Fresh Reviews: "Detective Dee And The Mystery Of The Phantom Flame"

Rated PG for violence.

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I think it's safe to say that an overwhelming majority of U.S. audiences who have fallen under the spell of the unique, incomparable Hong Kong masters of action cinema have developed a virtual addiction to it and can go into withdrawal pangs when deprived of it for too long. So imagine the plight of the moviegoer who once was able to see Hong Kong films every week (through the courtesy of Mpls.' own Asian Media Access) and then suddenly became cut off when their film program ended (for the time being). At most, once or twice a year we might catch something at a local art house, if that. And there are those of us (like myself) with no home video. So I was truly ecstatic when I heard that the latest movie of the great Tsui Hark (creator of the "Chinese Ghost Story" and "Once Upon A Time In China" series) was going to be opening for regular daily showings at the 900-seat Landmark Uptown theatre. Now, having seen the movie, I'm even more ecstatic.

In the year 690 A.D., Empress Wu is about to ascent to the throne as the first woman emperor in history. But there are forces who don't want to see her assume power, and some of them appear to be resorting to murder most unusual: Empress Wu's underlings have a tendency to spontaneously burst into flame in a way that makes it clear a sinister force is behind it. The Empress is so desperate that she calls upon Detective Dee, whom she considers a traitor, to unravel the solution to this bizarre case and in the process save the empire.

American action movies can be fun at their best. But nothing in the world compares to a great Hong Kong action movie, and nobody can do that kind of film better than Tsui Hark. Still as ever the master of action-packed wire-work scenes, Tsui has added much more sophisticated special effects to his work than Hong Kong films have often had in the past. While the actual fight scenes are pretty clearly real (aided by wires, of course) that is some spectacular action in this movie that HAS to be computer generated, but never calls attention to itself as such. We see several characters demonstrate the unusual ability to basically shape-shift in scenes that are in one instance quite funny, in the other stunning, and in both cases amazingly realistic looking. And the destruction wreaked by a gigantic Bhudda figure toppling onto the royal palace is obviously CGI. But it works to the benefit of the story, as it should.

Tsui has a number of trademarks that long-time fans will recognize and they certainly make themselves felt here. He loves to play around with the concept of gender roles, and why we consider certain traits to be limited to one gender. We see much of this with the character of Empress Wu, but also with another male character transfiguring into a woman (NOT the first time this has happened in a Tsui Hark film). It's the same character, with the same traits as both male and female. If THAT doesn't provide you with plenty of food for thought, I don't know what will.

This movie also gives you a little bit of something of every possible kind of action movie in ways western movies never do. It's an effective historical period piece. It's a fantasy story. It's a detective story. It's scary,it's funny. It even has just a touch of political commentary for the modern age as Detective Dee tells an underling of the Empress that she shouldn't use torture on a prisoner because not only does torture never really work, but it will alienate the public from their rulers and make them resent that rule (sound familiar at all?). It's also filled with great performances (something action movies don't always feel compelled to provide) from some of Hong Kong's great action stars like Andy Lau, Teddy Robin, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Carina Lau and one of my personal under-rated favorites, Richard Ng, who provides some funny moments until he transfigures. Not to mention top notch action choreography from none other than Sammo Hung.

Ask yourself; when was the last time you saw a fight scene in which a sighted character helps a blind character fight a battle by instructing him exactly where his opponent is approaching him from ("one centimeter to the left... two centimeters up..." ) so effectively that the blind man wins the fight? And if you can name a film that did this, did it also feature a scene in which our hero does heroic battle against a herd of charging enraged deer armed with no weapons at all, only his martial arts skills? Well, you get to see both of those scenes in "Detective Dee and The Mystery Of The Phantom Flame". I don't think there's any possible element you could love about action films that this one doesn't include. If you don't happen to live in an area where it's playing (or is going to play), you'll have to resort to video, but I hope you luck out and can find it somewhere in a theatre near you, either now or soon. There truly is nothing else like watching a classic Hong Kong film by Tsui Hark on the big screen. And I really mean that... NOTHING like it.