[NB- this post is a slightly revised version of one that I published earlier]
春節快樂！
As we are in the midst of the 15 days to celebrate Chinese New Year (aka Spring Festival), I wanted to give some props to my favorite Chinese action mystery film, Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame:
Set in Tang Dynasty China, at the beginning of the reign of Wu Zetian (武則天), the first and only Chinese empress to rule in her own name, the country is rife with plots and intrigue against the throne. After a couple of officials spontaneously combust (the titular flame), the Empress releases her old foe, former imperial magistrate and rebel Di Renjie (狄仁傑, the titular character), from prison and orders him to get to the bottom of this baffling mystery. This, of course, is easier said than done, not only because of the tangled schemes of the Empress and other political factions, but also because Di's own assistants, Officer Shangguan Jing'er and Officer Pei Donglai, have interests that are not entirely aligned with the good detective's. The result is an excellent series of twists and turns where you're not sure who's playing whom.
Like Guy Ritchie's excellent Sherlock Holmes films, to which it is often favorably compared, Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame is a multi-genre reimagining of a classic character, who in turn is based on the actual Di Renjie, a celebrated Chinese official.
Directed by the acclaimed Tsui Hark and with a large (by Hong Kong standards) budget, Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame is a lavish historical thriller that works as both a detective movie and a martial arts flick. The set and costume design are gorgeous, while the story is breezy fun with just the right amounts of suspense, spookiness and mysticism. And with the legendary Sammo Hung as action director, you know the fight choreography will be top notch.
Leading a stellar cast, the great Andy Lau plays the titular detective with intelligence, wit, and aplomb. Furthermore, to prepare for his role in the film, Lau studied criminal psychology, which adds to the verisimilitude as Detective Dee conducts his investigation. In addition, giving the detective a strong cast of characters to play against elevates the work: Detective Dee's verbal jousts with the Empress, played by Carina Lau, Andy's wife, in her first film role in four years, are some of the best scenes in the movie.
All in all, Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame is an excellent film. If you would like to watch a Chinese martial arts film or historical drama with unexpected depth and superb execution, you could do a lot worse than this gem.
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