Rating: 
Summary: Intense, Profound, Stylish take on Blind Chance
Review: Run Lola Run (Lola Rennt) is one of the best European Alternative films to come out of the past decade. Directed and written by the great Tom Tykwer and starring Franka Potente (born exactly 10 years after me) this film starts out with a clock. You sense you are about to go on a time trip, and soon you're in the race against time. Incredible avant-garde cinematography mixed perfectly with cartoon animation focuses on Lola, a red-haired high energy time vortex. She has 20 minutes to come up with 100,000 marks all in the name of love. If things dont go quite right it's okay, because here alternate reality comes into play ala the great Polish film Blind Chance (Przypadek by Kieslowski). Profound questions are asked, and the film puts forth the idea that a butterfly (Lola) flapping its wings in Japan will effect American weather. The quantum pure spontaneity of conscious decisions effect events at every Lola turn.
A great soundtrack drives it all and the whole film fits together perfectly. A rare avant-garde success which is similar to and every equal of Aronofsky's Pi in significance. Also captures the Berlin (I think that's where it is) atmosphere great; city chaos and freedom. You must have a taste for the underground European avant-garde to really appreciate this.
Rating:
Summary: Wild, fast-paced, wierd, exciting and WONDERFUL!
Review: This is clearly one of the most creative films I have ever seen. It was a huge hit at the 1998 Toronto Film Festival and at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival and well deserves every award it won. In German, with English subtitles, this is a wild and exciting fast-paced movie that cannot be neatly assigned to a type or genre. Starring Franka Potente as Lola, her unique screen presence defined by her strong body, engaging tattoos and raggedy orange hair, she has a mere 20 minutes to get a large amount of money to her boyfriend so that he won't be killed by the mob. Instead of just showing us one of Lola's approaches, the film gives us three choices, and packs a strong punch with its theme of fate and destiny and how one tiny little move can effect not only the main characters, but also everyone around them. You can literally pick your own ending, each one packed with excitement and ironies.Most of the film shows Lola running, and as she passes by the same bystanders, their lives are changed in long-ranging ways. The pace of this movie is fast and is a mere 81 minutes long and it didn't lag for one single moment. As a matter of fact, I didn't want to take my eyes off the screen because I didn't want to miss anything. The soundtrack is perfect to accompany all the running, and the director, Tom Tykwer, uses a great mix of animation, still photography, slow motion and some very unusual camera shots. Never, once, however did the film sink into just a palette for showing off his artistry. The story and the characters were foremost and the audience is held captive, their hearts beating, as they join Lola in her run. Recommended. Don't miss it!
Rating:
Summary: An experience to remember
Review: From the opening credits where a swinging pendulum sets the pace, we hear a clock ticking, the beat of the music starts, and this movie never stops with its frenetic and frantic pace. It's a visual cacophony of different and exciting images that run at you around every corner to build in your brain faster and faster until the end of the movie. Phew. Then your heart is still racing from the experience and you want to see it again. Run Lola Run is three films in one, yet, it's the same film time and time again, but it's vastly different that only the characters are the same. The story hit's you repeatedly and builds without repetition. Like each time Lola runs past a person in the street, you learn something new, sometimes funny and perhaps quirky about that person, and all within a few seconds, so by the end of the film it has been a complete encounter. She is running to stop her boy friend from committing a crime. I'm sure I lost pounds just watching this girl run. She's beautiful and compelling. She's also hip and fit with red hair flying in the wind, a tight blue top revels a white bra underneath and her tight green pants flair at the bottom over black boots, definitely not running shoes. This is a film like no other. It's so original that I would recommend it to literally anybody who is willing to suspend his or her belief in a liner world. Run Lola Run is in German with subtitles but you hardly need to read much dialogue before the images tell the story for you.
Rating: 
Summary: Amazing? Stunning? How about.. pointless?
Review: No spoilers ahead: The story tells of a boyfriend who is in debt. Coming to terms that he will not pay off the debt with only 20 minutes remaining, his girlfriend runs to his aid to try and get the money before time is up. The plot is told three times over to exemplify three different possibilities of what can happen. I'm almost shocked at the abundant amount of raving reviews for this terrible film. I'd like to make a fair review based off of the insight and interesting things about the film, but I honestly fail to see any. For this I can only pick at it: The Music: I'm a big fan of electronic music, so I may hold high standards in this regard, but nonetheless, if you're trying to sport a film with any bit of taste, I fail to see the reason for using terrible beats laden with god-awful cheesy lyrics that just kill the mood. Often the lyrics just made me laugh. The Animation: How arbitrary! I love experimental film, collaging styles and testing waters - but c'mon! Can anyone give me a reason why 10-seconds worth of clips of animation were used in the film? Anyone at all? I'm sorry, but if you want to use animation, use it, but exploit what animation offers, and let it integrate further, even if you use it for just one scene. Even so, watching a cartoon Lola run, then the live-action Lola run just made the live-action one look ridiculous and unexciting in comparison (especially considering how rigid and stern that actress runs). The Characters: Most of the characters have no development and are boring. I don't care if the characters were only used to develop a different story for each of the three sections, but there was nothing to grab on to. Far be it for me to criticize the alternative lifestyles of the characters (ie, Lola's distracting and childish red hair and clothes), but let it not dissuade too much from the terrible acting throughout the film. The Plot: Laying out the same story three times over was just overkill. The plot wasn't interesting the first time, and it certainly did not retain any value a second and third time over. For a plot so plain and uninteresting, I don't see the point in exhausting the ending possibilities, or outcomes. For this, why stop at three? And the third outcome was just too ridiculous for me. The Running: If I see that girl running down the street, I'm gonna run her over myself and save us all the redundancy. The running was never exciting, and it is FAR from action-based as the heart pounding music makes it appear to be. It was way overdrawn and it got to be slavish to watch her going and going.
Rating:
Summary: Surprising brilliance!
Review: I first saw this film when I rented it with a "buy one get one rental free" coupon, so I obviously didn't expect much from it. I saw the fancy cover art and thought it would be a short, inane film that wouldn't hold my interest. I was so incredibly wrong, and after I finished the film, I couldn't wait to go out and buy it. "Run Lola Run" is sheer brilliance from start to finish, never letting your attention drift from the action on the screen. From the pounding techno soundtrack to the incredible camera angles and effects, the film is a wild ride to say the least. The plot involves the loss of 100,000 marks by a scatterbrained wanna-be crook named Manni who also happens to be the boyfriend of Lola. If Manni does not deliver the 100,000 marks to his gangster boss, Ronnie, in 20 minutes, Manni will be squashed like a bug. From here, the action begins. Lola frantically tries to replace the money for Manni, and she encounters many obstacles along the way. The most mind-blowing part of the movie is the alternate endings that show the various ways Lola must try to come up with the money. I was wondering how the filmmakers would stretch this film out to feature length, considering the plot begins and ends in 20 minutes, but they have done a masterful job of it. Simply put, "Run Lola Run" is not to be missed, it is one of the best foreign films you will ever see!
Rating:
Summary: A brilliantly innovative cinematic masterpiece
Review: I have always tried very hard not to say a movie was awesome, but I feel compelled to say that this German gem from 1999 is as awesome as awesome can be. I've never seen anything like Run, Lola, Run; it's a film that doesn't sound as if it should really work, yet its presentation is dazzling and mesmerizing. Franka Potente gives an incredible performance, her talents as visible as her bright pink hair. There's nothing misleading about the title. Lola runs and runs some more; Franka Potente could probably have tried out for the German Olympic team after all the running she had to do here. The strengths of this movie are its unique vision, stunning cinematography, and pulse-pounding soundtrack, but here's a breakdown of the plot. Lola (Potente) and Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu) are in love, and like most couples in love we find the man doing something really stupid and blaming the woman. Manni does a little work for a mafia-type fellow, and his latest job involves the delivery of one hundred thousand marks to his boss. Lola was supposed to meet him in town, but she was late, and Manni ended up accidentally (yet still very stupidly) leaving his bag o' cash on a train for a bum to pick up and run off with. Now he has twenty minutes to come up with one hundred thousand marks before having to face Mr. Big. Lola was late because her bike was stolen, yet of course the whole mess is her fault, according to Manni. I'll cut the guy some slack here, though; knowing you are about to be rubbed out tends to put a little stress on the system. Lola takes off, trying to come up with the money and get it to Manni before the top of the hour. Lest you think the film cannot last longer than thirty minutes tops, just know that there is something a little bit different about Lola; the old saw "if you don't succeed, try, try again" takes on special meaning with this girl, and the transitions of what might be considered silly by some are handled very, very well. Run, Lola, Run does much to show us how our decisions impact both ourselves and those around us, even strangers, in a big, big way. The movie provides us with a quick series of revealing snapshots of the future lives of several individuals who cross Lola's path, and it is really quite fascinating to see how these peeks at the future differ under slightly different circumstances. One may not be able to say that fate is kind or unkind, but she (fate) is certainly capricious. Irony abounds here, just as in life. The visual presentation of this film is just stunning, combining all sorts of illustrative elements. There is an animation sequence that mimics part of Lola's run, split screen shots of two scenes at once, and almost dizzying camera pans that do indeed compare with a lot of the elements of music videos. The whole movie is also infused with a powerful, beating soundtrack (a significant portion of which is provided by Franka Potente herself) that never allows the viewer to take a breath; there is very little danger of your nodding off while watching this cinematic masterpiece. Voted the best film by the audience at the Sundance Film Festival of 1999, Run, Lola, Run is a visionary piece of cinematic art that every lover of good movies should see.
Rating: 
Summary: This film is challenging and asking.
Review: In this film, the director, Tom Tykwer challenges to Hollywood movies, which is to break the female role. In "Run Lola Run", Lola is a hero. Making a heroin into a hero is the new way. Also, how Lola dresses is challenging to the cinematic male gaze. The typical Hollywood heroin is skinny, having a long hair, wearing high heels and smiling. However, Lora doesn't have any of these elements. Tywker's challenge leaves us a question. Is Lora a hero all the way in the film? Although Lola is trying to be a hero to save Manni, Tykwer makes the last scene close to what traditional endings in Hollywood movies. The close up shot of Lola and Minni holding hands is ironic because it seems like it is a happy ending. This ending asks audiences that "Is Lola really happy?". Lola wants to save Manni but he solves the problem himself. Even though Lola breaks the gender role, her lover Manni is in control of a situation.
However, by making the ironic ending, the third part is stood out from first two parts. The third part is more realistic than other two parts because Lora's situation is similar to what female positions in Hollywood and everyday lives. Therefore, I think Tykwer is asking that how we think about Lora's situation which is familiar to us.
Rating:
Summary: Sliding Doors Meets Trainspotting - Five Stars isn't enough!
Review: Catch this superb German film before Hollywood decides to remake it (and believe me, they will). This is cinema in its purest, most kinetic form. The plot is simple: Lola has 20 minutes to come up with 100,000 marks that her boyfriend Manni owes to drug dealers, otherwise he's going to have to rob a store to get it. And that's it, basically. Only, ingeniously, we are treated to 3 versions of her run (or perhaps alternative universes), events unfolding differently depending on how long it takes her and the choices she makes. The attention to detail is stunning, and every little image and incident is relevant to the taut plotting. A wonderfully choreographed study of time and space. What we have is a kind of Sliding Doors (or Fowles' French Lieutenant's Woman) meets Pulp Fiction with all the energy and modernity of Trainspotting, mixing drama, tragedy and dark humour. Run Lola Run is a whirlwind race against time as our flame-haired heroine pounds the sidewalks of Berlin, unknowingly initiating traffic accidents, bank heists, uncovering dark family secrets, and changing the lives of the people she encounters on her way (beautifully executed in a series of Polaroid montages) in a complex web of cause and effect. Furiously paced, and edited, Twyker's masterpiece of Chance bombards us with an entire catalogue of camera tricks, techniques and mediums; split screen, time lapse, animation (in the cartoon sense), anything to grab our attention and immerse us in the situation, and is enhance by an excellent techno soundtrack (composed by Twyker). Presented on DVD with a decent extras package, Run Lola Run is a rush - in every sense of the word - from start to finish. (Watch it in German with the English subtitles, however, as the dubbed English soundtrack is dire.)
Rating:
Summary: Curious what-if game
Review: I don't think this movie was really so much about the untypical heroine versus hero. I think it was more about the what-ifs situations. This movie is an interesting take on public perception with a heavy emphasis on the Butterfly effect. Lola has 20 minutes to produce 100,000 Marks or her boyfriend Manni gets killed. As she's running through the streets of Berlin figuring out how to come up with the cash, she bumps into people along the way who see this red-headed stranger in a hurry. No one really knows why she's in such a hurry nor is she aware of what's going on in their lives. Lola bumps into a woman with a baby carriage; what little importance she has for this woman as she struggles to save another life. The feelings are mutal from the woman, yet, three times we get a glimpse into her three possible futures. The uniqueness of the movie is depicted in three alternate endings based on different choices Lola makes in her desparation to get the cash for her boyfriend. Lola doesn't make discoveries about people until she stops for more than a minute to realize what is going on around her, and vice versa. Had she never gone to her father for money, she never would have found out he was having an affair. Had she stopped to talk to the woman with the baby carriage she might have found out she was buying a lottery ticket she would later win or was beaten or which ever scenario panned out. But then she would have missed the chance to meet her father. Etc. Etc. Etc. Questions leading to more questions to more questions. The butterfly effect is seen throughout the movie even in the beginning when Manni blames the loss of the money on Lola not showing up on time to pick him up after the drug deal which caused him to take the train to bump into the homeless man who distracted him from the sack of money he was supposed deliver and leaving it on the train. At first you scoff at the boyfriend's irresponsibility for blaming Lola for his own mess up, but that's where the butterfly effect really begins and, like it or not, Lola started it all. In the final scenario, Lola makes a different choice...she stops running lon enought to spend a few minutes with a dying man in an ambulance as he recovers. In the end, the running was for nought. Her boyfriend ends up solving his own problem. Lola wass useful in one man's life but useless in helping another. Is it all inconsequential? Just a passer by? Probably not.
If you're not into alternative films then this might not be for you. Even I was left a little confused. Yet, it's a worthwhile movie taking on a curious angle on how in some form or another our actions affect others just in the nature of our being.
Rating:
Summary: This film is challenging and asking.
Review: In this film, the director, Tom Tykwer challenges to Hollywood movies, which is to break the female role. In "Run Lola Run", Lola is a hero. Making a heroin into a hero is the new way. Also, how Lola dresses is challenging to the cinematic male gaze. The typical Hollywood heroin is skinny, having a long hair, wearing high heels and smiling. However, Lora doesn't have any of these elements. Tywker's challenge leaves us a question. Is Lora a hero all the way in the film? Although Lola is trying to be a hero to save Manni, Tykwer makes the last scene close to what traditional endings in Hollywood movies. The close up shot of Lola and Minni holding hands is ironic because it seems like it is a happy ending. This ending asks audiences that "Is Lola really happy?". Lola wants to save Manni but he solves the problem himself. Even though Lola breaks the gender role, her lover Manni is in control of a situation.
However, by making the ironic ending, the third part is stood out from first two parts. The third part is more realistic than other two parts because Lora's situation is similar to what female positions in Hollywood and everyday lives. Therefore, I think Tykwer is asking that how we think about Lora's situation which is familiar to us.
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