Reviewed by: MrBooth Date: 03/07/2003 Clever and unusual romance. Not a "romantic comedy" for a change, though there are funny moments. Some genre standards are followed (she's "quirky" & he's shallow, they hate each other when they first meet etc), but the movie explores some new ground that makes it stand out - especially the surprisingly downbeat ending. Good characters, good script, nice direction. Recommended. Reviewer Score: 7

Reviewed by: Stardust Date: 07/27/2002 Summary: Two Reasons To Watch The Movie Raymond Lam makes his movie debut after filming two successful TVB series. As a newcomer, his acting skills are pretty good, and it's very possible that he'll have a great career ahead in the business. And, he's not bad looking either. Rain Li, on the other hand, can't act. I guess she's up-and-rising in HK, so that's why she was chosen for the role. The storyline is pretty simple, but a little exaggerated. A pretty boy loses his creativity and is replaced by the image of a stranger in his mind after an accident, and he tries to track her down to regain his talent. Along the way, these two strangers turn from enemies to lovers. There's actually a twist to the story, around 3/4 into the movie, that throws the audience into confusion. I found myself asking if this was a joke. A totally different ending may have worked better, and be more realistic. But then, on the other hand, this twist is what made the story original, a make-it-or-break-it risk by the filmmakers. There was barely any chemistry between the two stars. Rain has difficulty expressing her emotions, which is probably the main reason why. She and Raymond do look cute and sweet together, though. There's one romantic scene in the movie that clearly deserves recognition: Raymond making paper planes fly up an old building for Rain. It was beautifully filmed, the two stars looked good, and it was the only time where an ounce of chemistry existed. It's one of the best original romantic scenes I've seen in movies. Overall, Rain/Raymond fans would love the movie. As for the others, expect a bittersweet romantic movie with an awkward/unexpected twist that can throw you off board on determining the movie's genre. For those looking for real acting, you'll find some good talents, but definitely not from Rain. Rating: 10/10 (Watch it for that one romantic scene and Raymond) Reviewer Score: 10

Reviewed by: danton Date: 03/25/2002 Rain Li seems to be wanting to take a serious stab at a movie star career. After supporting roles in Goodbye Mr Cool (where all she had to do was smile and look pretty) and 2002 (where all she had to do was lie in a hospital bed and pretend to be in a coma - which she did very convincingly), the singer now plays the romantic lead opposite newcomer Raymond Lam in an ambitious love story that doesn't quite live up to its potential. The film starts well enough. Well chosen and edited images, interesting angles, a good sense of how to frame scenes and move from static to movement and back - you get the sense that thought was put into the visual presentation of the story, and the scenes up to and including the accident that gets the story going are well executed. Unfortunately, as the movie progresses, it manages less and less to sustain the visual creativity of the beginning, with only a few interesting shots every now and then reminding the viewer that this film had greater ambitions than it was able to live up to. The story kicks in when young and brilliant architect Rick (Raymond Lam), fresh from his latest professional as well as romantic success, sees the image of a girl painted on the side of a bus driving by as he is about to cross the street. Next thing you know, he gets hit by a car (beautifully filmed, if that's the appropriate term) and wakes up in a hospital surrounded by his worried colleagues. To everyone's relief, he seems fine, except that he is now haunted by the image of the girl he saw painted on the bus just prior to his accident, and is unable to work, as every architectural drawing he starts soon turns into her face. Meanwhile, book author Angela Lok (Rain Li) storms his office in protest over the planned demolition of her apartment building. She turns out to be the face haunting him, and in her presence he is finally able to work, so even though she hates him, he moves into the same building and starts stalking her, because only in her presence is he able to produce work. At this point, the movie seems to have firmly settled itself in the familiar territory of romantic comedies, where the two attractive leads hate each other at first site, and the viewer gets to lean back and watch the sparks fly until the inevitable realization that they love each other, so that the movie can end with a big screen kiss. Unfortunately, no sparks flying here! This formula only works if the leads have a modicum of charm and personality. Charlie Yeung in Love at the Times of Twilight made it work because she engages the audience. Aaron Kwok and Kelly Chan in And I Hate you So are the perfect example of how this formula falls on its nose when the leads have no personality (in the case of Kelly) or an annoying one (in the case of Aaron). In Stolen Love, we are meant to be witnessing sparks flying between charming Rick and quirky Angela - but the two leads are way too bland to get anything flying other than little paper planes (a recurring motif in the movie). Rain in particular tries hard but falls just short. The movie at this point also adds an element of mystery -- both protagonists have no memory of what happened to them in the two months leading up to New Year 1999. Small clues and fragments of forgotten memories start to convince them that they had an affair with each other in the past, and while running around town to find out the truth, they slowly become attracted to each other once again. Of course they fall in love. But when they do, they finally find out the truth of what happened to them in the past -- and it is here that the movie takes a very unusual turn for this kind of film. An explanation is provided that completely shatters the genre formula, and now all of a sudden we go from romantic comedy to melodrama. In fact, much of the story now seems reminiscent of another film that I don't want to mention by name, because it might otherwise spoil the ending for you. Suffice it to say that it's a revelation that is somewhat unexpected because it does indeed movie the film into a completely different genre. The movie should end on a sad note, but doesn't even manage to do that convincingly. The final resolution is emotionally unsatisfying in every way. Overall, not a complete waste of time, but the movie could have been so much better. I'd give it a marginal recommendation.