Over the past few years, Johnnie To has become one of Hong Kong's most prolific and respected film-makers through the movies that have passed through the Milkyway studio. Films like A Hero Never Dies and The Mission are wonderful re-inventions of the classic (and oftentimes cliched) crime genre. To is also a smart businessman, though -- for every "arty" movie he makes, he usually follows it up with a more mainstream offering (helping to keep Milkyway afloat), which Running Out of Time is. It's not a bad movie by any means -- it's quite good -- it just, at least to this reviewer, lacks that certain something which usually sets To's films apart from those of his contemporaries.

The film's plot has Andy Lau as a high-class jewel thief who has cancer and only four weeks to live, and so decides to pull off one last daring heist. To complete his job, he needs a patsy, and so ropes in a workaholic cop (Lau Ching-Wan), who doesn't realize until too late that he has become part of the crime. The two begin a cat-and-mouse game, even though both of their goals are similar. As you might expect, the two become reluctant partners of a sort and seem to work well together, but the problem of Andy's disease always looms in the background and they wonder if the job can be completed in time.

While the plot isn't really original (excepting the cancer bit, it's the usual heist-and-chase stuff we've seen before), I thought it worked for the most part, especially with the strong script present here. Lau Ching-Wan and Andy Lau both give good performances. This is especially suprising in Andy's case, since usually he's more concerned with looking good rather than polishing his acting skills -- one story had him refusing to laugh in a scene because the action made his wrinkles more visible. There is also nice comic relief in the form of Lam Suet as an inept (and forgetful) Triad hood, good action sequences and solid cinematography and editing.

So why doesn't this movie -- which some people claim is To's best work -- get a higher rating? As I said before, Running Out of Time is a good movie but lacking in parts. It seems that almost every positive in the film has a negative component to go along with it. For instance, even though the script for the most part is well-written, there are some scenes (especially the ending) which slip almost haphazardly into melodrama and there are a few elements that, while entertaining, don't really add to the movie as a whole and tend to slow it down. Even though the film runs at a short 89 minutes, the pacing feels sluggish in parts. It felt more like a two-hour movie rather than a 90 minute one.

As for the comedy, most of it works, but some of it just isn't funny and again takes away from the tight pacing that marks a great thriller. One scene in particular, when Andy dresses up as what has to be the world's ugliest woman during a trade for a jewel, stands out. It's good for a few chuckles, but To lets it go on too long and really starts to squash the momentum in what could have been a very suspenseful scene.

Overall though, despite my complaints, Running Out of Time is a pretty solid crime movie. It's just with its' pedigree and gushing reviews it recieved, I expected a bit more out of it. Still, you could do much worse. Hey, any Andy Lau movie where I don't want to punch him in the mush halfway through is doing a good job in my book.

[review from www.hkfilm.net]