# Running Out of Time (暗战)
**Running Out of Time** (暗战; also romanized as *Aau Chin* or *Am zin*) is a 1999 Hong Kong crime thriller directed by [Johnnie To](https://www.edgepedia.org/johnnie-to), in which a terminally ill thief challenges a police negotiator to a 72-hour game of wits while he carries out a final heist and avenges his father's death. It stars [Andy Lau](https://www.edgepedia.org/andy-lau) as the thief Cheung and Lau Ching-wan as Inspector Ho Sheung-sang, was produced by To's Milky Way Image, and runs 93 minutes in [Cantonese](https://www.edgepedia.org/cantonese).[1](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2006/cteq/running-out-of-time/) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/running_out_of_time)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title | 暗战 (Am zin, "Hidden War")[3](https://www.goldposter.com/zh/movie/723410/) |
| Director and company | Johnnie To, Milky Way Image; theatrical release September 23, 1999[1](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2006/cteq/running-out-of-time/) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/running_out_of_time) |
| Leads | Andy Lau as Cheung; Lau Ching-wan as Inspector Ho Sheung-sang; with Yoyo Mung, Waise Lee, and Hui Siu-hung[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/running_out_of_time) |
| Premise | A man diagnosed with terminal cancer announces a 72-hour game with the police while planning a jewel robbery and revenge on the gangster Baldy[4](https://tv.apple.com/hk/movie/%E6%9A%97%E6%88%B0/umc.cmc.4ho77sbnv51asd6p81c4vfr8d) • [5](https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/75362) |
| Screenplay and photography | Written by Julien Carbon, Laurent Courtiaud, and Yau Nai-hoi; shot by Cheng Siu-keung[1](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2006/cteq/running-out-of-time/) |
| Major award | Best Actor for Andy Lau at the 19th Hong Kong Film Awards (2000), his first win in that category[6](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews/running_out_of_time.htm) • [7](https://app2.atmovies.com.tw/film/frhk20216165/) |
| Sequel | Running Out of Time 2 (2001), also directed by To, with Ekin Cheng replacing Andy Lau and Lau Ching-wan returning as Ho[1](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2006/cteq/running-out-of-time/) • [8](https://cinemaanthology.com/movie-night/hong-kong/films/running-out-of-time/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Cheung (Andy Lau) is told by his doctor that he has terminal cancer and roughly two weeks to live.[4](https://tv.apple.com/hk/movie/%E6%9A%97%E6%88%B0/umc.cmc.4ho77sbnv51asd6p81c4vfr8d) He enters an office building, steals diamonds from a finance company, and takes a manager hostage, staging the whole event to lure Inspector Ho Sheung-sang (Lau Ching-wan), the police's specialist negotiator, to the scene.[9](https://www.asianmovieweb.com/en/reviews/running_out_of_time.htm) Once Ho arrives, Cheung declares a 72-hour game and escapes from the heavily guarded building.[4](https://tv.apple.com/hk/movie/%E6%9A%97%E6%88%B0/umc.cmc.4ho77sbnv51asd6p81c4vfr8d)
The game opens with a screw Cheung mails to Ho, and Ho's investigation of the finance company leads him to Chan, the owner of a neighboring transport firm who smuggles jewels and, years earlier, betrayed Cheung's father.[7](https://app2.atmovies.com.tw/film/frhk20216165/) Cheung, who has anticipated Ho's every move, is in fact pursuing revenge against the gangster Baldy (Waise Lee), whom he holds responsible for his father's death.[5](https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/75362) • [9](https://www.asianmovieweb.com/en/reviews/running_out_of_time.htm) Ho gradually works out that he has been used as a distraction, but he comes to understand Cheung's motive, and the two eventually cooperate against Chan, who is arrested through Cheung's substitution trick.[7](https://app2.atmovies.com.tw/film/frhk20216165/) Along the way Cheung develops a quiet, understated attachment to a young woman (Yoyo Mung) he meets on a minibus.[9](https://www.asianmovieweb.com/en/reviews/running_out_of_time.htm) In the ending, Ho, aware that Cheung has little time left, lets him go.[4](https://tv.apple.com/hk/movie/%E6%9A%97%E6%88%B0/umc.cmc.4ho77sbnv51asd6p81c4vfr8d)
## Production and context
The film emerged during a difficult period for Hong Kong cinema: in 1999 the industry was battered by the Asian financial crisis and uncertainty after the 1997 handover, and To had founded Milkyway Image in 1996 in part to keep Cantonese-language production going.[10](https://s1.thcdn.com/design-assets/documents/arrowfilms/BKLA0103394511-AFBV-NO.lo.pdf) The screenplay was a translocal collaboration between the French writers Julien Carbon and Laurent Courtiaud and the Hong Kong screenwriter Yau Nai-hoi.[1](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2006/cteq/running-out-of-time/) • [11](https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/350770/1/X.Xu_20PhD_20Thesis_202012.pdf)
Rather than filling the film with the gunfights, car chases, and heroic bloodshed typical of the Hong Kong action genre, To built it as a drama centered on the personalities of its two leads and their melancholy entanglement.[11](https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/350770/1/X.Xu_20PhD_20Thesis_202012.pdf) Shooting locations included Hong Kong business towers, minibuses, and local cafes.[11](https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/350770/1/X.Xu_20PhD_20Thesis_202012.pdf) It was one of two major To releases in 1999 alongside *The Mission*, and the pair show two sides of his mature style, one built around a duel and the other around a group.[8](https://cinemaanthology.com/movie-night/hong-kong/films/running-out-of-time/)
## Style and reception
The film is markedly restrained by the standards of To's earlier work, with sparse dialogue and moody, cool cinematography.[12](https://www.acmi.net.au/works/90397--running-out-of-time/) Reviewers observed how calm To stays with material that might have turned frantic: each of the two men is sharp, each relishes the pursuit, and as they meet, the point shifts away from catching one another toward seeing if the rival can match his pace.[8](https://cinemaanthology.com/movie-night/hong-kong/films/running-out-of-time/) The San Francisco Chronicle's review praised To's alternation between close-ups on a character's expression and long shots of the urban scene, and observed that the film gets audiences rooting for cop and criminal at the same time.[13](https://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/A-Cool-Crook-With-a-Secret-In-Hong-Kong-2900838.php) The empathy and mutual respect that develop between the two adversaries follow what ACMI describes as a generic convention of the Hong Kong action film.[12](https://www.acmi.net.au/works/90397--running-out-of-time/)
On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 90% Tomatometer score from 4 critic reviews, with over 5,000 audience ratings.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/running_out_of_time) Reviewers have singled out the central pairing: Andy Lau restrains his usual star mannerisms in a performance widely regarded as among his best, and Lau Ching-wan plays Ho with dry authority as the unflappable counterweight.[6](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews/running_out_of_time.htm) • [8](https://cinemaanthology.com/movie-night/hong-kong/films/running-out-of-time/) Some critics fault the last act, where the plotting turns more elaborate and melodramatic than the sleek first hour.[14](https://opus.ing/reviews/running-out-of-time-johnnie-to-1999)
## Awards and legacy
At the 19th Hong Kong Film Awards in 2000, Andy Lau won Best Actor, his first win in that category, and the film was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor (Hui Siu-hung), Best Editing, and Best Sound Effects.[6](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews/running_out_of_time.htm) • [7](https://app2.atmovies.com.tw/film/frhk20216165/) It also won Best Asian film at the 2000 Fant-Asia Film Festival.[1](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2006/cteq/running-out-of-time/) The film was a box office hit, and its success led directly to *[Running Out of Time 2](https://www.edgepedia.org/running-out-of-time-2)* (2001), also directed by To, in which [Ekin Cheng](https://www.edgepedia.org/ekin-cheng) took over the criminal role while Lau Ching-wan returned as Ho.[5](https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/75362) • [1](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2006/cteq/running-out-of-time/)
The film's international circulation helped expand To's reputation before *PTU*, *Election*, and *Exiled* made him a festival-circuit fixture, and the BFI has recommended it as the best starting point for viewers new to his work.[8](https://cinemaanthology.com/movie-night/hong-kong/films/running-out-of-time/) MoMA screened a 2K restoration in 2024 as part of its Johnnie To retrospective, and Arrow Video issued a double-feature Blu-ray of both films in 2022.[15](https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/9885) • [5](https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/75362)
## References
1. [David Sanjek (2006). "Running out of Time", Senses of Cinema, issue 41.](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2006/cteq/running-out-of-time/)
2. [Running Out of Time, Rotten Tomatoes.](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/running_out_of_time)
3. [暗战 (1999), GoldPoster (alternative titles listing).](https://www.goldposter.com/zh/movie/723410/)
4. [《暗戰》, Apple TV (Hong Kong).](https://tv.apple.com/hk/movie/%E6%9A%97%E6%88%B0/umc.cmc.4ho77sbnv51asd6p81c4vfr8d)
5. [Ian Jane (2022). Running Out Of Time Collection, DVD Talk.](https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/75362)
6. [Kozo (1999). Running Out of Time review, LoveHKFilm.](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews/running_out_of_time.htm)
7. [暗戰－談判專家 Running Out of Time, 開眼電影網.](https://app2.atmovies.com.tw/film/frhk20216165/)
8. [Running Out of Time, Cinema Anthology.](https://cinemaanthology.com/movie-night/hong-kong/films/running-out-of-time/)
9. [Running out of Time review, AsianMovieWeb.](https://www.asianmovieweb.com/en/reviews/running_out_of_time.htm)
10. [Running Out of Time 1 & 2 booklet, Arrow Video.](https://s1.thcdn.com/design-assets/documents/arrowfilms/BKLA0103394511-AFBV-NO.lo.pdf)
11. [X. Xu, PhD thesis, University of Southampton (Running out of Time chapter).](https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/350770/1/X.Xu_20PhD_20Thesis_202012.pdf)
12. [Running out of time, ACMI collection.](https://www.acmi.net.au/works/90397--running-out-of-time/)
13. [Peter Stack (1999). "A Cool Crook With a Secret In Hong Kong", San Francisco Chronicle.](https://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/A-Cool-Crook-With-a-Secret-In-Hong-Kong-2900838.php)
14. [Running Out of Time by Johnnie To (Review), Opus.](https://opus.ing/reviews/running-out-of-time-johnnie-to-1999)
15. [Running Out of Time (暗戰), MoMA.](https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/9885)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works) › 1990s films › Thrillers › Released 1996 to 1999*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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