Running Out Of Time

The actor-director pairing of $$ID=Lau Ching Wan$$ and Johnny $$ID=To Kei Fung$$ is similar to that of the classic pre-Hollywood films of $$ID=Chow Yun Fat$$ and $$ID=John Woo$$. This buddy cop-heist film is a slick affair from the monochromatic "Prada" look of the film to the smart plot and stylish sped-up motion effects. Lau Ching Wan plays a decorated police negotiator to $$ID=Andy Lau$$'s career thief who discovers that he is suffering from a terminal illness and plans to pull off a final job. The chemistry between the two is reminiscent of that of Chow Yun Fatt and Danny Lee in "The Killer". The suspense and action is laid on from the start and doesn't let up as Andy Lau draws Lau Ching Wan into a 72 hour cat-and-mouse "game" involving priceless jewels, a bomb scare and bumbling triad stooges. As the story unfolds, with it's sly references to Titanic and Andy Lau's Saint-like disguise abilities, we are given an insight into the reasons behind the psychological mind game being played. All this is fused with edge-of-the-seat chase sequences, clever dialogue, a love interest sub-plot and Buster Keatonish humour going to show that Hong Kong cinema still rocks!