User reviews

In 689 A.D., the Empress Wu Zetian (Carina Lau) is building a 66 m high statue of Buddha for her inauguration as the first empress of China under the objections and conspiracy of the other clans.

When the engineer responsible for the construction mysteriously dies with a spontaneous combustion of his body, the superstitious workers are afraid since the man removed the good luck charms from the main pillar. There is an investigation of Pei Donglai (Chao Deng) and another investigator that also dies after withdrawing the amulets.

Empress Wu assigns her loyal assistant Shangguan Jing'er (Li Bing Bing) to release the exiled Detective Dee (Andy Lau) from his imprisonment to investigate with Donglai and Jing'er the mystery of the deaths. They ride in a mystic and epic adventure to unravel the mystery.

"Di Renjie" is a mystic and melodramatic adventure with a magnificent cinematography and wonderful choreography of fights. However, the plot entwines action with moments of soap-opera that might be culturally appreciated by Asian viewers, but absolutely boring and breaking the pace of the first-half of the film. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Detetive D e o Império Celestial" ("Detective D and the Celestial Empire")

Tsui Hark has done quite a few wrongs in recent years- think "Missing" and "The Legend of Zu"- but thankfully "Detective Dee" is not one of them. In fact, it is that one right which proves Tsui Hark isn't a has- been, a not-too unreasonable conclusion to draw considering the quality of his recent works. An engrossing historical whodunit in the vein of Guy Ritchie's "Sherlock Holmes", Tsui Hark's latest big-budget blockbuster is significant not only because it restores his status as one of the premier Hong Kong film directors, but also because it is game-changing entertainment for the Chinese film industry.

For far too long, the expensive Chinese historical epics have revelled in telling tales of war and sacrifice set amidst warring states or feuding emperors jostling for power. Not to say that they aren't any good- John Woo's "Red Cliff" and Peter Chan's "The Warlords" among some of the best- but their similarities were apparent, and with that came a distinct sense of staleness especially of late. Tsui Hark's entry into this genre however brings a welcome breeze of freshness, deftly combining the elements of an Agatha Christie novel with the aesthetics of a period epic.

The mystery to solve is the spontaneous combustion of two high-ranking court officials when exposed to sunlight, these 'murders' taking place in the wake of the coronation of China's first empress in 690 AD. Most have attributed their deaths to superstitious reasons, but our titular hero Detective Dee thinks otherwise. Released from prison by the very empress Wu Zetian (Carina Lau) whose ascendancy he opposed eight years ago, Detective Dee searches instead for rational explanations, believing in science and reason than black magic.

Though based on a real-life Tang Dynasty court official, Andy Lau's Detective Dee is more akin to the investigator made popular by a series of novels by Dutch diplomat Robert Van Gulik. Here, he has two uneasy allies- the empress' most trusted servant Jing'er (Li Bingbing) sent to keep an eye on him, as well as albino Supreme Cop officer Pei Donglei (Deng Chao)- both of whom he trusts little of. But that's all right since he can pretty much fight for himself, as evidenced in the numerous action sequences directed by "Ip Man's" Sammo Hung.

In the spirit of the best mystery thrillers, the real fun comes from trying to piece together the parts of the puzzle before the final reveal. Scripter Zheng Jialu doesn't make it easy, throwing plenty of red herrings this way and that to distract you from guessing the villain. There is divine intervention in the form of a talking deer, facial transfiguration that basically allows one person to assume two personas and exotic creatures such as the fire turtle. Yet Zheng's firm determination to keep the story grounded in reality prevents the film from descending into camp.

That same restraint is displayed admirably and wisely by Tsui Hark himself. Sure, there are still his familiar signs of excess- the massive Buddha bronze statue built for the occasion of the coronation; the peculiar characters Detective Dee encounters in an underground city; and even the empress' elaborate coiffure- but these visual touches add colour and sparkle to the fantasy world Tsui has dreamt up for his period mystery without diverting from the intrigue and suspense of the film. Tsui's flourishes are also brought gorgeously to life by rich production design and masterful art direction, matched occasionally by lavish costume design whenever the Empress appears on screen.

Sammo's action direction too deserves praise. While the action scenes do not rise to the same great heights as "Ip Man", he makes the best out of his main cast of Andy Lau, Li Bingbing, Deng Chao and Tony Leung Kar- Fai. The wire-ful choreography is thrilling enough to set your pulse racing, and two particular action sequences stand out- one set in the underground city between Dee and the Imperial Chaplain and his possum of masked assassins; and the other set in the towering Buddha statue where Dee finally unravels the nefarious plot in a thrilling climax.

As the lead character, Andy Lau brings plenty of charisma to the role of Detective Dee. Though the frenzied pace leaves little time for any character development, Andy nails down the titular character with the right amount of wit, intelligence and virtue. When you're not too distracted by what Tsui has placed on her head, Carina Lau will also impress you with her Machiavellian performance as the Empress. On a side note, cinephiles will also cheer the return of Teddy Robin- albeit in a small supporting role- after a long hiatus (preceded actually by last year's Gallants which sadly skipped local cinemas altogether).

With a generous dose of mystery, action spectacle and some classic palace intrigue sprinkled with some wit, Tsui Hark's "Detective Dee" is sure-fire epic entertainment that rivals Hollywood's "Sherlock Holmes". Indeed, if you've enjoyed the former, you're likely to feel likewise for the latter. It is a definite shot in the arm for the period historical epic that China has done to death over the past few years, and for Tsui Hark's floundering fortunes in the past few years. Possibilities for "Detective Dee" as a franchise are bright, and this may likely be Tsui's next big franchise a la "Aces Go Places" and "Once Upon A Time in China"

This is a visually sumptuous and stunning-looking film by Tsui Hark who has directed or produced some of the classic Hong action films of the last 25 years. The Hark films I've seen, which often have great fight sequences, are hit and miss in terms of the cohesiveness of the stories, though when they work the films can be fabulous (Peking Opera Blues, the Once Upon A Time In China, series, etc.)

This period film has an interesting mystery at its heart with lots of red herrings and twists. The story follows Detective Dee as he's brought out of his political imprisonment to investigate a series of murders during the lead-up to the coronation of the first female Emperor. There some plot inconsistencies and problems, but they're small. The lead actors are all very good, including Andy Lau, Bingbing Li, Carina Lau, and Chao Deng. All in all, it's a compelling film not overloaded with action-for-the-sake-of-action that looks at an interesting period in China's history.

It had been a while since I had seen a Tsui Hark movie. I now feel remiss in not better keeping up with his career.

Detective Dee is fantastic! The visuals are stunning. The sweeping, epic scenery and the HUGE set pieces transported me fully into the era of the Tang Dynasty. I was impressed by the CGI, often having trouble distinguishing where the real, physical parts of the set ended and the computer generated world began. The cinematography is superb.

The story was complex but still digestible. The filmmakers threw up enough red herrings to keep me guessing while making it believable that Detective Dee could solve the case without huge leaps in logic.

I found Andy Lau's performance effective, but was particularly impressed by Carina Lau who played Empress Wu. Her performance was both subtle and powerful. She was mesmerizing anytime she was on screen.

As for the fight scenes, well... wow. I mean, really, WOW! The complexity of the final fight between Dee and the person he figures out committed the crime made fight scenes in the Bourne series look like child's play. Seriously. Now, there was wire work - I know some people really dislike that stuff in Kung Fu style movies, but it really worked in this setting. I hope people will give this one a chance. I really thought Detective Dee was fantastic!

I loved many of Tsui Hark's epics from the 80s/90s, but haven't seen anything from the director recently, so I probably went in with fairly neutral expectations.

This was an enjoyable ride. Like others have noted, it's comparable to a Chinese "Sherlock Holmes" (the recent Guy Ritchie version), or a movie-length, Tang-dynasty-set "CSI". Overall, it was a rather original experience - more than I can say for most movies nowadays. There are several intriguing characters and the pace and acting are solid. While the central murder mystery - whodunnit and howdunnit - is not exactly a head-scratcher, it does provide a good structure for some exciting and beautiful visuals.

Was the CGI completely up to the director's vision? Definitely not, but to naysayers, I say, loosen up! The budget for this movie is less than that of a typical Jennifer Aniston romantic comedy! I appreciated and enjoyed the whole movie enough that I wasn't overly distracted by the not-so-special effects.

Di Renjie zhi tongtian diguo or Detective Dee and the mystery of the phantom flame is a Chinese fantasy movie that takes place during the Zhou Dynasty when the first and only Chinese empress Wu Zetian started her reign. The cold, cruel and somewhat megalomaniac woman that wants to rule on her own accord and who killed several potential enemies in the past is now menaced days before her crowning. After the mysterious death of two people during the construction of a giant Buddha statue in front of the emperor's residence, she asks the Chaplain, a sort of state preceptor who speaks through a magical deer, for help. He gives her the advice to recruit the banned Detective Dee who had openly accused the empress for having possibly killed her late husband and who was one of the leading persons in a growing revolution eight years ago. Even before Detective Dee can be contacted, a group of assassins tries to kill him and another prisoner but they ultimately fail. Intrigued by the strange murders and the will to make peace with his past, Detective Dee soon discovers that black magic seems to be the cause of the deaths. Accompanied by the empress' charming but mysterious attendant and an albinistic officer in the penal system, Detective Dee has to put the pieces of the puzzle together before the crowning of the empress takes place and soon discovers a well organized conspiracy with the goal to kill the empress.

This movie has a historic background that is though not developed in a profound way. The film rather focuses on fantastic elements around black magic, a few mild suspension moments and a couple of artistic action choreographies done by some of the best experts of several outstanding Hongkong action movies of the late eighties and early nineties. This film though wastes a little bit of potential on here as it turns out to be too diversified to truly convince in any of the genres it touches and as it lacks of a few more developed cultural and historical bits and pieces that would make the final result more authentic.

Apart of the action choreographies, a true highlight are definitely the buildings, costumes and masquerades in the movie that were created in a very precise and professional way as it often happens to be in contemporary Chinese movies. On the other side, the special effects are less impressive and often to artificially flavoured so that they destroy the movie's certain kind of magic a few times. That's where Hollywood is still slightly ahead of modern Asian cinema.

While the story of this movie definitely has a few good points and a couple of small twists as well, there are still some negative factors. One never really gets to know why the two persons in the beginning of the movie really had to die instead of killing the empress in an unexpected way during her crowning. The movie also has a few anachronisms such as way too modern ships in the harbour and the diplomat in the beginning of the film whose identity and role remains strangely unresolved. These flaws are pardonable if you take this movie as a fictional film only.

In the end, you get an entertaining fantasy movie with a solidly suspenseful story, well done choreographies and stunning costumes. The movie though has no truly innovating elements, surprising moments or touching scenes. It has without a doubt a certain kind of magic after all but it is sometimes too professionally done to touch the people. This movie is rather ordinary in comparison to what the gifted director Tsui Hark has done in the past but it's still one of the more entertaining Asian movies from 2010. After all, I guess I would only recommend this film to long time fans of Asian cinema as well as of stunning costumes and artistic choreographies. I would go for a loan instead of an immediate purchase as the film is surely entertaining but nothing outstanding enough to be a worthy addition to a film collection of an Asian cinema maniac.

As far as wire trick movies go... this was actually rather good in my opinion. I really enjoyed the action scenes, the maneuvers seemed rather plausible and life like, no major glitches or hang ups, and for once you couldn't see the wires (big yay there!) As for the story plot.... neh not that real impressed, I got hung up a lot with story line, about surviving the shot through the chest... with the fire beetles, with the fight scenes that defy gravity and all that.

Characters were interesting... Not sure what to make of the acupuncture/transformation bit. Kind of weirded me out, although it wasn't the worst thing I've ever seen.

As for the name... I think its rather lame and/or something got lost in the translations.

Over all this was an interesting movie, though I'm not sure I'd watch it again.

Some compare this movie to a Chinese take on the new Sherlock Holmes, a seemingly paranormal, period mystery explained over the course of two hours with more than its share of action along the way. All of those similarities may be true, but Detective Dee attempts to bite off more than two hours can chew.

It suffers from abrupt scene transitions, almost completely absent character development, and extremely short fight scenes that I can't imagine would satisfy anyone watching for the kung fu. Not that those scenes seemed to serve any purpose to begin with, most of the reasons for the grand kung fu battles seem to be contrived because it's a movie about old China, of course they do kung fu.

The worst sin this movie commits, however, is its plot, which grows increasingly preposterous as the movie continues. By the time the movie had run its length, I had gone from pleasantly acquiescent to a few strains on my suspension of disbelief, to rolling my eyes at a movie that's no more plausible than the recent GI Joe.

I won't take it away from the film that it was very imaginative and more than willing to be original, while surprising the audience in ways that didn't seem *too* outlandish. All in all, it's the sort of movie I'd like to have on in the background - if I could speak Chinese.

A super-sized fantasy epic -- and a cracking good mystery story -- from a director who, for this viewer's money, has never completely lost his mojo, despite some box-office and critical misfires in recent years. DETECTIVE DEE carries on the tradition of exhilarating visual craftsmanship that Tsui Hark has demonstrated on many of his pictures over the years, only here it's fronted by a franchise-worthy leading figure in real-life Tang Dynasty forensic detective De Renjie (Andy Lau), and buttressed with Tsui's inimitable visual zest and a smart, politically-tinged and ultimately very satisfying mystery narrative in which senior government officials spontaneously combust from the inside out. As in his best costume fantasies (and even a couple of his not-so-best, such as LEGEND OF ZU), Tsui again conjures some of the most captivating scenery yet seen in a Chinese film, including a 200-foot tall statue-in-progress of Buddha (complete with scaffolding and suspension bridges connected to a central tower) that figures prominently into a spectacular plot to kill the wicked and divisive Empress Wu (Carina Lau), and the underground Phantom Market, a massive, forbidding, fire-lit city of caves wherein a key witness (Richard Ng) resides. Opulent palace interiors have been seen in countless Chinese films and TV series over the years, but feel fresh here -- I don't know if it's simply new sets, new set dressing or new camera angles, but it all feels purpose-built for this production (perhaps it was?). Sammo Hung's choreography is impeccably designed and flawlessly edited, and loaded with the kind of soaring wireworked wuxia you may not realize you sorely missed in Hong Kong/Chinese action movies because so many people have knocked it nearly every time it has been used in the last decade. The film's plentiful CGI is, for the most part, seamlessly integrated, such is the level of technical expertise of contemporary effects houses across Asia, in this case armies of computer jockeys in Korea and Hong Kong (their only weak spot perhaps being an onslaught of battling deer, which are just enough left-of-field to make up for any weaknesses in their rendering). Despite being largely a Mainland production (as far as I know), this has the heart and soul of a classic Hong Kong fantasy, particularly those of it's ace director, albeit one made with much cooler modern filmmaking toys. (Viewed at TIFF 2010)

There's some very good things to say about this film. Great set pieces, wonderful camera work and some very good actors. Colourful, historic and epic in its aims, with some great but not overly violent martial artistry.

Yet for all that it ticks off on the list, it's just not very engrossing.

The detective story is a bit convoluted and tries to marry magic, superstition, rationalism and surprise. Yet, it gets all a little too confusing and not something you can accept. I agree that you have to suspend disbelief, but you are meant to be figuring out the mystery and you just lose interest when some of the revelations are made. Some of it is clever but too left-field to admire.

This is just a disappointment. I just couldn't get into this, I watched to the end and was left just underwhelmed. As said, I liked a number of things about this film, yet the sum of its parts is definitely not less than the whole.

Detective Dee is a real fun and solid movie with breath-taking cinematography from Tsui Hark, a pretty legendary filmmaker from Hong Kong.

It's is a bizarre martial arts fantasy mystery film (yes). The story is both taken from historical China and derived from a novel series (series, so look for sequels). It's a frequently zany mystery with tons of twists that might have your head spinning...or you might just be completely lost. Go with that feeling and expect it.

The story follows Detective Dee (Andy Lau) as he's brought out of imprisonment to investigate a series of murders during the lead-up to the coronation of the first female Empress of China (played by Carina Lau). The movie feels almost like a flurry of ridiculous events, which is pretty great and really different from anything that's coming out of Hollywood these days. To enjoy this movie, go in with an open mind and remember...it's in subtitles.

Hark Hsui is one of the most prestigious living HK director, his unconstrained imagination and the possess of a virtual martial world establishes his world-famously unique style in the world.

Detective Dee is his newest opus which is also a genuinely ambitious one, the big budget and costly cast seem to manifest that it is a venturous gamble, as his several previous films MISSING (2008), ALL ABOUT WOMEN (2008) and THE SEVEN SWORDS (2005)) all failed severely in the domestic box office.

As an admirer of his oeuvre, it's a great relief and I'm even somewhat surprised to find out that the film excels itself in the visual concussion, the cloud-kissing Empress statue and phantom bazaar are the steady proof of the top-notch mastery of CGI in a Chinese film.

By the contrast the script cannot be complacent, the well-drafted manoeuvre fail to convey certain convincing narrative, the dialogues are bland and the emotional link is sometimes even out of context. Anyway, as a detective story, the twist-and-turn is moderately predictable but a safe play as well, which I could appreciate it for a no-pee-moment 120 minutes.

In view of a crowded market of period films aiming at ancient China, the status quo is a bit disappointing because aesthetic fatigue makes audience pickier and pickier, plus a heavier budget could really hurt the investors, the current trend is unhealthy for the booming market, I am looking forward to expecting a more kaleidoscopic hotchpotch in Chinese cinematic region.

I saw it and to me this isn't a Judge Dee story. It is a Kung Fu movie and not a great one at that. I'm sorry - if I want to see Kung Fu characters flying through the air on wires and doing physically impossible feats in a world of myth and magic then I'll look for it. What I wanted was a good Judge Dee story - a logical and intelligent deductive reasoning detective story set in a rich and fascinating Tang Dynasty world.

I am a great fan of Robert van Gulik's Judge Dee books. I had just read "The Phantom of the Temple" a few days before seeing this movie. What I had expected was a movie with a story line set in the world of Judge Dee and keeping in harmony with that world. They are intelligent whodunnits without an overbearing supernatural element. The TV movie "Judge Dee and the Monastery Murders" that was taken from "The Haunted Monastery" was quite enjoyable.

Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame was a great disappointment. The story by Lin Qianyu was just not up to snuff. Unfortunately, so was the action. I've seen as good in TV shows like Andromeda.

To me, Zhang Yimou's HERO was a watershed moment: a masterful film, which features CGI. Since then, films in the "swordsman" genre, made by many of the masters of Hong Kong and Mainland cinema (Zhang, Chen Kaige, John Woo, and Tsui Hark) have increasingly, and detrimentally, relied on CGI. The ensuing films have been visually spectacular (HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS, CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER, THE PROMISE, RED CLIFF, THE PROMISE, and ZU WARRIORS, to name a few), but as films they were all somewhat lacking. It began to be my fervent wish that all of these estimable directors be given drastically reduced budgets and blue screens, and get back to the business of making great movies.

DETECTIVE DEE etc has much going for it. Andy Lau Tak-Wah and Tony Leung Ka Fai are given able support from Li Bingbing, Carina Lau, and Chao Deng; Sammo Hung's fight choreography was stellar; the plot was convoluted; the anachronisms are what Giants' closer Brain Wilson would call "delicious"; and the CGI didn't get too much in the way;. All very well. It just seemed to go on for a very long time, and lacked the frenetic pacing of the "swordsman" films of the '90's.

"Detective Dee: The Mystery of the Phantom Flame" is an entertaining movie that couldn't be mistaken for anything else but what it is: a Hark Tsui's movie.

Detective Dee, an all-charm Andy Lau, has been in prison for 8 years because he opposed the wife of the deceased Emperor and her growing power. But after some mysterious killings happen just before she is to become Regent Empress, he is called back to help.

And little more. The plot is just empty air. You have some betrayals, some mysterious deaths, some investigation done by detective Dee, but really, the plot is little less than an excuse. There is almost zero detective work and little tension.

What it lacks in plot or character development (it doesn't help that everyone is overacting, something typical on the other hand in this type of movies), it more than makes up for in flashy set ups, nice fights and colorful environments (even if the CGI work can be... well, lacking). Tsui Hark knows how to make everything look amazing and the atmosphere is just great, and all the set ups are really cool (as the underground city). It all looks so good that it ends up leaving the viewer with a feeling of a wasted opportunity. Tsui Hark doesn't care much for pace or plot, more about set ups, pieces and fights. The movie could have been much better if it was more balanced. As it is, it is an enjoyable time in front of the screen, but don't go expecting much more.

Empress Wu Zetian is erecting a giant statue overlooking her palace. On a visit to the statue, Master Jia is mysteriously incinerated. The supervising builder, Shutao, is interrogated by officer Pei Donglai. Officer Shangguan Jing'er - in service of the Empress - is sent to find Detective Dee to solve the mystery.

On arrival at the palace, Dee is reinstated as royal detective and him and Shangguan try to solve the mystery of the phantom flame, which burns its victims from inside and incinerates them in a black flame. He has to crack the case before the coronation of the Empress.

The film offers loads of action and adventure with spectacular set pieces and impressive visuals. The wire stunt effects are maybe a bit too much for my liking, but in general the stunt choreography was excellent.

'Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame' is an involved story that takes many turns and there's twist character reveals as well. This is a highly entertaining high fantasy film that offers so much more than just a detective story! It's also an entirely different kind of whodunit murder mystery. So sit back, relax and enjoy the ride!

It's simply an interest week of big budgeted film releases in Singapore, from India's Endhiran starring Superstar Rajinikanth and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, to the Asian martial arts film such as the John Woo produced Reign of Assassins, which is getting a special screening today before its release next week. Also, Tsui Hark joins the fray with his latest film Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame, and if you like me, have wondered why Hark has made some astonishing lacklustre films of late, fret not folks, as this film marks the director's return to true class. Like the adage goes, form is temporary while class is permanent, and Detective Dee sounds that trumpet that he's back at his very best with this action adventure.

The scale of the film within its first ten minutes will win you over with its grandeur and ambition, and it sustained its stellar delivery at all fronts right up to the finale, keeping the mystery humming at the background, while constantly topping its action fight sequences from the previous. Set in the Tang Dynasty just before the coronation of Chinese history's legendary Empress Wu Zetian (Carina Lau), the mystery involves the self-immolation of court officials with whispers that the supernatural might be involved. All these strange happenings seem to point to a greater conspiracy that to skeptics go back to the Empress in waiting having a hand in them.

To show the masses that there is transparency in her governance, she releases on the advice of a wise sage, the Chinese Sherlock Holmes of her time, Detective Dee (Andy Lau) who she had imprisoned for challenging her rule to the throne some eight years ago. Reinstating his stature, she sets him about investigating these deaths, which spells an investigative adventure in a race against time to nab the culprits as well as to discover all hidden agendas that will go against the crowning of the very first female Emperor in China.

Tsui Hark, responsible for classics such as Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain in the 80s, the Once Upon a Time in China series in the 90s, have yet to convince me that he had kept up with the times and I was afraid that he may have lost a lot of his clout with the naysayers abhorring his previous offerings like All About Women (seriously) and Missing. Detective Dee will now shut these fellas up (and I will admit, myself included), as we celebrate the helmer's vision and offering for a new audience to acquaint themselves with. The engaging and fantastical storyline by Chen Kuo-fu (also responsible for The Message) got brought to live by a number of Korean special effects teams, that your jaw will literally be wide open when marvelling at the intricate details from miniatures employed, to the money special effects shots.

Even then, there's no mistaking that it's also loaded with enough fight action to entertain, thanks to the action direction of Sammo Hung, of late hugely responsible for many action/martial arts flicks that bear his signature, creating unique fighting styles and stances for the characters, utilizing weapons seldom seen in Chinese cinema of late such as the whip, a throwable war-axe and Dee's mace, which comes with a tuning fork of a device that can exploit weakness in metal and lead to the demolition of opposition weapons. You'll have to see it to believe, and that iconic mace forms a sort of Truth object as well, one of the tools Dee utilizes that actually strike fear into the hearts of his enemies.

Even with big sets and awesome choreography, the cast was an eclectic mix of veterans and up and coming actors. Carina Lau marks that rare appearance as the ruthless and cold Empress Wu, while Andy Lau shows commanding his presence is thanks to that charisma of his as the titular detective, and you'll probably welcome the small cameo appearances by Teddy Robin and Richard Ng. Deng Chao shines in his role as the pale faced investigator Pei Donglai who starts off a really nasty cop with a nasty attitude, while Li Bingbing's Shangguan Jing'er is that loyal, dutiful servant of the Empress assigned to keep an eye on and report on Dee's investigations, and together they sort of form the Watsons to Dee's Sherlock, even though the trust levels between them aren't chummy, and takes quite a while for rapport to be built.

Sure it doesn't take rocket science to figure out who the chief culprit is in the story, but it's never always about the destination, but the experience in getting there. Detective Dee scores at all fronts with its excellent production values that you'd only experience in a Hollywood production, but Tsui Hark has through this one film demonstrated that Asian filmmakers can reach the same heights, or even surpass it, in terms of storyline, character development, and to top it all off with some eye popping and astoundingly detailed special effects used to create worlds that are of a bygone era. Highly recommended, and a contender to go into my shortlist of the best this year!

I got a kick out of or from this film, and it's definitely better than a lot of what plays in movie cinemas. I looked at the movie listing for a local cinema that shows 9 movies every week, if not every day, some months ago. Not a single 1 of the 9 had/has any favorable reviews on the WWW; not among reviews I checked anyway. So, of course I didn't go. When paying around $9 to see a film, then it better be good.

I will add a little commentary about the closing paragraph of the review posted by Harry T. Yung from Hong Kong.

Quote: "While the main focus of this movie is entertainment, it does have a historical perspective as Wu, the first empress of China, is among the most controversial historical figures. One thought-provoking question would be that if a depot is capable and the people general benefit, does it really matter if he or she is fiendishly cruel and ruthless? The movie misses a good opportunity to underscore this theme for the audience to ponder over. In the final scene when Dee pleads with the villain not to assassin Wu, the reason he gives is that the method of assassination employed would mean killing a lot of innocent people in the process. The movie would have gone up a notch if, instead, Dee points out that despite Wu's short-comings (including, sigh, being a woman), she is the best ruler they had at the time, and killing her would be doing the entire empire a disservice." 1) "Wu's short-comings (including, sigh, being a woman)"? Ugh. Ya gotta be kidding. Why is being a woman a short-coming? 2) What's the real history related to this film's story? What's factually based about the empress and the detective, plus the character who wanted to assassinate the empress? (Of course I know that the CGI and wires stuff didn't exist in the true history.) This isn't a discussion forum, so the questions are rhetorical. If someone posted answers, then there's no way to be notified about this, so the questions unfortunately remain of rhetorical genre.

Detective Dee is an enjoyable romp without much substance, kind of like that cheerleader you dated back in high school with the great looks and bubbly personality but nothing whatsoever important to say. Director Hark Tsui's film does a commendable job creating a period piece that puts the viewer in the middle of the Tang dynasty when China's empire rivaled that of Ancient Rome. The visuals are stunning and the towering Empress Wu statue adds a mystical aura to the film despite the small special effects budget.

The mystery plot however is not fully developed with too many leaps in logic and petty motives to please most fans of the genre and the action sequences fail to add any new twists, just more unbelievable "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" wire tricks that seem out of place in the historical setting.

I'm sure this movie would have been more enjoyable in Mandarin - the English voice-over dialog was stilted and shallow and strangely enough the subtitles varied considerably from the voice-over so "fire beetles" becomes "fire turtles" in the voice-over. Perhaps the word for "beetle" is "turtle" in Chinese but I was personally disappointed to see that the vicious flaming snapping turtles I had visualized turned out to be harmless-looking creepy crawlers!

a few years after the huge success of tiger and dragon such a flood of "historical" Chinese movies followed that i stopped watching after House of Flying Daggers and Hero. Somehow i decided to watch Detective Dee nevertheless and must say i do not regret this. it is quite an achievement in visuals, acting and story. watching the improvement of CGI one can only compare it to the bunch of mega-million Hollywood movies and see how shallow they usually are.

this movie has actually an intriguing storyline and i liked the quality of the production; it has some, i'd say - quirks, but they should be related to the fact that the movie was created by a different culture than Europeans, so we can't understand completely all the movie has to say and how it says it.

still - worth seeing!; congratulations to the makers of the movie

It's 689 A.D. China. Wu Zetian is set to be crowned as the first female empress. She faces great opposition ready to overthrow her. A towering Buddha is under construction for her inauguration. During a tour with a foreign ambassador, an official spontaneously combust. Officer Pei Donglai goes to investigate and his superior is killed. Shangguan Jing'er is the Empress' attendant. Dee is released from prison and reinstated as the Imperial Commissioner to solve Phantom Flame Case.

I started out much more invested in the mystery. The movie sets up a great Sherlock mystery to solve. Then it overflows with wild fight spectacular. It's imaginative fun but the mystery gets muddled. It does some bizarre acupuncture plastic surgery and hallucinatory bucks. It's so wild that the movie loses its meaning for me. I just lose my way in this funhouse martial arts movie.