Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (2011)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Very Cool!!!

Blistering performances.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

I decided to watch this movie after seeing a trailer on youtube that made it look absolutely mind blowing, an incredible, overwhelming spectacle with incredible action; it basically looked like something that could rival Yimou Zhang's brilliant Hero. It's one hell of a trailer, and at times the movie comes close to living up to it.It takes a while for the movie to get going though. Sure, it's epic (although some of the special effects look a little too computer- generated, something I would think would be even more problematic on the big screen instead of my TV), but the pacing feels a little sluggish. It also turns out to be sillier than the trailer, as I realized when a talking deer started advising the Empress. The movie is rather odd in this way, offering magical touches but not really creating a consistently magical world.The first scene that really matched the trailer involves a naked woman and a remarkable number of arrows, and it totally awesome. In general, the action scenes are pretty cool.The story is decidedly convoluted and not everything in it makes narrative sense. But it comes close enough to making sense that the action keeps you from worrying too much about it.So no, it's not another Hero, but it has moments that come close. And while I would rather see the movie the guy who edited the trailer had in his head over the movie I actually got, the movie as it exists is really fun.

I'm sorry, but I really don't get on with the films of Tsui Hark. I see them as an example of style over substance, and try as I might to enjoy them, it rarely happens. Hark's style is something I'm not a fan of: he makes superficial, speedy-paced movies that look great but lack depth and substance. DETECTIVE DEE, a film about a detective investigating bizarre cases of spontaneous human combustion in ancient China, is a case in point.The film does have some good points. A Chinese murder mystery/action adventure is a new one on me, and there's a kind of fresh and inventive spin to it that keeps you watching. The visuals, despite being created by some sometimes cheesy CGI, are admittedly impressive, with the Buddhist version of the Statue of Liberty looming large in the story. The cast is also strong.But something's missing, and that's the viewer's involvement in the storyline. I never felt engaged or caught up in what was going on, and the eventual solving of the mystery was nothing but a silly disappointment. Indeed, the film descends into silliness on more than one occasion; don't go looking for realism, whatever you do. Watching this, I'm reminded of why I don't get on with Hong Kong's lavish, wirework-infused costume fantasies of the 1990s. Give me down-to-earth realism any day.Despite headlining the cast, Andy Lau feels missing in action for much of this film. Viewers are led through the mystery by his detective, but we never learn much about him and characterisation is nil. The albino warrior, played by Chao Deng, is a much more interesting character, as is Tony Leung Ka Fei's master builder. The female roles also feel a bit underwritten to me. Sammo's listed as action director, but the action is brief and doesn't make any impact whatsoever. It's certainly not the finest hour for anyone involved.

This holiday season, Indomina invites you to share in the love, the laughter and the epic martial arts! This year Indomina released not just one, but four films full of the best in martial arts filmmaking. TRUE LEGEND, the latest film from action choreography master Yuen Woo Ping (The Matrix, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Kill Bill). CLASH, which the LA Times proclaims is "a dazzling Vietnamese martial arts movie with a soul, a stylish, gorgeously photographed film." BODYGUARDS AND ASSASSINS, an epic, action-packed historical drama with global superstar Donnie Yen (Blade II, Hero, Ip Man). DETECTIVE DEE AND THE MYSTERY OF THE PHANTOM FLAME, Tsui Hark's latest wildly imaginative and heart pounding action film that had the critics raving. TIME magazine calls it "A Masterpiece!" and New York Magazine describes it as "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon meets Sherlock Holmes...only a lot more fun!". Bring home all of these titles on Blu-ray or DVD for a special holiday! Visit Holidays.Indomina.com for more.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWqWqbzh0hU

SPOILERS - sorry I cannot review this without leaking major spoilers. You've been forewarned! I liked the film, but not enough to say I'd watch it over and over again. People here are giving it 8, 9, or 10 out of 10. I could only muster a 6.5 The directing is very good. Tsui Hark does a good job of moving the camera around, focusing on the action and the actors. The actors as a whole do a good job. Andy Lau does well as do all his costars. Worth noting is the performance by Carina Lau, both menacing, and authoritative as an empress struggling to retain her throne.But for me it's the storyline that fails this otherwise decent film. It's a detective story and there should be plot twists and turns. But here the obvious culprit is let off the hook for no real reason other than he knows the famed Detective Dee. The mystery part of it fails for me and in a mystery movie, that's pretty important.6.5/10