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Review
by Kozo: |
A sequel to Running Out of Time makes some sense.
It's Milkyway's most successful crime picture (save
Fulltime Killer) and has one returning character
that's guaranteed onscreen gold: Lau Ching-Wan as the
driven Inspector Ho. All that's needed is a worthy foil
to replace the departed Andy Lau. Enter Ekin Cheng,
desperately in need of a career makeover after too many
Chan Ho-Nam retreads. The result: Running Out of
Time 2, which features Cheng as a suave, too-cool
thief who drags Inspector Ho into his criminal scheme
presumably to make things more interesting. Interesting
it is, but logical it most definitely is not.
Cheng's bad guy is more magician
than mastermind. Showing up on top of a highrise, he
proceeds to dare Inspector Ho to stop his upcoming crime
spree. Then he goes and pulls the first of many disappearing
acts, which are usually accompanied by green smoke or
some other sort of diversionary tactic. He also trains
birds of prey, walks tightropes, and owns an extensive
collection of mirrors. His goal is 20 million HK dollars
in ransom money. His collateral: three invaluable artifacts
insured by Kelly Lin's company. His methods are completely
nonsensical, ranging from invading police headquarters
to getting the cops to counterfeit the cash. Then
he has Inspector Ho chase him from one end of Hong Kong
to the other, all the while smiling like a little kid
playing "tag" during recess.
Why this matters is unknown.
Apparently, everything that occurs in the film is to
satisfy the whimsy of Cheng's mischievous thief. Why
is he doing this? Is it for the fun? Or is he simply
bored? No answers are provided and Cheng does little
to clear things up. Cheng's method acting consists of
smiling a lot and providing zero insight as to why this
whole thing is happening. The motivation for the crime
is ostensibly charity, but it's more likely that he
simply wanted a partner to run around the playground
with. If arrested development were a crime, then this
guy would deserve the death penalty.
At the very least, Lau Ching-Wan
proves game. Director Johnnie To's usual cohort is at
his most charismatic and engaging, and manages to bring
some resonance to the cop-criminal bond that is the
central relationship of the film. You can see his Inspector
Ho enjoying every minute of the chase despite its inanity.
Kelly Lin provides the heterosexual love interest, which
is great because she doesn't provide any acting. Hui
Siu-Hung returns as Assistant Commissioner Wong Kai-Fat,
who apparently had a lobotomy between the original and
its sequel. And Ruby Wong puts in another cameo, of
which she's been quite guilty of late. She deserves
more than to window dress these various crime films
(Hit Team, Running Out of Time).
As with every Milkyway film,
the final judgment comes down to director Johnnie To
himself. HK's last great hope has been arguably the
most consistent, solid director in current Hong Kong
Cinema. Co-directing with Law Wing-Cheong, To manages
to inject his signature criminal quirkiness into what
would otherwise be a completely uncompelling exercise.
Every chase and every off-kilter sequence is played
with a noticeable wink to the audience. The result can
go either way. Some may be enthralled and amused at
sharing To's sense of humor. Others may feel insulted
by the obvious silliness of everything. Despite the
common themes of his late nineties filmography, To has
brought something different to each and every directorial
outing. It seems that his goal this time was simply
to take the audience for a ride, and the bad sports
out there might want to shoot the principals instead
of giving chase like Inspector Ho would. For those weaned
on the exhilarating simplicity of The Mission or
the deft sleight-of-hand of Running Out of Time,
this ride could be a wasted one. (Kozo 2002) |
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