The Best of Times (2002)

The Best of Times takes the familiar ingredients of a youth-crime thriller and makes them feel bracingly alive, capturing that volatile moment when friendship, pride, and bad luck collide in a Taipei that looks and breathes like a real place. What makes it special is how it balances gritty realism with a faint, poignant shimmer of magic realism—like a dream trying to survive inside a world that won’t stop closing in. The two leads are terrific, selling both the tenderness and the recklessness with a naturalness that keeps you leaning forward, never quite sure where the next turn will land. It’s not a cozy watch—its tension and moral messiness can sting—but if you want a visually strong, unpredictable crime drama that understands young people as more than cautionary tales, this one lingers.

The Best of Times is clearly aiming for a gritty, street-level coming-of-age crime tale, with two mismatched friends spiraling from small-time hustle into life-or-death consequences. When it sticks to the Taipei underworld realism, it has an honest pulse and a tense, youthful recklessness that feels believable. The problem is its push into poetic, fantasy-tinged territory—especially late on—can feel like the film changing the rules just when you want it to hit hardest, and the ending stays frustratingly vague rather than satisfyingly haunting. If you want a clean, grounded thriller with a clear payoff, this may waste your time; if you’re open to mood, symbolism, and ambiguity over closure, you’ll find more to appreciate.