Film Review: Epic, Unusual ‘Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame’

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CHICAGO – The roots of the cinematic obsession with wizards, the force and middle earth can be traced back somewhat to the tradition of the martial artist, and the magical realism that is practiced in that genre of films. “Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame” packs in action, magic politics and fantasy in a tale based on a real Chinese empress.

Rating: 3.5/5.0

This is an epic story, with larger-than-life heroes and villains. Everything is on a grand scale, including the ability of the martial arts fighters, the soap opera of the mystery and the vastness of a statue of Buddha that is in the center of the story. Director Hark Tsui and action choreographer Sammo Hung (”Kung Fu Hustle”) team up to combine history with the flirtation of warrior fantasy, to reveal the waste and hubris of attempting to secure a section of the world.

The year is 690 A.D., and the first Chiness female empress, Wu Zetian (Carina Lau), is about to be put into power. To celebrate this historical occasion, a giant statue of the Buddha is being erected right above the site of the coronation. The monument is nearing completion and being inspected when one of the supervisors spontaneously combusts from within his body. While palace forensic investigators are trying to figure out what happened, yet another senior official bursts into flames.

The empress knows of only one man who can solve this mystery, and he is Detective Dee (Andy Lau), who was exiled and imprisoned by the leader eight years before. She sends of her most skilled attendants, Shangguan Jing’er (Li Bingbing), to fetch the sleuth, and that attendant’s job is to keep an eye on the rogue crime solver. As Dee takes on the case and gets deeper into it, he finds more obstacles, politics and betrayal, and must literally fight his way through them.

Continue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of “Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame”

Close Shave: Andy Lau as Detective Dee in ‘Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame’ Photo credit: Indomina Releasing

Continue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of “Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame”