Lee's Adventure
may not introduce anything new to the science fiction romance formula, but what
it lacks in thematic creativity it more than makes up for with ambitious
innovation in how directors Frant Gwo and Yang Li decide to tell this
particular story. You'll see an
animated interlude, numerous video game references, fast cuts, and a time
travel montage that will take you from the dawn of the dinosaurs to Einstein. It can be a bit much, and the film
often comes dangerously close to pushing it too far. If you can stick with it, Lee's Adventure offers a warm-hearted love story about fixing past
mistakes through a hyper stylized vision of time travel.
Devotion Lee (Jaycee Chan) has a condition called Temporal
Dilation Disorder (or TDD) that causes him the time around him to speed up or
slow down often leading to unexpected consequences. For example, he can walk to the park, and his TDD will
suddenly kick in and cause him to lose a year of his life, forcing him to
figure out what he has missed.
After a lifetime of loneliness, Lee finds Wang Qian (Fiona Wang) who
also suffers from the same disease.
When she's killed in a traffic accident, Lee goes on a mission to
discover the secret of time travel and save the love of his life.
It takes a little bit for the movie to get going, focusing
on the TDD setup and the growing relationship between Qian and Lee. Seeing a
film focus so much on the relationship helps but as a result may lose some
people with such a slow pace out of the gate. It doesn't help that the way TDD is handled is quite messy
and more than a bit confusing.
Eventually, the film evens out a bit with plenty of goofy action
sequences and a relatable journey with two great characters. Lee's
Adventure is much like time travel itself, a little illogical and confusing
but ultimately worth the ride.
