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Running Out of Time -
If so many '90s crime thrillers from Heat to Die Hard with a Vengeance taught us anything, it's that having a master lawman match wits with a master criminal is a guaranteed way to make sparks fly. That rule also applies to this movie, which does not surpass Michael Mann's magnum opus, but it has an element that makes movies like it all the more involving and that it pulls off very well: a criminal with an ulterior motive.
With his cool demeanor and unwavering confidence, Andy Lau makes Cheung into a classic Johnnie To antagonist. Ching Wan Lau's hostage negotiator, Ho, is also no slouch in the swagger department, coming across like he is the smartest man in the room as soon as we meet him. I'll also reveal - and reassure - that Cheung is not just concerned with business. Time is not just running out for Ho to find him, in other words: it's literally doing so for his rival. These factors all but sweeten how intricately and clever their cat and mouse game plays out, a highlight being Ho attempting an office building escape with duct crawling that would impress John McLane. Like the typical To movie, it is efficient, but it still allows room to breathe and at just the right times. If it's not a potential final attempt at romance, it's Cheung showing his gift for banter with Ho and with his co-workers.
This movie is a bit on the convoluted side, so much so that I had to consult a plot summary more than once to confirm I was on the right track. It's all but exacerbated by a typical annoyance with Hong Kong movie imports: lackluster English subtitles. A shot of a key newspaper headline, for instance, goes untranslated. There are also parts of the "romance" that have not aged well. Besides that, it's another satisfying entry in the filmography of one of the most reliable directors I know, who luckily also happens to be very prolific. It says a lot that two of his best movies came out in the same year!
My guy (or gal): inspector Ho Sheung-Sang. Just the kind of take charge person you would like to be at your workplace.
If so many '90s crime thrillers from Heat to Die Hard with a Vengeance taught us anything, it's that having a master lawman match wits with a master criminal is a guaranteed way to make sparks fly. That rule also applies to this movie, which does not surpass Michael Mann's magnum opus, but it has an element that makes movies like it all the more involving and that it pulls off very well: a criminal with an ulterior motive.
With his cool demeanor and unwavering confidence, Andy Lau makes Cheung into a classic Johnnie To antagonist. Ching Wan Lau's hostage negotiator, Ho, is also no slouch in the swagger department, coming across like he is the smartest man in the room as soon as we meet him. I'll also reveal - and reassure - that Cheung is not just concerned with business. Time is not just running out for Ho to find him, in other words: it's literally doing so for his rival. These factors all but sweeten how intricately and clever their cat and mouse game plays out, a highlight being Ho attempting an office building escape with duct crawling that would impress John McLane. Like the typical To movie, it is efficient, but it still allows room to breathe and at just the right times. If it's not a potential final attempt at romance, it's Cheung showing his gift for banter with Ho and with his co-workers.
This movie is a bit on the convoluted side, so much so that I had to consult a plot summary more than once to confirm I was on the right track. It's all but exacerbated by a typical annoyance with Hong Kong movie imports: lackluster English subtitles. A shot of a key newspaper headline, for instance, goes untranslated. There are also parts of the "romance" that have not aged well. Besides that, it's another satisfying entry in the filmography of one of the most reliable directors I know, who luckily also happens to be very prolific. It says a lot that two of his best movies came out in the same year!
My guy (or gal): inspector Ho Sheung-Sang. Just the kind of take charge person you would like to be at your workplace.