Time and Tide (2000)

Best movie of this year hands down!

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

The film tells the story in a very efficient way- sometimes perhaps too efficient that viewer can easily get lost on a slip of attention. However, the plot is well-developed and to a good level of complexity for action movies.The action scenes are directed in a rather novel way- much of the intensity comes from the suspension of the action build-up, but not so much the action itself. Viewers get an idea of the setting of the fights, but the timing and place of the fighting are totally unpredictable. This leads to my third point and why I did not give the movie a high score. While the camera angle and the way of approaching the action scenes were intriguing, the fighting itself was unconvincing to me. The gang was supposed to be very professional, but from spraying with Uzi, to using a long rifle with a magnifying scope in CQB situations, not to mention in one scene the killer did not realise his Berreta has en empty mag and had to pull the trigger to find out (well, good news is at least the bolt was in lock-back position). To me a great deal of details were lacking precision and it kind of made it look unprofessional. Still it is way better than many Hollywood action movies and you will be massively entertained if you are not a enthusiastic military fan like me!

Tsui Hark is a great cinematographer. As a director, though, his movies tend to suffer from two things - jerkiness and confusion. The latter usually stems from the former, that is, scenes often lack any sort of transition, but are put together too abruptly. So it can be hard to figure out just what the heck is going on, nor does it let the plot sink in. He tends to focus more on visuals than trying to convey a coherent story.Time & Tide definitely suffers from his trademark style. It's often tricky to follow just what is happening. That said, there is a very good movie in here, although the main character, the young punk bodyguard, is not particularly likable.The action scenes are quite unique, especially the fight in the tenement apartment building. I don't think I've seen anything like that. On the down side, some of the movie, the parts trying to fill out the lives of the 2 main heroes and their pregnant women was sort of a snoozer and something of a cheap way to make the characters more interesting.

have you seen swallowtail? less drama, more laughs, less boredom, more action: Seunlau ngaklau! Scoot over John Woo, the replacement director has come to take you off your throne. This is not the dialogue from Broken Arrow--remember? seeing John Travolta, Chris Slater, and Sam Mathis talk like a bunch of third graders after school? Well, here, the dialogue is not that much greater, particularly the Spanish tid bits--there's an overall penchant to dramatize all that is being said about a cockroach (I mean, how serious can you get about la cucaracha?), BUT, there are some pretty witty lines sharking around. And the action and pacing is so refreshing! Especially after Geicko commercials started flying, mutant X showed the pinnacle of pointless shots and slow motion, and even 5'9" Cameron Diaz started doing airwalk kicks. Instead of cutting an awful lot, the camera switches angles in the same shot, and the action is all the more appreciated--unlike le Pacte des Loups, where with all the close-ups quickly edited to hide the Frenchman's lack of skill, it was easier to give up trying to make sense of the action. As the movie advances, you are exposed to more and more improbable stuff, but if that happens, watch Final Destination, and rinse your mind of thoughts against Time and Tide. Maybe I should give Zu Warriors a chance...

The best HK action film i've seen in a while. The camera work is amazing and the action is absolutely entertaining. Better then all those Matrix-HK action flicks wannabes movies from Hollywood (Swordfish, Exit Wounds and all that crap). Tsui Hark disappointed us with his movies from his Hollywood era but he sure impresses a lot now with that masterpiece of the 21st century in action flicks. Hail to the king Tsui Hark. John Woo has some work to do now if he wants to challenge Hark.