Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame

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  • Opened September 2, 2011 
  • 2 hr 2 min
  • PG-13 | disturbing images, violence and some sexuality
  • 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.
    Note: Film is presented in Mandarin with English subtitles. Full synopsis

  • Cast: Andy Lau, Carina Lau, Li Bingbing, Tony Leung Kar-Fai, Deng Chao, Jean-Michel Casanova, Teddy Robin Kwan
  • Director: Tsui Hark
  • Genres: Action/Adventure, Art House/Foreign, Suspense/Thriller

What's the Buzz?

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Fans say Go
46 fans
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Critics say Go
75 out of 100
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Fan Reviews

Go
Awesomeness!

by entropicangel42

One review called this movie a cross between Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes and Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. The comparison is apt. The martial arts here are over the top and amazing, and...

Go
Action-packed foreign fun

by 2z2

Not expecting much, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality action sequences (orchestrated by the great Sammo Hung) and the general atmosphere of the film. The music was complementary throughout and...

So-so
Detective Dee 3/5

by Opinion_and_a_Movie

Detective Dee is as beautiful, well acted, and as well choreographed as you would expect of a Hong Kong action movie, but it all begins to fall apart when the film takes on too much plotwise. ...

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Critic Reviews

100
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
| Stephen Cole

Detective Dee is the action flick of the year, a two-hour epic that blows the "Pirates of the Caribbean" to the Bermuda Triangle. Read full review

100
Wall Street Journal
| John Anderson

The pulp-fictional hero is inhabited by the charismatic Andy Lau who, together with Chinese stars Bingbing Li, Ms. Lau and Tony Leung Ka-fai, makes Detective Dee the most purely entertaining film of our vanishing summer. Read full review

88
Chicago Sun-Times
| Roger Ebert

On the basis of its scale, energy and magical events, this is the Hong Kong equivalent of a big-budget Hollywood blockbuster. But it transcends them with the stylization of the costumes, the panoply of the folklore, the richness of the setting, and the fact that none of the characters (allegedly) have superpowers. Read full review

85
Movieline
| Stephanie Zacharek

I've seen Detective Dee twice now, and I still don't think I've taken the full measure of the visual nuttiness, and lushness, Tsui has packed in there. Read full review

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Andy Lau as Detective Dee in ``Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame.''