Film Name: 除暴 / Caught in Time / Caught on Time / A Penny
November’s theaters are very light, until the second half of the year, only to come up with a somewhat weighty crime movie “Caught in Time”.
The biggest gimmick of this cop movie is “Daniel Wu vs Wang Qianyuan”, or to put it more finely, some people just go to see the villain Daniel Wu’s …… full of testosterone flavor, how can not cover.
Realistically speaking, Caught in Time is not a good movie, the plot lacks highlights, the characters are not prominent enough, the surface looks hot but the inside is cool, more than 90 minutes to watch it is really too bland ……
Other than that, Caught in Time is still worth watching for its action sequences and smooth pacing, and I was also surprised by the freshness of the anti-Hong Kong movie’s “double male mode” of interpretation, which I can’t say if it makes the movie better, but I bet it makes the movie closer to reality.
[Friendly reminder: there will be spoilers below].
Let’s talk about the problems first: I think the biggest problem with Caught in Time is that almost all the characters are lackluster and boring, and if this problem can be improved, the quality of the movie can be upgraded to a whole new level.
There’s really no gripping arc, it’s just a flat, neatly organized team of tools.
On the side of the police, the people’s police, who have faith and are dedicated to eliminating violence, do have an “egoless” side, but outside of the basic functionality of the show, the supporting characters are all extremely facetious, even the main character Zhong Cheng, played by Wang Qianyuan, does not have any additional layers of characterization outside of the toughness of the character himself, who “bites the dust and won’t let go”. Even Wang Chien-yuan’s main character, Zhong Cheng, does not have any extra layers in his character, except for the toughness of his “Bite the bullet”.
It’s not that you have to show the personal side of a character to make it vivid, but even in terms of the connotations of the profession of “cop”, Caught in Time’s interpretation is quite lacking.
The bandits, on the other hand, aren’t much better for being evil, lawless criminals; in addition to being more wantonly wild, they’re just as inherently lacking in ego.
Comparatively speaking, Wu played the bandit leader Zhang Falcon is really the most rich and full character in the whole movie: love and cherish his mother, tell her jokes, but often from their own victimization of people to hear, will be a father, but a grenade given to a child to play, the most good and evil into one, contradictory and not show conflict …… there is such a devious, With the existence of such a cunning, ruthless, mercurial and vicious villain, Caught in Time has a little bit of money to save face.
But that’s it, the rest of the characters are lackluster, Chunxia played Wenjuan, only in the first acquaintance with Zhang Falcon that “from the third floor look down full of garbage, from the 30th floor look down on the good-looking” slightly touched the Zhang Falcon and the audience’s heartstrings, and after that, then no highlights.
Most of the time, Wen Juan is just the “big brother’s woman.”…… In terms of effect and impact, her several appearances are not as effective as the slow smiles and disillusioned glances of Zhang Falcon’s mother (Bao Qijing).
Many people may not have a strong feeling when watching the movie, but as long as you have the heart, you can detect the “Caught in Time” in the characterization and emotional expression of the pale, for example, the Eagles gang in the robbery of the money truck before the bank teller and the money carrier little brother, to the two police brothers to set up a noodle flag, etc., have shown “after the makeup” traces, this kind of waiting for the money truck, the bank teller and the money carrier little brother to make up the face. “Traces of this kind of dish out of the pot and then seasoned behavior, at first glance it seems to be okay, but ultimately it is just a framed decoration.
Of course, if you don’t care too much about this, the movie itself is actually not bad, Hong Kong director Liu Hao Liang and his Hong Kong film crew, for this hot action police film brings a considerable audio-visual experience.
To a certain extent, this is due to the film’s subject matter and background – due to a variety of reasons, the 1990s domestic “crime/crime-fighting material” has not been explored too much, the rapid change of the times under the development and complexity of society, The development and complexity of society under the rapid changes of the times, the viciousness and madness of criminals, the will and sacrifice of the police, etc., made the social documentary of this period a natural treasure trove for film and television adaptation.
The film’s production team put a lot of effort into the details of the costumes and the road, and tried their best to restore the urban environment of 20 to 30 years ago. Although there is something wrong with the actual performance (a common problem of most Hong Kong directors who went north), under the guiding principle of “all over the top, all crazy”, Caught in Time still demonstrates a close-to-realistic smoky atmosphere, which is a good example of how a movie can be adapted to reality. Caught in Time, however, is still a close-to-reality fireworks movie under the guiding principle of “all over the top, all crazy”.
What’s more, Caught in Time is a refreshingly unconventional take on the obvious “double-crossing” formula.
From the very first scene, the movie creates an atmosphere of rivalry between Zhong Cheng and Zhang Falcon, with the most prominent detail being the two watching The Killer in a video hall, one watching how the police catch people and the other watching how the bandits escape.
However, if you really think about it, you will find that the tone and atmosphere of that thirty-one year old movie and Caught in Time do not match at all. The former is an urban legend that is close to fantasy and full of romanticism, while the latter is a social story based on reality and seeks to show that cops and robbers are battling with each other, so if you want to rely on watching movies to find inspiration, the two main characters are afraid that they won’t be able to get much practical stuff! ……
Zhong Cheng and Zhang Falcon are similar in that they are equally brave, equally addicted to catching thieves/robbers, and equally calm – Zhong Cheng criticizes his subordinate officers for “not taking personal precautions to save lives”, while Zhang Falcon warns his men that “if you rush, you lose”. If you rush, you lose”, it shows that they are one of a kind.
And then Zhang Falcon’s defeat begins precisely when he gradually loses his patience and strikes again to rob the money truck.
Admittedly, the two protagonists have a lot in common, but there is no extra emotion or thought beyond their attempts to understand each other, to think like the other, and to be natural enemies.
The relationship between the two main characters in a traditional Hong Kong movie is usually quite complicated, and it’s not uncommon to see the relationship between a thief and another man with a different agenda, etc. Even if there is a more “competent” villain, his grudges against the heroes often make the showdown between the two sides a Gripping ……
Unlike Caught in Time, Zhong Cheng and Zhang Falcon don’t have many encounters (only the first and last two times they actually meet), and they only think about “cops catching thieves/not getting caught by the cops”, so there’s never any sympathetic element. After the romantic fantasy is gone, this is the state of affairs between cops and robbers.
For an action-police movie full of “Hong Kong flavor”, this kind of detached dual-hero drama is quite rare, which is also one of the characteristics of Caught in Time’s groundedness, right?
Of course, there is another possibility: Liu Hao Liang, a newcomer director who has been working as a screenwriter for many years, wanted to make a movie that pays homage to his predecessors, but ended up missing a few breaths of air, and formed a new style that is more realistic ……. If this is the case, then it is quite a crooked shot.
All in all, “Caught in Time” is an overall poor but watchable movie, if you don’t mind the above problems, you can go to watch it …… If you like Daniel Wu, you must go to see it, the man’s look is obviously to the fierce, ugly look on the play, but the result is still so handsome, it’s really no God’s reason.
Please specify：Yescase Store » Caught in Time 2020 Film Review: Toward a “realistic” police procedural