|
Starring
:
Lau
Ching Wan
Ekin
Cheng
Kelly
Lin
Lam
Suet
Hui
Shiu Hung
Ruby
Wong
Producer
:
Johnnie
To
Director
:
Johnnie
To
Law
Wing Cheong
|
RUNNING
OUT OF TIME 2 (2002)
Reviewed
by Andrew Saroch
One
of the few films of recent years to unite critical opinion and
box-office success was Johnnie To's 'Running
Out Of Time' Featuring an intriguing plot, an intelligent
script and powerhouse performances from Andy Lau and Lau Ching
Wan, the original managed to gain enough recognition around
the world to even be lined-up for the Hollywood treatment
soon. With all of this in its favour, it only seemed a matter
of time before an excuse was made to produce a sequel.
During
what seems to be a fairly routine case of a man threatening to
jump off a roof, respected police officer Ho - known as Sean
in the original - meets a mysterious new challenger. After
facing a series of tests in the previous case, Ho now finds
his wits put to the test by Ken who manages to use his
supposed suicide attempt to announce his appearance on the
scene. Ken reveals that he is the man responsible for the
theft of Chinese art treasures from a local company and that
he will alert the press about the incident if he doesn't
receive the money he demands. This is especially unsettling to
the company's head, Teresa, who realises that, if the truth
gets out, it would spell certain doom for their proposed
merger. Therefore the race is on to get back the assets before
it effects the financially lucrative move. However, Ho once
again finds himself faced with an opponent who is one step of
the police force and takes delight in the intellectual games
that perplex the police.
It
was always reasonable to expect that Johnnie To would come
under fire from those who enjoyed the original when the sequel
went into production; 'Running Out Of Time' featured a plot
that couldn't really be repeated as it was reliant on the
terminal illness of Andy Lau's character. Some also
prematurely hit out at the casting of Ekin Cheng - an actor
who hasn't always commanded much respect from fans. To the
credit of all concerned though, 'Running Out Of Time 2' is a
constantly diverting caper movie that works well in most
areas. On viewing this, it's important to distance oneself
from the original and its unique premise; this therefore means
that the film can be appreciated on its own merits. Although
some of the tricks used in the original are repeated here, the
execution is stylish enough to make them entertaining and a
self-referential tone helps this regard. Ekin Cheng has often
fallen foul of wooden performances that rely on style far more
than substance, but his efforts here are one of the film's
highlights. His display is measured and just as magnetic as
Andy Lau's award-winning showing in the original. It says
something for Cheng's performance when he can hold his own
with the great Lau Ching Wan in their many scenes together.
There's also a few very well directed scenes within the film
that give the various actors a fine chance to shine and move
the pace of this feature along at an impressive rate.
'Running
Out Of Time 2' does deserve some of the criticisms it has
faced though. Some performances, especially Hui Shiu Hung, are
a bit too over-the-top and lend themselves more to farce than
the suspense genre. There's also the now obligatory insertion
of computer effects that aren't really appropriate. For a
director of To's reputation, it shouldn't be necessary to rely
on these needless gimmicks. Importantly though, this is a
slickly made thriller that achieves most of the objectives it
sets out to accomplish. Taken on its own merits then, 'Running
Out Of Time 2' is a constantly entertaining film.
Rating:
 
|
