Review: Chinese time-travel thriller ‘Reset’ could use some fast forward

Time creeps by in “Reset,” a Chinese sci-fi film with a strong concept and weak execution. Director Chang and screenwriter Cha Muchun create a vision of 2025, when two rival corporations vie to be the first to successfully travel through time and that discovery is worth killing for.

Xia Tian (Yang Mi) is a top scientist at Nexus, where she and her team are close to solving the problems of time travel by establishing an artificial wormhole into a parallel universe. When her 5-year-old son is kidnapped by Tsui Hu (Wallace Huo), the ransom is simple: She must steal the data from her company and share it with Tsui Hu, or he will kill the boy.

When her first attempt fails, Xia Tian is forced to use the unproven — and possibly unsafe — technology to try to save her beloved child. Soon, multiple Xia Tians are in the same universe, all working toward the same goal against a ruthless enemy who will do anything to steal the work of Nexus.

Director Chang and the production design team have crafted a bright, sleek future, and the special effects largely work to establish that world and the science that powers it. But beneath that slick surface, “Reset” is hollow. Though there are some cool moments, the film lacks the connective tissue to make an audience invest in Xia Tian’s efforts.

-------------

‘Reset’

In Mandarin with English subtitles

Not rated

Running time: 1 hour, 36 minutes

Playing: AMC Atlantic Times Square, Monterey Park; AMC Puente Hills 20, City of Industry; AMC Tustin 14 at the District, AMC Orange 30

See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour »

calendar@latimes.com