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RUNNING
ON KARMA (2003)
Reviewed
by Phil Mills
When
previews and trailers were shown for this new Johnnie To and
Wai Ka Fai flick, my immediate impression was that it would be
another gimmick-driven romantic comedy akin to the likes of
the enjoyable 'Love
On A Diet'. However, these initial thoughts couldn't
have been further from the truth as the film proves to be far
more adventurous and multi-faceted than I could have possibly
imagined.
Big
(Lau) is a bodybuilder by day and a stripper at night but when
he is arrested by rookie cop Yee (Cheung) his special power is
uncovered. After spending most of his life as a monk,
Big went through major changes when he was suddenly hit by a
moment of divine intervention which granted him the uncanny
ability to see a person's karma. Essentially this means
that he is capable of seeing the wrongdoings performed by
someone in a past life along with the punishment that they
will receive in their current one. Perhaps not such a
harmful gift you may think but when he sees that the innocent
(and attractive) Yee is due to have her life cut short, he
suddenly has an attack of conscience. So in order for
him to keep an eye on her, Big decides to help Yee with her
current murder investigation by putting his numerous mental
and physical abilities to good use. Despite this though,
the ultimate question still remains - when the time comes will
Big be capable of saving the woman who he cares for or will
destiny take it's course and dish out it's painful justice?
As
mentioned before, you could easily be forgiven for expecting
'Running On Karma' to be little more than an advancement in
prosthetics if you've only seen the promotional shots of Andy
Lau's muscle suit. However, what is actually on display
here is a mix of several genres, stretching from the film's
core subject matter as a murder/mystery through to a
moralistic drama which also manages to include elements of
action and comedy. For some films this may prove to be
one ingredient too many but when each area is as expertly
pieced together as it is here, it provides an extremely
sophisticated and thought provoking piece of entertainment.
What separates it from other films that have tried a similiar
approach is that the storyline always remains consistent and
attention grabbing whilst the combination of humour, action
and drama is just enough to appeal to fans of each genre
whilst never over shadowing key elements in the plot.
When
it comes to the casting, it's so refreshing that Andy Lau is
finally being allowed to appear in projects that are truly
worthy of his talent. A few years back I was most
critical of Lau as he continued to churn out second rate
pictures that rarely seemed to test his ability as an actor
(see 'Drunken
Master 3' as an example). Since the success of
movies like 'Infernal
Affairs' and 'Love On A Diet' though, he seems to have
finally been placed into the A-List which allows each new film
he makes to appeal to a wider audience. For 'Running On
Karma' his performance is once again first rate as his
uniquely quiet on-screen persona is very befitting for his
role as a monk although his bad boy elements do also get the
opportunity to shine through when he lets his emotions get the
better of him. Playing alongside Lau is rising
star Cecilia Cheung who is an actress that I believe is going
from strength to strength. Ever since I first saw Cheung
in 'King
Of Comedy' she has continued to impress and it's nice to
see here that she is given the chance to play a female lead
with a real personality who is not afraid to take control of
her own destiny.
Perhaps
one of the strangest areas that also proves to be successful
within 'Running On Karma' is the addition of several action
sequences. Owing to the fact that the hero of the piece
is a monk, it's not unusual that he comes equipped with a
martial arts background and it isn't long before he puts it to
good use. Although they may be few and far between,
these sequences are all well put together and demonstrate the
right way to go about integrating wire-fu into a modern
setting.
For
me, 'Running On Karma' has to be one of the most well
presented and scripted pieces to emerge from Hong Kong in
recent years and clearly shows that the industry is back on
track. It successfully combines numerous styles to
create a truly enlightening piece of cinema that, whilst not
hailing the action heydays of the past, still shows that Asian
cinema is capable of blowing the competition out of the water
when it comes to other genres.
Rating:
 
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