Detective Dee

Detective Dee

Synopsis

When the mysterious deaths of many loyal subjects threaten the inauguration of Empress Wu Zetian (Carina Lau) in 690 A.D, China’s only female leader is forced to summon the infamous Detective Dee (Andy Lau) back from exile after she cast him out eight long years ago.

Official Site: NA

Singapore Release Date: 30th September 2010, Thursday

Running Time: 123 minutes

Ratings: G

Genre: Action | Crime | Thriller

Cast: Andy Lau, Carina Lau, Li Bingbing, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Lau Ching-Wan

Crew: Director (Tsui Hark), Producer (Tsui Hark, Nansun Shi, Peggy Lee), Writers (Lin Qianyu), Screenplay (Chen Kuofu)

The Trailer

The Review

It took some films with mediocre success before ‘Detective Dee’, but Tsui Hark is finally back to his usual midas touch.

The period crime thriller has all the right ingredients of an entertaining production. From the minute the film commences, you’ll be embroiled in unraveling a slew of mysterious deaths.

The main character was perfectly played by Andy Lau, charismatic and confident, while the supporting cast are both credible in their acting and an eye-candy too.

There was also a right balance of the storyline and actions. Sammo Hung was the brains behind the choreographed fighting scenes, and it was excellent. Yes there was CGI being used in the film too, nothing too tacky, so that’s good.

This is a Hong Kong’s version of Sherlock Holmes, and it’s get two thumbs up from me.

The Good

• One of the more original production coming out of Hong Kong
• The plot twist aptly revealed. Nothing was given away too early, or too soon

The Bad

• Dodgy ending, plus some sub-plots still perplexed me

Editor’s Ratings