Running Out of Time - 暗戰

Running Out of Time (暗戰) is a 1999 film out of Hong Kong. The movie stars Andy Lau, Sean Lau, and Yoyo Mung. The film was produced and directed by Johnny To.

Andy Lau, plays Cheung, a terminally ill cancer victim. With 4 weeks left to live, Cheung sets the stages of a cat and mouse cat between him and Ho Sheung-Sang, played by Sean Lau. Cheung and Ho meet via a planned robbery by Cheung. Ho is told that a game will be played for the next 72 hours (3 days). Cheung escapes, but Ho catches up to him. Cheung escapes again. There goes your cat and mouse chase.

I can't really go much further into the story as I'll reveal spoilers for the plot. You can read the wikipedia plot version for a more concise version.

I had seen this film back in 1999 when it was first released. But had since forgotten about it. Recently made aware of it again via LoveHKFilm.com's Top 100 movies of the 1990s, I decide to get it via Netflix.

I can't say that I really enjoyed it that much, but it was a style of film that started to define what would be early 2000s HK films for me. More story and less action. For me, HK films of the 80s and early 90s were about action, but with a story behind it too. The shift was to move away from the action and go towards story. Which is good, but just not as exciting.

A good film none the less and it does feature Andy Lau and Sean Lau, two of most accomplished actors in HK cinema.

The English name of the film doesn't match the Chinese name. The Chinese name is "dark/hidden/secret" and "war/battle". Both titles do describe the movie. The Chinese one is a much better description of the contents of the film.