While there's much substance behind the style, its caffeine-rush rhythm sets the blood pumping.

Tykwer ups the adrenalin with a fast-forward technique that gives instant backgrounders on some of the people Lola flashes by. It's dizzying, almost like having your life flash before your eyes. But it's a rush, just like the movie.

Though it doesn’t deliver a Shyamalanian twist or create the revelatory, encompassing new world of The Matrix, it offers spare, high-velocity action with spectacular style, ornamented with ribbons of philosophical mischief.

Run Lola Run is ultimately just a goofy engine demonstrating that the artist can pull love and money out of noir. But it’s fun to watch, and to rewatch, even more than once.