314. Detective Dee - The Four Heavenly Kings (Di Renjie zhi Sidatianwang); movie review

DETECTIVE DEE - THE FOUR HEAVENLY KINGS (DI RENJIE SIDATIANWANG)
CERT 12A
132 mins
BBFC advice: TBA

Ever since Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Chinese films have made their mark with dazzling special effects to accompany historic fiction or faction.
Here, movie-makers again take a huge licence with the history of famous ancient detective Di Renjie who was active in the seventh century.
He is portrayed by Mark Chao as a Sherlock Holmes-alike who can also hold his own as a swordsman and magician,
Indeed, magic is fundamental to a movie which centres on political intrigue as well as the good old revenge.
It stars Carina Lau as Empress Wu who is envious of the rise to official power of Dee and gathers a group of sorcerers to see him off.
She also demands that Dee's best friend (Feng Shaofeng) lead the operation against him - lying that no injury would come to Dee and his family.
There is a very intricate web woven around the basic plot with love and betrayal coming to the fore.
However, let's face it, fans aren't going to concentrate on that. They want to see great beasts, flying fights and the fastest sword play ever seen on a screen.
And they get it all.
Of course, Detective Dee is fantasy but, in my opinion, the huge monster and giant albino gorilla are a tad overdone.
The same could be said of one of the detective's team falling for one of the assassins who has set out to kill him.
As with many Chinese movies, Tsui Hark's picture is hectic - indeed, it is not always easy to follow the plot.
It is also too long - both Mrs W and I found our minds wandering because it felt stretched.
But it is vibrant, fun, packs many a punch and really should not be taken too seriously. On balance, I would recommend it.

Reasons to watch: The flamboyant action sequences
Reasons to avoid: The storyline which flies around like a pinball

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 7/10

Director quote - Tsui Hark: "As a filmmaker, I always hope to bring something new to the audience."

The big question - when did the Chinese become so obsessed with flying?

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