Running out of Time (1999) (Chinese)
The latest Milky Way film dips just a bit more into convention, but the result is predictably pure gold. Lau Ching-Wan is Inspector Ho, a police negotiator who’s led into a game of cat-and-mouse by ace thief Cheung (Andy Lau). Cheung robs a Hong Kong high-rise, but his motive is in doubt. Did he do it for money? Or fame? And why is he letting Ho in on all of it?
Ho begins his investigation, and as he discovers what Cheung is up to, so does the audience. Not to give too much away, but Cheung is actually dying of cancer, and is using his final days to avenge his father. It isn’t what he’s doing that’s interesting here, it’s how he’s doing it. The set up for his ultimate scam is a joy to watch, and Andy Lau relishes his role. It’s probably his best acting in quite a while as he restrains himself from doing one of his two Andy Lau things: either overacting the charm or overdoing the bitterness. Credit director To with reining in his Sky King star.
There are some truly delicious genre moments in Milky Way’s latest sublime effort. The little bits with bumbling police captain Hui Siu-Hung are a little overdone and there are some major plot holes, but it’s really hard to fault this richly entertaining action thriller. This is probably the best commercial film Hong Kong has produced in quite a while. It tends towards pleasing the masses with its built in star-power and sometimes cheesy dialogue, but the total package (style, pacing, acting, direction) all add up to a rich and satisfying genre experience. (Kozo 1999)
Directed: Johnnie To Kei-Fung
Genre: Crime / Drama
Cast: Andy Lau Tak-Wah, Lau Ching-Wan, Yoyo Mung Ka-Wai, Ruby Wong Cheuk-Ling, Hui Siu-Hung, Waise Lee Chi-Hung, Lam Suet
Runtime: 90 min
Country: Hong Kong
Language: Cantonese
Subtitles: English .SRT
IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0216165/
(7.2 rating out of 10)
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