Detective Dee: Mystery Of The Phantom Flame
The Empress orders former detective and rebel Di Renjie be released from prison after the Imperial Abbot states that he must solve the mystery of the fire. She sends her attendant Shangguan Jing'er to fetch Di from prison, and Jing'er arrives just as Di is being attacked by assassins. Wu reinstates Di as the royal detective and assigns Jing'er to be both an assistant and spy. Jing'er attempts to seduce Di, but is interrupted by assassins. Di meets Prince Li, who fails to recruit him into leading a rebel army. When Pei takes Di and Jing'er to inspect the charred corpses, Di deduces the assassins use a poison that ignites upon contact with sunlight.
Detective Dee: Mystery of the Phantom Flame
On the eve of her coronation as Empress (Carina Lau), China's most powerful woman is haunted by a chilling murder mystery: seven men under her command have burst into flames, leaving behind only black ash and skeletal bones. Recognizing this threat to her power, she turns to the infamous Dee Renjie (Andy Lau): a man whose unparalleled wisdom is matched only by his martial arts skills. As he battles a series of bizarre dangers, he unveils a chilling truth that places his life, and the future of an entire dynasty, in peril.
An exiled detective is recruited to solve a series of mysterious deaths that threaten to delay the inauguration of Empress Wu.A bizarre murder mystery brings together the most powerful woman in China, the soon-to-be-Empress Wu Zetian and a formerly exiled detective, Dee Renjie at the infamous Imperial Palace. Hoping he will solve the crime before her coronation, Wu appoints Dee Chief Judge of the Empire and implores him to combine his indisputable wisdom with his unparalleled martial arts skills to save the future of her dynasty. Director Tsui Hark (Seven Swords) teams with stunt director Sammo Hung in this heart-pounding, epic thriller inspired by the incredible true story of one of the Tang Dynasty's most celebrated officials.
The plot takes place shortly before the ascension of Wu Zetian (Carina Lau), China's first female emperor, to the throne. An enormous Buddha statue is being built for the occasion when the director of its construction mysteriously bursts into flames and dies. With the supervising builder Shatuo (Tony Leung Ka-fai) a dead end, the investigators are baffled until Wu Zetian calls on Detective Dee, a man whom she imprisoned eight years previously for opposing her rule. With the imperial agent Shangguan Jing'er (Li Bingbing), and young policeman Pei Donglai (Deng Chao), Dee has until the coronation date to solve the mystery of the phantom flame.
Fortunately, at long last, Tsui Hark has finally made a true comeback and returns to form in Detective Dee And The Mystery Of The Phantom Flame . The movie is a vintage Tsui Hark stamped all over the place while breathes a refreshing change of pace to the wuxia genre by mixing a fascinating blend of Agatha Christie-like detective mystery, Chinese folklore fantasy and exhilarating action set pieces. No doubt this is quite possibly the most inventive Chinese movie blockbuster ever made in a long time.
A period epic from genre master Tsui Hark (Seven Swords), DETECTIVE DEE is an action-packed, visually breathtaking Sherlock Holmes-style mystery starring some of China's top acting talent: Andy Lau, Bingbing Li, Carina Lau, and Tony Leung Ka-fai. Nominated for Best Special Effects at the 2011 Asian Film Awards and stunningly choreographed by master Sammo Hung, this intricately plotted whodunit is set in an exquisitely realized steampunk version of ancient China. On the eve of her coronation as Empress (Carina Lau, 2046), China's most powerful woman is haunted by a chilling murder mystery: seven men under her command have burst into flames, leaving behind only black ash and skeletal bones. Recognizing this threat to her power, she turns to the infamous Dee Renjie (Andy Lau, Infernal Affairs, House Of Flying Daggers): a man whose unparalleled wisdom is matched only by his martial arts skills. As he battles a series of bizarre dangers, he unveils a chilling truth that places his life, and the future of an entire dynasty, in peril. 041b061a72