Customer Reviews

Time and Tide

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Wow~~ I waited for this movie soooo long and finally was still amazed by it! Tsui Hark really proved with this that he really is one of the greatest Filmmakers alive! Those of you disappointed with his Hollywood Films should watch this :)

The movie features interesting characters (from the leads Nic Tse and Wu Bai over people like their girlfriends and Anthony Wong to "The Angels"). You really get some kind of attached to them and the film does not get boring when there is no action scene. Also the cinematogrophy and overall camera techniques are superb. You can see that Tsui Hark really tries new things and tries to improve. Something John Woo should do too!

The Story may seem to be a little bit loose, but the part that is most important of this movie ist the Action! Hung Yan Yan (aka Xiong Xin Xin) does a hell of a job with his action choreography that is really creative and superb! It's a pity that he didn't get the HK Award for the Best Action Design (it went to Crouching Tiger, which is ok, though I think Time And Tide would have really earned it, because it delivers a new style and is inspirative!). You may know Hung Yan Yan as the "Tattowated" from The Blade or as "Club Foot" from OUATIC3. But what is important here, is that he kicks ass!

The best shootout is a fight in a big appartment Block where they actually fight BETWEEN the houses! That fight is larger than life!! And also the "in-house-fighting" in this scene is supreme. Wu Bai is sooo cool! =)

To summ everything up in some sentences: This movie rockz and the action can easily keep up with "John Woo Action" from HK. The story itself is interesting too and gives an good conclusion. The Cinematogrophy and camera angles are also one reason one should see this movie!

Simply: A MUST SEE EVENT!!!

Alright, this is not for movie goers that are big on plot and character. Still, for people that are looking for a great action movie, this is the place to look. It always amazes me when Hollywood imports directors and they make terrible movies here (see: John Woo, Tsui Hark, etc) and still manage to make excellent movies in their native countries. Time and Tide is an excellent example of this, it is stylish, well paced, and easy to watch. The plot surrounds a bartender who gets an undercover lesbian cop pregnant during a one night stand. Nine months later, she's expecting and he's become a bodyguard to try and raise money for her and his child, even though she wants nothing to do with him. Also in appearance is a mercenary friend of his and his pregnant girlfriend. The plot from here on out is sketchy at best, but you never care. The movie moves forward with such drive and intensity, that you never stop to think about the details. The DVD presentation is crisp and clear, with amazing sound and visuals which really do justice to the use of color. Tsui Hark's eye is flawless and old-school action fans will appreciate the spare use of camera tricks and CGI which really allow the action to be seen (and you have to wonder in awe at many of the stunts that these guys actually do instead of thinking, "wow, that's some great special effects). The DVD is sparse on extras, but it does include an interesting commentary by the director. Still, the movie is reason enough to purchase this flick. Definitely, HK action movie fans and US movie fans that are tired of the barrage of expensive special effects in place of real creativity will love this movie.

...I roared at the tops of my lungs after seeing this movie. Holy Good Gravy, but this was the Platonic Ideal of Action Movies: insane stunts, funny and heartfelt characters, and bullets. Lots and lots of bullets. Tsui Hark is, as the kids today would call him, The Man.

The plot, like any good HK thriller, is only there to service the action, and, boy howdy, there's plenty. Hand-to-hand fights, chases through Kowloon's labyrinthine slums, backwards car chases, and gun fights in places that won't exactly spoil it if I tell you but you'll just have to rent it anyway. Yes, the dubbing and subbing is odd; things in English that may sound cool to someone speaking Cantonese will make no sense to any of the English-native speakers. I'm sure the Spanish is just as munged up. But you know what? Who cares? You see these flicks to get blown away, not to contemplate the existential crises. Rent and watch. And don't drink the entire bar. That's bad.

Im making this short the action in this movie is amazing.

The characters can get confusing if u are not paying attention. Infact theres almost no need to pay attention to the drama parts of the plot since its pointless in this film

What sets this movie above all the rest in action is the way the people move. run shoot, jump, slide, shoot, jump out a 10 story window, rappel, shoot, then flip all in about 10 seconds.

Its just so amazing watching these gunmen perform. If u like action get this for sure.

This movie is outstanding: action, drama, comedy and a little bit of romance. It starts out fast so you better pay attention. (Or you can see it a second time like I did). Tyler (Nicolas Tse) has a one night stand with a cop (she's gay) and plants his seed. Jack (Wu Bai) is from South America trying to start a quiet life with his pregnat wife, however, his friends (a.k.a. malitia) are on his tail. They want him to kill his father-in-law or they kill him. Tyler meets Jack, they become friends. Tyler gets caught up in the maddness because Jack didn't have the heart to kill him when Tyler acidently gets in the way of his escape from the malitia after killing the boss. From that point on it is straight war fare. The camera angles, special affects, gun play (oh yes, this is a violent film and I loved every minuet of it) and the fight sceans it was all breath taking. This is a movie that one must see again and again.

I had to watch this twice to follow the plot, but it is an amazing film. Most directors put in some one new thing in a film (the amazing car chasing an el train in The French Connection, the first going the wrong way on a freeway chase in To Live and Die in LA, and so on), but Tsui Hark puts in some half a dozen new things in this one film instead of parceling them out over several films. A really great film.

Tsui Hark is without question the most creative director/producer ever to come out of Hong Kong. There are others who may offer more "art" or more interesting character studies, or even more hyperkinetic action, but Tsui Hark just keeps on coming up with new ways of depicting action, and "Time and Tide" definitely continues the tradition. Unlike many of his other works, though, this film actually has a really good (and coherent!) storyline.

"Time and Tide" shows that Tsui Hark is capable of being serious about his characters without compromising the slick visuals that are his trademark. The main character is far more introspective than usual for such a serious action film, and Tsui uses fast cuts, split screens, and other visually interesting techniques to depict the more prosaic scenes just as effectively as he uses them in the action scenes.

This is one of those rare films that worked for me both as a hardcore action film and as a story about interesting people. It definitely goes on my list right next to "La Femme Nikita", "The Professional" and "The Killer".

In Time and Tide, Hark Tsui does an amazing job of creating a dichotomy between the two characters like two pieces of string that are gradually woven closer together til they are made into one braid.

On one side you have the Tyler (Nicholas Tse) who has just gotten a lesbian cop pregnant and is trying to escape Hong Kong for a South American beach. On the other side is Juan (Wu Bai), an ex-mercenary who has left South America and trying to settle down with his pregnant wife. Tyler is torn as he wants to get away but wants to do the responsible thing and support his child and its mother. He gets a job as a bodyguard which he slips his wages to support his unborn child. On one of Tyler's bodyguard assignments he is placed in charge of protecting Juan's father-in-law. Juan's assistance on the assignment quickly develop a friendship between Tyler and himself. Juan's ex-mercenary group has made its way to Hong Kong and offer him forgiveness for his leaving if he kills his father-in-law. Juan assassinates the leader of the mercenary group instead. As his former colleagues close in and his wife gets closer to delivering the baby, Juan must hold off his new enemies and save his family.

This DVD offers the movie in Mandarin, Cantonese and English and the option of subtitles is also included. The dubbing is not exceptional but is not distracting (far worse has been produced in other movies).

Every year Hollywood mass-produces action movies but this is a rare gem in the mainstream pile of sewage. T&T offers amazing cinematography while creating high-octane action scenes which are carefully choreographed. It is refreshing to see a movie which uses action scenes to further the plot then for the sake of appealing to teen males. I do not especially enjoy action movies and find that the new ones released each year are tedious and do not have anything new to offer but T&T defies these odds and excels far beyond in its originality.

The extras on the DVD are minimal but do not hinder the power of this DVD.

It is disappointing that more people have not seen or even heard of this movie. It deserves all the critical acclaim that it has received and more.

- : ] k a m i k a z i X [ : -

Tyler wants to escape his current life and run off to a distant place. ...as well as everything else you see mentioned in the other reviews here. For the bulk of the story, he's working for an unlicensed bodyguard service. During one of the bodyguard jobs, he meets Juan who belongs to the "Angels" - a group with military-type training. Tyler's life gets more complicated afterwards.

This movie has some wonderful action sequences - especially the scene in the apartment complex as Juan jumps and rappels between the floors. The movie may have some flaws here and there, but it's still very enjoyable.

The DVD does provide a director's commentary and trailer but not much else. I would recommend watching this in Chinese with subtitles. For some reason, in the English dubbed version, they didn't dub the Spanish dialogue. I haven't watched the entire movie with the English track so I can only say that most of the Spanish seems to be translated only in the subtitles.

If you don't mind subtitles, I would highly recommend this movie to fans fo action films. If you prefer dubbed versions, just be aware of the untranslated Spanish parts.

This movie has a script, but you will have to watch it twice before understanding why things happened. The camera work is awesome as well as the stunts and gunfights. ... I'll rather watch this over any "hollywood" action movie.