Running Out of Time II

RUNNING OUT OF TIME 2 is less a sequel and more a straight remake of the first film, with Johnnie To employing a co-director to share some of the duties this time around. Andy Lau's out - his character's terminal illness put paid to his presence - but Lau Ching Wan and his colleagues are back, this time hunting down a mysterious con man with links to a shady insurance company. Ekin Cheng takes over from Lau and is I think better in the part, more naturalistic and relaxed. As with the first film, the plotting is lacklustre but the quirky comedy works better, the bicycle race a highlight. I also really enjoyed Lam Suet's random subplot for some reason.

RUNNING OUT OF TIME 2 is essentially a remake of the original, only this time Ekin Cheng steps into the role left by Andy Lau (whose character, supposedly, died at the end of the first). As Lau did, Cheng manuevers the same clever cop into his game. Also getting involved is Kelly Lin as a straight laced businesswoman whose important merger is threatened by the thief's games.

Not as good as the original, as expected, but still clever. Although the whole cleverness does seem awfully familiar this time around.

6 out of 10

(go to www.nixflix.com for a more detailed review of this movie or full-length reviews of other foreign films)

This held so much promise after what i believed was a very good first film 'Running out of time' with Andy Lau.

One of the main problems is the fact that Ekin Cheng is no where near as good as Andy Lau and i found him less intersting annd quite boring to watch. Also the story was incredibly pointless and unexplained, it was very hard to follow and pretty random...

All i can say is that i hope they do not make another one, as the first is a very good film and this was just not up to standard.

I'm sure many people are going to say that this film is not as good as the first one, and they would be right. Many people are going to say that Ekin Cheng is not as good as Andy Lau, and they would be right.....

However, if for nothing else, watch this film for Lau Ching-wan's wonderful performance. He is truly one of the greatest actors in the world. In the last 6 months, he has portrayed a bra designer (La Brassiere), a hip-hop mahjong conman (Fat Choi Spirit, which I have not yet seen), and an ace police negotiator (Running out of Time 2). His performances, including this one, are always a joy. In this film, he is funny, edgy, exasperated, tough, and cool. I thoroughly enjoyed him.

Regarding the film itself, the plot revolves around a Robin Hood-style thief who steals precious art for a ransom, and then challenges a police negotiator to a game of "catch me if you can." The plot is simply an excuse to set up some "cool" scenes between Ekin and Lau, and most of these scenes worked for me. I particularly enjoyed scenes revolving around a smoke bomb in a police station and an extended chase scene which culminated with both participants on bicycles. I was also surprisingly touched by the resolution of a small subplot involving Lam Suet's gambling addicted character and Ekin. This subplot was important to me as it finally allowed me to feel some sympathy for Ekin's character. Some elements of the film didn't work as well for me. The inexplicable speaking of English in various scenes, the ever-present eagle, and the stupidity of Lau's boss immediately come to mind. Those annoyances aside, I enjoyed this film. Lau Ching-wan was wonderful and director Johnnie To included some signature style. Finally, regarding Ekin Cheng, I thought he was quite good in the film even though his character was not as interesting as Andy's in the original. While you're giving this sequel a chance, give Ekin a chance too.

5/10 The title is misleading. You'd think you would get action packed movie. Wrong, just ..I dunno. Parts were sorta funny, otherwise just trying to hard. If your going to watch this movie, don't expect anything great. But if your willing to lose 93minutes of your life, go ahead.