{"id":30488,"date":"2025-01-25T02:05:54","date_gmt":"2025-01-25T10:05:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=30488"},"modified":"2025-01-25T02:05:54","modified_gmt":"2025-01-25T10:05:54","slug":"blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-review-running-on-karma-2003","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=30488","title":{"rendered":"Blasts from the Past! Blu-ray Review: RUNNING ON KARMA (2003)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This \u201cLimited Edition\u201d Blu-ray from Eureka Entertainment is\navailable for purchase on January 28th<\/sup>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In this part of the world, Hong Kong cinema is known for its\nhigh energy action pictures, but naturally their movie industry isn\u2019t as easy\nto define in such simple terms. Distributors like Eureka Entertainment have\nbeen presenting a wide variety of pictures on Blu-ray, with many pushing\nboundaries and present highly original takes that even combine several genres\nat the same time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Running on Karma<\/em> is one of those pictures. Yes, it\ndoes have plenty of action and humor (at least, early on), but the story also\ndeals with tragedy, Buddhist philosophy and other themes. In fact, this\nparticular movie is remarkable in just how effortlessly it combines outrageous\naction, supernatural elements and melodrama. It was seamlessly co-directed by Johnnie\nTo (The Heroic Trio, A Hero Never Dies, Election, Drug War<\/em>) and Wai Ka-fai\n(Fulltime Killer, Mad Detective<\/em>) and in its homeland, the film was a big\nsuccess. In fact, it racked up a number of awards as well, including Best Picture,\nBest Actor and Best Screenplay at the Hong Kong Film Awards.  Now, Eureka Entertainment is debuting the film\non Blu-ray in North American with an impressive \u201cLimited Edition\u201d that includes\na solid 2K picture restoration and plenty of bonuses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story follows Big (Andy Lau) a bodybuilder and stripper\nwho was once a Buddhist monk. It\u2019s quickly revealed that the man has a gift of\nseeing the future of those who comes into contact with, but that this knowledge\noften troubles him. It seems that many carry karma with them. This can sometimes\nlead to contentment, but more presents their tragic end. When a club Big is dancing\nfor is raided by police, he takes to the streets and gets in the middle of a\nfracas involving a murderer with strange, supernatural abilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Inspector Lee Fung Yee (Cecilia Cheung) is on the scene to\narrest Big, but quickly realizes that he isn\u2019t a threat. And when she learns\nabout his skills, she asks him to help her hunt down the killer. Big agrees,\nbut is wary of befriending the woman because of her past life and the\ncomplications that will befall her. Before she was born, she was a murderous\nJapanese soldier known for beheading innocent victims during raids. While the inspector\nis a good person in her current form, he knows that karma is ultimately coming\nfor her. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Andy Lau had already become a star in the music industry and\nfeatures like Full Throttle<\/em> and Infernal Affairs<\/em> (which was the\nbasis for Martin Scorsese\u2019s The Departed<\/em>), but here he does something\ncompletely different. His character is a bodybuilder and he wears a prosthetic muscle\nsuit for much of the film. With the exception of a few scenes (including his\nintroduction), it\u2019s convincing. The performer\u2019s body really looks oversized and\nbulky, not only when he is forced to fight but just moving around. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His relationship with the inspector is the heart of the\nfilm, as he tries to explain to her why he turned from a monk into a bodybuilder\/dancer\nand the unfortunate downside of his gift. It becomes clear that his way of\ndealing with the ability is becoming somewhat superficial rather than philosophical.\nIn the process, the two get into a number of interesting conversations about Buddhism\nand karma. This does result in some funny lines about the origin of a meal, but\ndeep down he is really trying to explain that there isn\u2019t much one can change\nin regards to their fate. Trying to behave simply to save oneself from a nasty\nend doesn\u2019t really work, and thus he doesn\u2019t see the point in being a monk. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There is a lot of action and it\u2019s quite brutal and violent.\nThe killer they\u2019re hunting is incredibly nasty and his crimes add remarkable\ntension to the proceedings. Additionally, the chases and fights are very well\nhandled and dynamic to watch, adding to the tension. But the emotional core of\nthe film involves the two leads trying to grapple with the future. The film\nultimately climaxes with a Buddhist realization that one must accept their end.\nBut while living, they can do the best they can to plant seeds of positivity\nand kindness in order to stop further tragedy and bad Karma from following into\nthe next life. In the end, it\u2019s a nice thought and it leads to a more powerful\nfinal act than one would anticipate. The final interaction between the main\ncharacters, while low-key, is appropriately moving and resonates.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Despite some exaggerated elements, this is a very good film\nand one can see why it was a success. It moves at a brisk pace and features impressive\naction, but has a lot of heart, charismatic actors and well-drawn characters,\nas well as some deeply personal and dramatic elements that resonate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As mentioned, the picture on this release is very strong.\nThere are a lot of scenic backdrops, including neon-lit city sites and\nimpressive natural locations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Additionally, the extras are impressive. Two film historian\ncommentaries are present on this Blu-ray. One is with Frank Djeng, which gives\nplenty of background information about the title. The second includes Djeng and\nF.J. DeSanto, who provided a commentary track for the movie on disc not long\nafter its original release. Djeng admits that he didn\u2019t really connect with the\nmovie the first time around (some 20 years ago), but has now come to adore it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two remark about how well the picture holds up and, as\nolder men, its meaning has become clear and striking. They also note how\nremarkable it is that the film works so well given all of its eccentricities. However,\nthey note that the cast is so strong that it\u2019s all works incredibly well and that\nthe final product deserves even more recognition today, stating the themes are\nas relevant as ever in today\u2019s world. Both tracks are interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Another bonus is a critical analysis of the movie and the\nhistory of the production company. Speaker Gary Bettinson notes how To and Ka-fai\ncame to work together (in TV), eventually turning to the film world. Milkyway Image\nwas known for making movies with a dark and depressing edge. While their first titles\nwere critically acclaimed, box office numbers were low. They began trying to\nproduce similarly themed stories with a more commercial edge. Bettinson\nsuggests these pictures would cast stars like Lau and attempt to present a spin\non their traditional image (in this case, his physical appearance) in order to\nmake the picture stand out. There are also tales about recutting the movie for\nmainland China and having to change elements of the story that would be seen as\ncontroversial (the Buddhist spiritualist subplot and the idea that a woman from\nHong Kong could be the reincarnation of a Japanese person). It\u2019s another\ninformative piece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are also archival publicity featurettes on the title\nwith cast and crew members talking about the various elements of the\nproduction. To reiterates that while there is humor in the movie, it\u2019s primarily\na drama. A trailer for the film is also included.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Running on Karma<\/em> is a fascinating and surprisingly\neffective title that combines elements from many genres in an unexpectedly\ncompelling way. This is primarily due to the cast, the pacing and the skilled\nstorytelling and direction. It was great catching up with this impressive\neffort. The \u201cLimited Edition\u201d Blu-ray is also wonderful, with a clear image and\ngreat extras that help answer any questions viewers might have about the film.\nThis disc comes highly recommended. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This \u201cLimited Edition\u201d Blu-ray from Eureka Entertainment is available for purchase on January 28th. In this part of the world, Hong Kong cinema is known for its high energy action pictures, but naturally their movie industry isn\u2019t as easy to define in such simple terms. Distributors like Eureka Entertainment have been presenting a wide variety […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":30497,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dvdblu-ray-reviews"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30488"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30488\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}