Running Out of Time Collection

While Spaghetti Westerns took the best of their American counterparts and amped things up to eleven, Hong Kong cinema turned action movies into an invigorating experience of stylistic excess.  Before being absorbed into the Hollywood system, directors like John Woo, Tsui Hark and Ringo Lam added their unique artistic stamp on the genre, building on their inspirations rather than churning out bland copies.  Filmmaker Johnnie To flies under the radar of most casual fans although he’s by far the most prolific.  So, Running Out of Time (1999) and its sequel from 2001 serve as a nice introduction to his talents and the evolution of Hong Kong action films overall.

A buddy film with a twist, Running Out of Time pits police negotiator Ho Sheung-san against a mysterious criminal, Cheung Wah, who seems to have no motive other than staging a friendly competition.  After a staging a false heist by way of introduction, Wah challenges Ho to bring him in within 72 hours, setting off a string of close calls and clever escapes.  As the contest gets more heated, the duo wind up joining forces to bring down a gang of notorious jewel thieves.

 

Light in tone but still flashy in execution, To’s film relies heavily on the chemistry between Andy Lau and Lau Ching-wan as alpha-males who recognize an equal when they see one.  It’s a bromance of the highest order, particularly the bicycle chase that turns into an impromptu demolition derby.  All that macho posturing would be hard to take if both actors weren’t so immensely likeable (Lau won a Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor).  While To’s script is a hodgepodge of cliches and cleverness, the film eventually wins you over by having its heart in the right place.

 

The team breaks up in Running Out of Time 2, replacing Andy Lau with a new nemesis for Inspector Ho (still played by Lau Ching-wan) to pursue.  This time it’s a nameless escape artist / magician who’s stolen artwork that is holding up a big insurance merger.  Ho gets a pseudo-love interest this time around, but is still compelled to put business before pleasure, using his old tricks to outsmart another criminal mastermind.

 

There’s nothing lacking in this fast-paced sequel; it just feels overly familiar.  As the film’s comic relief, Shui Hung Hui gets more screen time as the charmingly incompetent Assistant Commissioner Wong, whose return ups the comfort level.  And Ekin Cheng’s nameless “thief” makes for an inventive criminal foil, staging his finale atop a dizzying high rise.  But it still feels like a bromance on the rebound, good enough for a one-night-stand but nothing serious.

 

Arrow Video’s double feature Blu-ray gives everything a hi-def shine, sporting restored 2K transfers and pumped up DTS audio.  Extras include two new commentaries by Hong Kong film expert Frank Djeng and a ton of archival interviews, featurettes, and marketing material along with Hong Kong Stories, a 52-minute documentary about Hong Kong action cinema.

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