I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

A testament to what Tsui Hark is capable of. Of course for some that might not be enough, but people would wish he would make movies like that in Hollywood ... or every so often when he goes back to HK from time to time! With a strong cast (including Nicolas Tse, Anthony Wong etc.) for a story that is thin, but supports the action in a good way. We don't have to discuss the action scenes here, either you like the way they shoot them in HK or you're more a Hollywood kind of guy (although if you're the latter, than you shouldn't watch this movie) ... Although this movie can not be compared to his classics, it's a shame that since Time & Tide Hark, has not delivered another movie that could match (or be better than) this one ...

Tsui Hark is one of my alltime favorite directors and he handles this story with such style and effectiveness it rates right up there with The Killer as one my favorite action movies. The action sequences have to be seen to be believed with some of the most origional concepts I have ever seen employed recently.I have never seen Nicholas Tse before in a movie, but he's a great actor and handles the top role quite well. It was great to see Anthony Wong have a supporting role. His role as Johnny Wong in Hard Boiled ranks him as one of the best villians in HK cinema. It's interesting to note how some action concepts have come full circle. Hark used wirework with great effect and it influenced the Wachowski's when they did the Matrix. Hark borrows a page from the Wachowski's and uses bullet-time in this movie (special effects weren't that bad eitheir!)Great dubbing too, the voice acting was top notch. Now the flaws...their seems to be a story working here but darned if I could follow it. It seems that this story was edited so heavily that it left some glaring plot holes in order to speed up the narrative. Only the most concentrated of viewers will be able to pick this up the first time. Some parts were in Spanish w/o subtitles! In one sequence we don't know what is being said and seems to be Jack's reason for going it alone. More attention needed to be given to the subtitles for non-native speakers.All in all, great film with some minor things getting in the way. 8/10

"Time and Tide" does have a plot but it's inconsequential and soon buried in shell casings. However, what the film lacks in budget and drama it makes up for with a intensity, verve, and a creative edge which is excessive but fresh enough to prevent the usual numbing that goes with hyperkinetic action flicks. The focus in "T'NT" is the firefight with stunts galore while the more costly car chases/crashes are kept to a minimum and the still more costly big pyro blowups artificially produced. "TNT" also has a pervasive sense of humor manifested in one scene where a woman gives birth while shooting or visa-versa and another in which a man avoids the effects of tear gas by wearing a plastic bag over his head (duh). Fun stuff with flying-fu, rappelling, a army-sized SWAT team, endless heavies, and a couple of protagonists who are always in the thick of it. For action junkies only. (B-)Note: The version I Tivo'd was dubbed and there were big discrepancies between the dubbing and the closed captions. For example: The dubbed "This is no flea market" translated in CC to "This is like buying vegetables".

I think some of the confusing aspects of this movie are better explained in the subtitled versions- this is a trilingual movie! (Cantonese, English, and Spanish) When I saw the dubbed version, there were no subtitles for the Spanish lines- and many subtleties were lost on me. So I saw it again in Cantonese- and I loved it even more. So my advice for English speaking viewers (with DVD players!) is to first see it in Cantonese with subtitles, then see it in English and fully immerse yourself in the mindboggling visual elements and action. Easily one of my top five action movies- along with the Professional, Hard Boiled, Die Hard, and the Killer. Welcome back, Tsui Hark!!!