Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame
It's a tall order, but the Chinese fantasy-adventure flick Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame manages to quite impressively achieve its laundry list of entertaining goals without collapsing under the weight of its lofty ambition. The movie offers a multitude of dazzling treats, both of the narrative and visual variety. It's a martial arts spectacular and an elaborate murder mystery and a history lesson and a morality-minded melodrama and a special effects extravaganza. Whew! That's a lot of cinematic meat to bite off, but Detective Dee proves to be a pretty good chewer.
Set in 7th century China, the story revolves around a woman (Carina Lau) set to become the first female Emperor of the nation. When seemingly spontaneous combustion claims a few lives near the would-be Empress's palace, it's up to jailed hero Detective Dee (Andy Lau) to solve the confounding mystery before the impending coronation ceremony. Dee has been locked up for several years as punishment for opposing the Empress, so while he's more than happy to be finally released, his freedom comes with some appropriate awkwardness that activates an ironic twist on his charges of treason.
Being forced to help the Empress isn't easy, but Dee relishes a good mystery and he wastes no time getting back into good form. He teams up with a solid supporting cast and then the hunt is on for the guilty party. As the plot unfolds with a sprinkling of clues and a deepening of danger, director Tsui Hark takes us on an exciting journey that unveils a rather wonderful collection of unique locales. From the towering heights of a massive Buddha statue nearing completion to the dingy depths of the underground haven known as the Phantom Bazaar, the movie plays like an imaginative and visually potent travelogue.
Each and every setting is a dazzling triumph of digital effects wizardry and inspired production design. There are some fascinating sights to see here and each location just begs to be visited. Both interiors and exteriors feel new and fresh and manage to avoid appearing recycled. The special effects are best when in service of these attractive locations. Backgrounds are epically enhanced and the cinematic world feels fully expanded as a result. Some more specific digital additions are a little silly at times (a group of CGI deer are hilariously fake, although even that adds to the fun), but most of them are effectively rendered and well integrated with the crisp reality of the on-set imagery.
Making delightful use of the grand locations, choreographer and credited "action director" Sammo Hung stages a sensational series of fight sequences that take place in the waterways of the Phantom Bazaar, on a primitive elevator within the Buddha statue, and even on horseback in an especially enjoyable sequence that plays out with characters smoothly leaping from horse to horse. Oh, and there's even a fight involving those comical CGI deer. No action-related stone goes unturned! Extreme amounts of wirework are employed to bring these sequences to life and the balletic choreography and sharp editing help make each stylized fight stand out as an original offering.
In between the heavy doses of action and all of the attractive imagery, there resides the mystery plot that requires Detective Dee to be solved. It's a good mystery, layered with enough intelligence to achieve a certain kind of cleverness. The red herrings are not mere ruses and the final reveal flirts with the obvious while unveiling a sensible alternative. Detective Dee has his work cut out for him and his convincing expertise adds to the intriguing qualities of the mystery. It's often fun to watch a master at work and even as the mystery becomes more difficult to pin down, our hero never seems too far off from the truth.
Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame is at its weakest when it delves into melodrama. These scenes are not bad at all, but they lack the playful tone of the movie's comedic moments. And the movie occasionally proves it has the ability to be very funny, so I do wish there were more moments of dark humour to better balance the straight-faced drama. But if the movie falters slightly there, it's entirely forgivable given how greatly it succeeds as a striking visual experience and a martial arts celebration and a crafty mystery plot and a showcase of bold effects work.
Packed with ambition and overflowing with multifaceted entertainment, Detective Dee boasts a talented cast and a powerful set of visual weapons. Soundly structured, the movie pays off its promises and even throws in a few bonuses (the horseback fight is certainly cool enough to fall into this category). The movie's entire creative team assaults our senses in a lovable kind of way as they aid the movie in carving out a unique identity. Detective Dee and his mash-up mystery straddle multiple genres and tones. It's all tenderly excessive and accessible, an over-the-top adventure that makes the most of its surroundings and gives us a reason to appreciate, among other things, the curious combination of fake deer, real horses, and the magic of redefining gravity.
