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: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Cantonese: Dolby TrueHD 7.1
Mandarin: Dolby Digital 5.1 EX
Mandarin (Traditional), English
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Winner of Golden Horse Awards for Best Choreography and Best Editing, Law Wing-cheong and Johnnie To's "Am zin 2" a.k.a "Running Out of Time 2" (2001) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Hong Kong-based distributors Kam & Ronson Enterprises. The only extra on the disc is an original theatrical trailer for the film. In Cantonese, with optional English and Traditional Mandarin subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
Too close
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Law Wing-cheong and Johnnie To's Running out of Time 2 arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Hong-Kong based distributors Kam & Ronson Enterprises.
The high-definition transfer has been struck from a dated source but it is actually quite good. Most close-ups boast decent depth (see scrteencapture #4), while clarity is quite pleasing during the outdoor sequences. There are no traces of problematic sharpening corrections. There are, however, traces of light filtering corrections which were most likely introduced when the HD master was prepared. Color reproduction is pleasing, but saturation could have been better. Clearly, compression also could have been more convincing - there are a couple of sequences where light banding sneaks in. Lastly, there are no serious stability issues to report in this review. However, I did notice random tiny flecks popping in here and there. All in all, the presentation is on par with many of the catalog releases of late '90s films coming out of Hong Kong. Decent but far from exciting is probably the best way to describe it. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: Cantonese Dolby TrueHD 7.1 and Mandarin Dolby Digital 5.1 EX. For the record, Kam & Ronson Enterprises have provided optional English and Traditional Mandarin subtitles for the main feature.
The lossless track opens up the film quite well, but balance could have been more convincing. During a few of the chase sequences dynamic intensity rises quite quickly. However, depth and fluidity are good throughout the entire film. The dialog is clean, stable, and easy to follow. Excluding a few minor errors, the English translation is good.
I really enjoyed Johnnie To's Running Out of Time, a fast paced, well directed and most importantly very original action thriller. This sequel, however, is rather disappointing. It is flashier but its script clearly lacks the depth that made the first film so entertaining. It is worth seeing, but my advice to you is to consider picking it up only if you find this box set on sale. Otherwise, RENT IT.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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