It has a few cool moments..
Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (2010)
Directed By: Hark Tsui
Where to get it: Indomina Media
The Prologue
Seeing as how I did a podcast over Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain not that long ago for a podcast, I knew some of Hark Tsui’s stuff heading into seeing, Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame. And having based what I expected on what I had seen from him, I was pretty excited because I just assumed it would be a lot of fun and action packed. And I am very happy to report that fun and action packed is just the words I would use to describe this action mystery film, that while it builds you up also keeps you guessing with a cool mystery plot. Don’t let it’s PG-13 rating fool you, I would say that Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame has a little something for everyone.
The Movie
Based on the real-life Tang Dynasy official, Di Renjie… When the mysterious deaths of a series of loyal subjects threaten to delay the 690 A.D. inauguration of Empress Wu Zetian, she summons the former dissident/brilliant detective Dee (Andy Lau) back from an exile into which she cast him eight years earlier. However almost immediately, the investigation gets off to a rocky start with assassins lurking in the shadows, a detour into a mysterious underground market, and a sacred temple the Empress is determined to protect. Dee soon realizes that the strange deaths may end up threatening not just the empress’ coronation, but the entire empire as well.
Like any good mystery film should, this movie sets up a very interesting plot and “who or what done it” from the start. But where this one takes the cake over some other mystery films, is that it also packs one heck of a punch, in the form of some great action scenes. Even better was the acting, so in a way you could call this film the total package for what it is. I think the only real beef I had with it at all was some spotty CGI in one particular scene, and I also think it could have been just a hair bit shorter. But when you look at the grand scheme of things these are only minor complaints and in no way bring down the film overall.
Andy Lau, was an actor I remembered from the classic, Infernal Affairs. And he does a great job here once again as our main lead, Detective Dee. There is a lot of twists and turns in this film (some will make your head spin), but to spite his criminal past, we can always count on Detective Dee to go for whats right in this thing. And I believe it’s a character that could have an almost Sherlock Holmes life span when it comes to films. And I think that will be where they are heading after this one. And I approve of that, because there’s always room for fantasy level mystery films. Especially ones like this that pack a lot of action. And whole it’s not a short film by any means, it has some epic battles, including one that happens around the middle portion of the film that was a lot of fun.
This is a film that you will need to pay some attention to, but don’t let that turn you away from it. I think just about anyone who likes Asian films will also like this one, and to spite being PG-13 is far from anything childish. Now don’t get me wrong, I’d like to have seen a lot more blood and guts myself, but this one comes across a lot more classy in a lot of ways. It reminded me a lot of Hero and House of the Flying Daggers, but it packs a lot more action and story than those. And don’t worry, people don’t just fly around all pretty, they fight it out and it’s really cool stuff from a really cool movie.
The Conclusion
A perfectly fine movie for anyone who loves epic battles, a grand setting, and some cool kung-fu! I must also point out that as far as a blu-ray goes, this one looks just out-right beautiful! The colors were all awesome and the film was flawless, as it should be of course. So, if any of the older Hark Tsui stuff gets your attention, you should love this.
The Rating (7.5/10)
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