6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Johnny To and Law Wing-Cheung's sequel to To's popular action film Running out of Time plunges the hostage negotiator hero of that film, Sang (Lau Ching-Wan), into a whole new adventure. In Running out of Time 2 Sang has been promoted to a dull desk job, but when Ken (Ekin Cheng), a suave art thief with talent for magic tricks and an array of heist plots up his sleeve, draws Sang into a hostage situation, the chase is on all over again. The bulk of the film is a high-stakes cat-and-mouse game, with Ken keeping one step ahead of Sang; his bumbling sidekick, Assistant Commissioner Wong Kai Fa (Hui Shiu-hung); and Teresa (Kelly Lin), a beautiful insurance executive with a lot to lose if Ken's most dastardly plan succeeds.
Starring: Ching Wan Lau, Ekin Cheng, Kelly Lin, Suet Lam, Shiu-Hung HuiForeign | 100% |
Crime | 12% |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Cantonese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Mandarin: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (A, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Law Wing-cheong and Johnnie To's "Running Out of Time 2" (2001) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the release include cast and crew interviews; Yves Montmayeur's documentary "Hong Kong Stories"; vintage promotional materials for the film; and more. In Cantonese, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A/B "locked".
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Running Out of Time II arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.
The technical presentation of Running of Out of Time 2 is every bit as underwhelming as that of Running Out of Time. For example, there are many areas of the film with outdoor and indoor footage where depth simply isn't proper (see screencaptures #3 and 10). Grain once again tends to be very noisy and in darker areas collapses and flattens existing detail. It is very easy to tell that in many areas the dynamic range of the visuals is off as well (see screencapture #5). Color balance isn't very convincing either. Saturation could and should be quite a bit better, plus various supporting darker nuances are not properly expanded. To be honest, this isn't how a proper 2K master should look. Image stability is very good. (Note: This release plays perfectly on my Region-A player).
There are three standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, and English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.
I viewed the entire film with the Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. I did not encounter any anomalies to report in our review. Clarity, sharpness, depth, and stability were excellent. While this should not be surprising, I must mention that on the old Blu-ray release that I have in my library balance could be improved. The English translation is definitely better.
I can only recommend this release for the fine archival bonus features and particularly Yves Montmayeur documentary about Hong Kong cinema mythology. The sequel to Running Out of Time isn't a good film, but if you see the original film, you will like want to spend a night with it. Regrettably, I find its technical presentation unconvincing as well. The two films are included in this two-disc box set.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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