Franka Potente is the title character who has to run when she gets a call from her boyfriend Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu). It seems he's left 100,000 marks that were entrusted to his care on the subway, and he's got 20 minutes to retrieve them before he has to meet with his dangerous boss who will kill him if he doesn't bring the cash. It's up to Lola, whom Manni blames for the loss, to help save his life. But how is she supposed to get so much money so soon? The answer is definitely underwhelming.
   Writer/director Tom Tykwer doesn't have enough imagination to fashion a cohesive movie out of this theme, so he resorts to splitting the film into three vignettes, each one a very slight variation on the theme, with Lola running and either her or Manni resolving the problem. Compared to the alternate scenarios envisioned in "Sliding Doors" or "Blind Chance," "Run Lola Run" comes across as pedestrian and it stretches credibility that in a mere 20 minutes Lola can run from her home to her father's office and then to Manni; it looks like she's been running for hours.
   Tykwer jazzes (or clutters) all this up with some admittedly nice animation by Gil Alkabetz and a lot of unnecessary quick cuts and overdone imagery. Potente seems to have some talent but she never stands still long enough for us to see whether she can act. The film's best conceit: the quick snapshots of some of the people Lola passes during her run, which reveal their dreams and destinies. Otherwise, this is a gimmick in search of a movie.    Starring Franka Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu and Herbert Knaup. Directed and written by Tom Tykwer. Produced by Stefan Arndt. A Sony Classics release. Drama. Rated R for some violence and language. Running time: 81 min.