered by Kuklinski is predominantly delivered via montages.

    Kuklinski was an impenetrable individual, and Shannon does justice to the man with a suitably complex performance. Shannon does his best with the limited material, and Ryder is fine as Richie's oblivious wife. But their efforts are further undermined by the thin and very familiar, decades-spanning mob story. Unfortunately, besides seeing just how many era-appropriate hairstyles and beards its characters can model in one movie, this telling of Richard's story seems to care more about the body count above all else.    … Full Review »
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