When previews and trailers were shown for this new Johnnie To and Wai Ka Fai flick, my immediate impression was that it would be another gimmick-driven romantic comedy, akin to the likes of the enjoyable 'Love On A Diet'.  However, these initial thoughts couldn't have been further from the truth as the film proves to be far more adventurous and multi-faceted than I could have possibly imagined.

Big (Lau) is a bodybuilder by day and a stripper at night but when he is arrested by rookie cop Yee (Cheung) his special power is uncovered.  After spending most of his life as a monk, Big went through major changes when he was suddenly hit by a moment of divine intervention which granted him the uncanny ability to see a person's karma.  Essentially this means that he is capable of seeing the wrongdoings performed by someone in a past life along with the punishment that they will receive in their current one.  Perhaps not such a harmful gift you may think but when he sees that the innocent (and attractive) Yee is due to have her life cut short, he suddenly has an attack of conscience.  So in order for him to keep an eye on her, Big decides to help Yee with her current murder investigation by putting his numerous mental and physical abilities to good use.  Despite this though, the ultimate question still remains - when the time comes will Big be capable of saving the woman who he cares for or will destiny take it's course and dish out it's painful justice?

As mentioned before, you could easily be forgiven for expecting 'Running On Karma' to be little more than an advancement in prosthetics if you've only seen the promotional shots of Andy Lau's muscle suit.  However, what is actually on display here is a mix of several genres, stretching from the film's core subject matter as a murder/mystery through to a moralistic drama, which also manages to include elements of action and comedy.  For some films this may prove to be one ingredient too many but when each area is as expertly pieced together as it is here, it provides an extremely sophisticated and thought provoking piece of entertainment.  What separates it from other films that have tried a similiar approach is that the storyline always remains consistent and attention grabbing, whilst the combination of humour, action and drama is just enough to appeal to fans of each genre without ever over shadowing key elements in the plot.

When it comes to the casting, it's so refreshing that Andy Lau is finally being allowed to appear in projects that are truly worthy of his talent.  A few years back I was most critical of Lau as he continued to churn out second rate pictures that rarely seemed to test his ability as an actor (see 'Drunken Master 3' as an example).  Since the success of movies like 'Infernal Affairs' and 'Love On A Diet' though, he seems to have finally been placed into the A-List which allows each new film he makes to appeal to a wider audience.  For 'Running On Karma' his performance is once again first rate as his uniquely quiet on-screen persona is very befitting for his role as a monk, although his bad boy elements do also get the opportunity to shine through.   Playing alongside Lau is rising star Cecilia Cheung who is an actress that I believe is going from strength to strength.  Ever since I first saw Cheung in 'King Of Comedy' she has continued to impress and it's nice to see that she is given the chance to play a female lead with a real personality here, and  is not just the standard eye candy.

Perhaps one of the strangest areas that also proves to be successful within 'Running On Karma' is the addition of several action sequences.  Owing to the fact that the hero of the piece is a monk, it's not unusual that he comes equipped with a martial arts background and it isn't long before he puts it to good use.  Although they may be few and far between, these sequences are all well put together and demonstrate the right way to go about integrating wire-fu into a modern setting without appearing ridiculous.

For me, 'Running On Karma' has to be one of the most well presented and finely scripted films to emerge from Hong Kong in quite some time, and it clearly shows that the industry is back on track.  It successfully combines numerous styles to create a truly enlightening piece of cinema that, whilst not hailing the action heydays of the past, still shows that Asian cinema is capable of blowing the competition out of the water.