RUNNING ON KARMA (2003), dir. Johnnie To, Wai Ka-Fai

“Running on Karma” throws cops, kung fu, even a little slapstick comedy into a blender before giving them all a good spin. What results is a surprisingly-deep movie that’s as much about the teachings of Buddhism as the adventures of a super-powered monk, whose muscles would give the Hulk a run for his money.

The film opens with two storylines converging on the streets of Hong Kong: a male strip show gets busted by police, and a young cop named Yee (Cecilia Cheung) ends up chasing after one of the dancers, the very Schwarzenegger-looking Big (Andy Lau, wearing a muscle suit). Meanwhile, detectives from the Criminal Investigation Department are attacked by the prime suspect in an Indian immigrant’s death. During the ensuing chaos, the suspect escapes, Yee accidentally shoots a police dog, and Big has visions (which resemble static-filled television) of a boy chasing after another dog with a stick.

“I can see karma,” Big tells Yee after she rescues him from a brutal police beating, explaining that he is able to see a person or animal’s previous life, which can often predict what will happen in their current one. With the police dog, it was a case of karma coming back around, as it had once been a child who savagely beat a canine to death. Looking at Yee, who is ordered to help CID with their case, Big sees a military general in her own prior life, and offers to help using his mystical insights and knowledge of martial arts. After staring at the victim in the mortuary, he concludes the crime is the result of hatred so deep that it can only mean “many lifetimes of betrayal and trust,” which turns out to be an important clue.

With her guts and his big muscles, supernatural senses, and as it turns out, ability to float on air like a feather, it isn’t long before they track down CID’s suspect, who in the tradition of kung fu movies has skills that perfectly contrast with Big’s. Following the collar, he and Yee start running into each other more regularly: him helping to protect her during dangerous cases; her going to see him compete on the amateur boxing circuit. At this point, audiences would be forgiven for including the superhero film in “Running on Karma’s” genre mash-up, despite the noticeable lack of secret identities and costumes. Even Yee, who starts investigating Big’s past as a monk, only to discover that the loss of a close friend caused him to give up his life as an ascetic, cannot overlook the similarity; she muses on how amazing life must be that someone as average as her has an extraordinary person like him watching over her.

Alas, just when it seems both protagonists are on their way to a mutually-beneficial friendship, maybe even romance, the filmmakers throw in a twist that sends “Running on Karma” off the beaten path, and toward an ending that is heartbreaking, and also genuinely thoughtful. It’s here that Johnnie To and Wai Ka-Fai both show they have more in mind than just wire-fighting fun; indeed, this may be a movie ostensibly about Eastern religion, but it has a message that can be applied to faith in general: that the challenge of spiritual enlightenment isn’t keeping up the practice of religious ideals, it’s not letting go of them, despite a world that challenges those beliefs constantly.

The seriousness of the third act may surprise some viewers, given how the first hour does have some comedic moments, namely the sight of Big, oversize muscles and all, attempting to ride a moped with disastrous results. I assume Big had to be a larger-than-life character in order to seem analogous to Buddha himself, but the prosthetic suit is the worst thing in the movie. Although his appearance gradually stops being a distraction as he appears more frequently with clothing on, there are moments when bad lighting, or having Big shirtless and supposedly performing acrobatic moves in mid-air, are such that even Lau’s considerable charisma cannot overcome the fakery. But even if these problems result in “Running on Karma” not being a great movie, it’s still a good one.

Overall rating: *** (out of ****)