Detective Dee: Mystery of the Phantom Flame
(2010)
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Detective Dee: Mystery of the Phantom Flame
(2010)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Tony Leung Ka Fai | ... |
Shatuo Zhong
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Chao Deng | ... |
Pei Donglai
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| Carina Lau | ... | ||
| Bingbing Li | ... |
Shangguan Jing'er
(as Li Bing Bing)
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| Andy Lau | ... | ||
| Jean-Michel Casanova | ... |
General Aspar
(as Michel)
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Sos Haroyan | ... |
Assistant to Umayyad Ambassador
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Jialin Zhao | ... |
Interpreter
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Yan Qin | ... |
Jia Yi
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Jinshan Liu | ... |
Xue Yong
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Aaron Shang | ... |
Shaizi
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Deshun Wang | ... |
Xiazi Ling
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Mickey He | ... |
Prison Officer
(as Shenming He)
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Lu Yao | ... |
Li Xiao
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Yanming Jiang | ... |
Undertaker
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In 689 A.D., the Empress Wu Zetian is building a 66 m high statue of Buddha for her inauguration as the first empress of China under the objections and conspiracy of the other clans. When the engineer responsible for the construction mysteriously dies by spontaneous combustion, the superstitious workers are afraid since the man removed the good luck charms from the main pillar. There is an investigation of Pei Donglai and another investigator that also dies after withdrawing the amulets. Empress Wu assigns her loyal assistant Shangguan Jing'er to release the exiled Detective Dee from his imprisonment to investigate with Donglai and Jing'er the mystery of the deaths. They ride in a mystic and epic adventure to unravel the mystery. Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
This is a visually sumptuous and stunning-looking film by Tsui Hark who has directed or produced some of the classic Hong action films of the last 25 years. The Hark films I've seen, which often have great fight sequences, are hit and miss in terms of the cohesiveness of the stories, though when they work the films can be fabulous (Peking Opera Blues, the Once Upon A Time In China, series, etc.)
This period film has an interesting mystery at its heart with lots of red herrings and twists. The story follows Detective Dee as he's brought out of his political imprisonment to investigate a series of murders during the lead-up to the coronation of the first female Emperor. There some plot inconsistencies and problems, but they're small. The lead actors are all very good, including Andy Lau, Bingbing Li, Carina Lau, and Chao Deng. All in all, it's a compelling film not overloaded with action-for-the-sake-of-action that looks at an interesting period in China's history.