JHosk

I was very disappointed with Time and Tide....especially after I read several people compare it to the all time classic gun play movie The Killer. I thought Time and TIde had some cool visuals but I thought the pacing was a little off. It started off jumping all over the place so much that I had no idea what the movie was about. And when the action started to get good it kind of eased up. It seemed like soon as there was tension building, it would edit to another of the sub-plots.....I thought it was a bad script, with cool visuals. It should never even be mentioned in the same paragraph with the killer though.....although thats just my opinion.

What did the rest of you think ??

Hendrik

...not having seen it, I cannot offer an opinion... that said, these two reviews make T&T (movie per se and DVD) sound very tasty!...

http://www.suntimes.com/ebert/ebert_...05/051806.html

http://www.digitallyobsessed.com/sho...w.php3?ID=1474

. . . . . .

d2cheer

I was expecting more action also. I found it to be disappointing also, but will give it one more viewing before I decide for sure. I find that it takes me a couple of viewings for dubbed movies to get the jist of them. But it should not be compared to the Killer which was an instant classic with me. Not even in the same league.

dleedlee

(ducking fiery flames)
I saw both originally in a theatre and both left me cold. While I enjoyed
watching both, at the end, I left with a dull empty feeling. If your focus is
action and violence (which I have no problem with) then "it rocks" and might
be "awesome" but if you want a mix of character development or some
intangible soul, well, I didn't get it. Saying that, the commentary on
Time and Tide was refreshing. Tsui Hark points out where he cheats on locations,
camera tricks, uses stunt doubles, etc. I particularly liked his comment on the Nic Tse's
escalator slide: It's not so dangerous, you should try it. He didn't explain something
that bothered me,though. Iin the final scene after the apartment fight, Nic steals the taxi
and heads for the train station. It's clearly daylight when he leaves, but when
he arrives it's night time. Huh? What happened, it's not like dusk or sunset?
Wu Bai was the highlight of the film imo. I hope he does more films.

Vanian

I think Time and Tide is getting over-hyped much the same way Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon did.
I enjoyed Time and Tide but I don't feel it is the best movie ever made. It's better than I've seen in a while but it's not the action-fest a lot of reviews will have you believe.
Also, you need to take the source of the reviews into consideration. Many mainstream reviewers may not be too familiar with Hong Kong movies in general. They wouldn't have much to compare it to. Much like CTHD.
The commentary does mention that lots of footage was cut because the movie would have been too long. I wish I could see the rest of the footage.
When the movie started, I was almost expecting a "Chungking Express" type of movie. That changed soon after. I just wish more time was spent on character development but I think all that got cut.
The movie is very well filmed. I love the camera setups and the colors used. Whenever I watch a Tsui Hark movie, I want to run out and get a widescreen TV. The effects are really good and there are some interesting camera angles.
You know something is going to get hyped when the local Best Buy advertises it in the Sunday Sale paper.

Vanian

axolotls return

I didn't like it too much. On it's own it's OK. Compared to other HK films it's so-so. Nice R1 Package though

biggen

I found the opposite. I pre-ordered and after reading reviews I thought I would be dissapointed and would have trouble following it. Once I watched it last week I found it be very cool and I didn't think it was too hard to follow. It does jump around a lot but about half way through you can figure stuff out. Some of the cinematogrophy was amazing. Overall I think it's a really good film.

yangshouwen

My brother thought it was crap.
I thought it was OK. Like a 7/10, not any more.

It had some original setpieces (jumping out of windows), but that sequence seemed overtly long (action should have been better balanced throughout the whole duration of the film). Visually a pleasing film, but could be tighter paced, with more action sequences, instead of a few large sequences.

However, I'm baffled why people say the stories hard to follow(!), it's pretty simple plot, however, it may be because of the vagueness about the bad guys and Jack (Wu Bai). I could see the whole story put on one side of a A5 piece of papaer really.

Still worth a watch, and for me. A few more.

Peep

I also found it very nice to look at but very badly plotted. And the character development was sorely lacking.

This is the first HK movie that I've bought new unseen that I've regretted. I am still looking forward to listening to the commentary, though. And the DVD is great!

rkndkn

Saw this at the theatre and absolutely loved it! Just watched the DVD the other night and am looking forward to listening to the commentary later. But yes, I admit I've not seen as many HK films as most of you. . .I like to watch a lot of French, Spanish, etc. films as well. I wish they had included deleted scenes on the DVD!

wonton

i highly recommend this movie to those that havent see it! some people are just expecting too much, this is one of the best action films i have seen.

Pants

Time and Tide is like a Wong Kar-Wei film on speed. The colors and style are infectious like WKW but the intensity is turned up to 11.

I think a lot of people here seemed bothered by HK cinema being embraced by the masses (I assure you it is not). Nevertheless, you shouldn't bash a damn good film just because it is being carried at Best Buy. Many of the posts here remind me of people who love their favorite band, but when said band starts selling out arenas suddenly the band sucks. So if a movie is from Hong Kong and you are the only one who has seen it, then it is a great film. If 25 million people follow your recomendation and go see the film and love it too, you're back here the next day bashing it. Trust me the filmmaker (nor the band) does not share your entusiasm for keeping their art a big secret. They WANT to play to big audiences. Yes, Time and Tide was marketed as the crossover bullets and bloodshed film the same way CTHD was. Just because some marketing exec hitched an agenda to it doesn't make it a bad film. Can't you just be happy that you know better.

Pants

BTW, I loved the incoherence of the film it reminded me of Suzuki's Branded to Kill.

JHosk

Pants,

I defintely did not slam this movie because its gaining popularity. Quite the opposite. I am always trying to introduce HK cinema to people...friends, co-workers, etc. I just heard alot of hype (mainly from other lovers of HK flicks) and was disappointed when I finally seen the film. I think Tsui Hark is a great filmaker when it comes to filming visuals and stuff, but the script for htis one was lacking. I kept hearing that was a classic HK story of betrayal...however it didn't really seem build up to it....it seemed the script was just there to have an excuse for the action sequences to me.

Furious

Therein lies the problem, whatever clueless person(s) trumpted this as story driven film is out of their tree. It's a no excuses action film, period. It probably suffered as much from having its runtime hacked down quite a bit from earlier edits. As you'll notice from the trailer, some action scenes were ditched. At any rate the action and visuals are enjoyable (with Xiong Xin Xin's action choreography being particularly sublime), and that is about all it was meant to be. It just be me, but I think Tsui's more enjoyable works on a story/plot level, have been those he has produced/directed in collaboration with others. Just as the reviews for Legend of Zu are telling us, Tsui isn't allways the greatest storyteller when left to his own devices.

wonton

TIME AND TIDE does have a plot. it's a story about 2 guys, who try everything they can to get some money for their pregnant wife.

fyi, both ebert and roeper gave TIME AND A TIDE a thumb up. both gave RUSH HOUR 2 a thumb down. one gave KISS OF THE DRAGON a thumb up, the other gave it a thumb down.

Peep

Loved CTHD, bored to tears by T&T.

Couldn't care less about how "mainstream" a particular (HK) movie is. If it sucks, it sucks.

Trigger

Sounds like George Lucas.

Anyway - I loved Time and Tide. I found it confusing a bit in the beginning on first viewing, but subsequent viewings cleared all that up. Despite some missing scenes that were likely crucial to the plot development, the film just simply kicks ass. It's an action movie (obviously) and it doesn't have to be thought provoking... I think it seemed like it was headed in that direction (artsy) in the beginning, but then just sank into full-action mode. Perhaps the missing scenes would've made the film more balanced, but were removed because they threw off pacing. I thought the film was well paced once we got into it.

Vanian

I didn't bash the movie for being advertised at Best Buy. I just think it's being overhyped. This doesn't cloud my judgement of the film. I enjoyed it and I also reccamend it.
This movie is actually a good introduction to Hong Kong cinema.
I totally agree with the band analogy. It's very true.
By over-hyped, I just think it's being overly praised and at times it sounds like press releases instead of honest reviews.

Vanian

RLott

I absolutely loved it, even if I wasn't able to follow it all. I was with it up until the grocery store scene, then it lost me. (And yet, I still loved it.)

But anyone who followed it all care to share a Reader's Digest-type synopsis?

Klotera

I agree fully (not necessarily about people here, as I have only visited recently - just HK film fans in general). It happens in every medium - I've seen it happen in music and in video games. Now that HK films are gaining popularity, it has also inevitably happened here. CTHD seemed to really upset some hardcore HK fans (yes, I know its not an actual HK film) whose hobby was being taken up by a larger mass. By nature, people want to be unique and part of a small, "elite" group. Unfortunately, this is not the best thing for the art. With the rise in popularity of HK films, we are seeing greater budgeting and scope for newer HK films as well as having the chance for good solid American releases, uncut and subtitled (i.e. OUATIC, Tokyo Raiders, Gen-X Cops, Miracles). So, I am all for HK films getting more popular.

That being said - I did find Time and Tide disappointing. I mean, I jumped all over it when it first came out. Ran to Blockbuster early that morning to rent it so I could watch and decide on a purchase (I try to buy uncut, subbed R1 releases whenever I enjoy the film in order to encourage that treatment of HK films). I definitely was dissappointing. Visually, yes - it was very impressive. But, the character development and plot left a lot to be desired. I never felt for any of the characters. The plot jumped around a bit too much and didn't flow that well. Not to say that it was a bad film - it was an enjoyable viewing. It just wasn't what I hoped. I want to give it another shot, though, and see if my enjoyment improves on multiple viewings.

Dagan

That might be your problem right there - seeing it dubbed. I clicked over to the dubbed version a few times and it made the film hard to comprehend and, as always with a dub, mega-cheesy. I do agree, though, while I liked Time and Tide as a diversion with some interesting filmmaking(and one heck of an action sequence - in the apartment building), it is nowhere near a classic on every level like The Killer.

macle0d

Time and Tide was an exhilirating, inventive, and exciting piece of film, as pretty much all of Hark's notable films are. Maybe a little incoherent, but still fun. The guy that looks like Mad Dog jumping out of windows and swinging away on ropes was just awesome. I saw The Blade this weekend on the big screen and it just blew me away totally. I'd seen it on crappy VHS before, but seeing it for real was amazing. The film is easily Hark's best film and one of the highlights of 90s martial arts cinema. It's a tragedy you can't get it on DVD.