Road Rash Reviews

RUNNING ON KARMA (Masters of Cinema) Limited Edition Blu-ray Review****-

Cert 15 | 93 mins | 2003

4 Star

Karma Stripped Bare.

Writer/director Ka-Fai Wai (Mad Detective, San taam daai zin) joins celebrated action director Johnnie To (Election, Exiled) in this story of the effects of Karma on the life you lead now, is determined by your past life. At the 23rd Hong Kong Film Awards, winning Best Film, Best Screenplay and Best Actor for Andy Lau (RUNNING OUT OF TIME 1 & 2, SHOCK WAVE: HONG KONG DESTRUCTION). In this Karma driven story, the protagonist meets a vivacious police Inspector Lee Fung Yee (Cecilia Cheung, Lost in Time, Failan) who has a very dark Karma filled past life. This is their story.

Illegal immigrant Liu Yun (Andy Lau) a.k.a. “Biggie” is performing for the ladies in a strip joint, but his life wasn’t always this raucous, he was a Buddhist monk, learning martial arts and meditation. This was all shattered when his best friend Jade (Meng Zhang, Divorce Lawyers (TV Series)) was murdered, failing to find the murderer he loses his temper, this results in the death of an innocent sparrow.

He contemplated the sparrow for seven days and seven nights. At the end of those days he could see Karma, the past lives of those he looked upon and could tell how they live, and live, therefore, how they would die according to that past Karma. This leads to his present situation, where he has screaming women shouting for the strippers to take off their final garments, the one shouting the loudest is Lee Fung Yee (Cecilia Cheung) claiming she loved him and get them off. Unfortunately for Biggie, as she is undercover CID, and she is after illegals.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the town, SCU inspector Chung (Eddie Cheung, Throw Down, Guilt by Design) is at a murder scene, they also find what they think is a severed head in a large catering can, Chung is in for a shock as it opens its eyes, and from this can a six-foot skinny man emerges, while the cops are stunned he makes a bid for freedom, just as Biggie is also headed for freedom.

One thought heaven, one thought hell.

Yee chases Biggie as Chung chases the killer, their paths cross as a police dog tries to catch the killer. Biggie sees the dogs’ karma, it shows a young boy abusing a dog, and when he sees Yee’s he doesn’t want to look at it, as it is too horrible.

It is the cause, and it is the effect.

Chung loses the killer and takes his frustration out on Biggie, this gets Yee and Biggie together, and he realizes that she isn’t like her karma, and he decides that he can help her catch the killer by using the dead person’s karma to find the culprit.

So many betrayals, trust destroyed…

“You can’t take anything with you when you die, except your deeds” Is that it?

Running on Karma is what you expect from Andy Lau, but with several twists, one being that he is wearing a “muscle suit” which for all the close-ups of his naked body it is very well done. Great action and drama as usual, a must own for the fan of martial arts and their wire work.

Running on Karma is available on Blu-ray Limited Edition

 

 

LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES:

 

Limited edition of 2000 copies

Limited edition O-card slipcase featuring new artwork by Time Tomorrow | 1080p HD presentation on Blu-ray

Original Cantonese stereo audio

Optional English subtitles, newly translated for this release

New audio commentary by East Asian film experts Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival) and F.J. DeSanto

Reap the Whirlwind – new interview with Gary Bettinson, editor-in-chief of Asian Cinema journal

Archival “making of…” featurette

Theatrical trailer

PLUS: A collector’s booklet featuring a new essay by David West of NEO magazine

 

PRESS

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DirectorJohnnie To, Ka-Fai Wai
GenreAction, Drama, Thriller
StarringAndy Lau, Cecilia Cheung, Eddie Cheung, Wong Chun
Available to buy on : Own RUNNING ON KARMA (Masters of Cinema) Limited Edition Blu-ray on Blu-Ray
Category: Review