If Time and Tide were simply a Hong Kong-style action flic, it would hold its own. Fortunately for we viewers, it manages a sense of humor and special effects enough to put fear into the hearts of the purveyors of all the Matrix rip-offs coming out of Hollywood. The action is non-stop, the cinematography is dizzying and the lack of pretense so expertly maintained that when a scenario straight out of Rambo pops up, complete with the police chief handing a gun to the bad guy he just caught, turning him loose to get the really bad guy and saying “The law doesn’t account for some situations”, instead of rolling your eyes in disgust, you’ll be laughing right along with the director at how perfectly it fits into the film. The manic cutting makes the plot a challenge to follow, but if you relax and absorb, enough is revealed to leave you feeling like you didn’t miss anything. On par or better than John Woo and a lot more fun.