[.ca] Running Out Of Time

From Amazon.com:
Johnny To, whose cool, precise gangster thriller The Mission is one of the best Hong Kong films since the Chinese takeover, brings a stylish flair to Running Out of Time, an absurdly plotted but compelling cat-and-mouse crime drama that became a box-office smash in Hong Kong. Criminal genius Wah (pop star Andy Lau) is given only a few weeks to live by his doctor, so he embarks on an elaborate heist and strings along hostage negotiator and unconventional supercop Sang (Lau Ching Wan) as part of the fun. "I just want to play a game with you for 72 hours," Wah confesses. "Great," responds Sang's blustery boss, "it's lunatic against lunatic." The elaborate scheme has something to do with a bald badass mobster (an almost unrecognizable Waise Lee, of John Woo's Bullet in the Head and A Better Tomorrow), a priceless gem, and a debt of honor. There's a hint of Woo's warrior bonding as cop and crook develop a respectful adversarial friendship in their running battle of wits: "If you can get me to the police station, you win." It all hinges on some far-fetched twists and the Hong Kong cops are little more than buffoons for most of the film, but To's steely seriousness, sleek style, and runaway pacing keep the film flying through most of the improbabilities. --Sean Axmaker

Simply amazing:
i am a huge fan of HK flicks. i love them all:...martial arts, quirky romance, and most of all heart-wrenching dramas. this film lived up to and surpassed my expectations. Andy Lau is a tremendous actor as is Lau Ching Wan. these two bounce and feed off each other beautifully in this cat-and-mouse movie. both use one another for personal gain yet when things get intense they are there to help the other out. i was just amazed when i finished watching it. this is definitely one to add to any person's movie collection, whether you are die-hard HK or not. subtitles shouldn't scare you away. trust me and see this movie.

very good...one of Andy's best....:
Johnny To , Lau Ching Wan, and Andy Lau did an excellent job. Inspector Ho( Lau Ching Wan) is a police negotiator who's playing cat-and-mouse with the thief Cheung( Andy Lau). Cheung robs a hong kong high rise, but the reason why is unclear. As Ho begins to investigate, the audience gets to know lil better too, but not too much. Cheung is doing this because his dying day is near, and he's using the time he got left to avenge for his father.... Sure, there are some plot holes, but how many HK movies can you point out with no plot holes??? especially genre like this? however, Andy did an awesome job at playing the role of Cheung. The style, pacing, actiong, and direction is simply great. Andy won best actor for 19th annual Hong Kong film awards.

Okay, could've been better.....:
Running Out of Time Running out of Time, is a Hong Kong action movie staring Cheung (Andy Lau) and Inspector Ho (Lau Chin Wan). Cheung is a handsome young burglar with Terminal cancer and three days to live. Ho is a bored police officer determined to apprehend him. Cheung, in an effort to make his last days on earth worthwhile, is determined to avenge his father's death, by stealing a large, improbably blue diamond, and framing his enemy for the deed. During the course of events, he has run-ins with police officer Ho and a beautiful woman he meets on the bus. Regretfully most of the action consisted of scenes where the bad guys chase Ho, and scenes of Cheung crawling through air ducts, (its amazing how many person-sized air ducts there are in high security buildings), or scenes with Cheung messing with security cameras. This movie failed for me because I kept expecting to explore Cheung's character more deeply. (If he was dying of cancer, why did he wait so long to seek revenge? Why was he so determined to frame the bad guys? What was his motivation for baiting Ho?) So many of these questions were unanswered, and for this reason, I was left feeling unsatisfied with this movie.

Not so bad HK flick. Worth a view:
Johnny To has got to be up there as one of my favourite producer/ directors- and this movie does not disappoint Although its not one of the most realistic movies, it is quite enjoyable if you can open your mind and pretend its all possible :) Its the story of a man, played by Andy Lau, who has *cough cough* only weeks to live due to some unspecified disease. As a result he goes on a rampage to make the most of his short term existence. The highlights of the movie would probably be the cinematography, first and foremost... the movie does have an interest mood. Second would probably be the rhad chick who isnt some helpless annoying chick like in most asian movies and thirdly the fact that this movie doesnt distract itself too much from the main plot. Take that last statement how you wish. Dont expect a Wong Kar Wai movie here with a million sub-plots. This is just a straight forward action flick. I find it hard to relate to the characters in this movie. And i believe its the mood which makes this one a cut above average.

Keep RUNNING:
There's something to said for this tightly-woven Hong Kong action thriller because RUNNING OUT OF TIME tries very hard to combine the traditional buddy picture with one pinch of "The Sting" and a hint of "Tootsie" thrown in for unexpected laughs. What makes TIME tick is the slickness of the characters: Wah only has a few weeks to live, suffering from a form of incurable cancer, and he finds himself paired with police negotiator Sang in his final act toward redemption. Redemption, however, already has its price tag on it, as Wah's condition quickly deteriorates, and he must rely on an unlikely friendship with Sang to help make end-meet-end before meeting his Maker. These two actors make the picture work, despite some clunky dialogue (especially clunky in the English-dubbed version, so be warned). Their chemistry onscreen elevates TIME to higher levels of interest for the viewer as you don't know who to root for here: the cop being hustled by the shylock, or the shylock living out his last few days trying to mend life's wrongs. Regardless of whom you root for, RUNNING OUT OF TIME is a great achievement -- a welcome twist to the cop/crook formula -- that gives you some wonderfully unexpected laughs as the story unfolds.