Time and Tide Review

While Time and Tide falls short of attaining the level of profundity one might expect from a John Woo film, it still remains highly entertaining.

With Time and Tide, director Tsui Hark (Once Upon a Time in China) has crafted a hysterical opera of violence and carnage. Determined to earn the money needed to support a girl he impregnates (Cathy Chui) after a one-night stand, brash young Tyler (Nicholas Tse) joins his uncle’s bodyguard company. While on a job that goes terribly awry, Tyler meets the mysterious Jack (Wu Bai), an ex-mercenary intent on leaving his past behind for his new family. The two strike up a friendship, but matters go terribly sour with the arrival of Jack’s old Brazilian crew. This is where the chaos begins. The second half of the film erupts into an ultra-fast, explosive death fest to rock the senses. Hark utilises several experimental filming techniques to heighten the action and uses every possible trick to portray his characters’ over-the top acrobatic-style gun fighting. At times the plot is perplexing and can leave viewers more than a little confused. At the end of the day though, a hitman film is all about the action and the body count, and while Time and Tide falls short of attaining the level of profundity one might expect from a John Woo film, it still remains highly entertaining. Filmink 3/5