Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame
Andy Lau stars as popular literary character Detective Dee, a former police officer jailed for treason when he opposed the rise of China's only female Emperor to the throne. Her methods were not entirely ethical, you see, and speculation abounded as to the former Emperor really died and Dee just couldn't stand for that. And so he has rotted in jail for eight years as the woman who jailed him consolidates her power as Regent for the young Crown Prince before finally making a play to take the throne herself. But this does not go unopposed. Preparations for a massive coronation ceremony are interrupted when two high ranking workers preparing a massive bronze Buddha statue – one that would dwarf the statue of liberty – appear to spontaneously combust on the work site (…). [O]nly Dee can crack this case. And so out of jail he comes. (…) And off we go through a story that is equal parts Sherlock Holmes and Scooby Doo, all of it filtered through a gorgeous Chinese historical epic lens.
(…) And it does all of this in a movie that is not technically a comedy. Tsui Hark has found his missing sense of humor, people, and it looks good on him.
Todd Brown, Twitch
Original title: Di Renjie
Duration: 123 min
Dialogue: Mandarin
Subtitles: English
Age limit: K15
