Tsui Hark (Tsui Man-kong, Xú Kè), the Vietnam-born Hong Kong action movie director, is best known for the “Once Upon a Time in China” movies with Jet Li (1991–97) and “Swordsman” I-III. He mixed genres before the expensive production of “Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame” (2010), though not as many (wuxia, detective, thriller, horror, sci-fi, with bursts of comedy).

The T’ang dynasty magistrate/sleuth Di Renjie (played by Andy Lau), better known in a series of period mysteries by Robert van Gulik as “Judge Dee,” solved many mysteries, including the startling internal ignition of the “phantom flame” in the days before the coronation (AD689) of the one and only Chinese female emperor (who had already been empress and dowager empress and regent), Wu Zetian (Carina Lau [Days of Being Wild, 2046]with hairdos even more elaborate than those in “The Shanghai Gesture”). One of the confusing aspects of the movie in English subtitles is that she is already addressed as “Emperor” before the coronation.

The coronation is to be blessed by completion of an 80-meter-high  standing Buddha (with Wu’s face, just as the Khmer emperor Jayavarman VII had the myriad Buddhas of the Bayon modeled on his). The first of the officials to burst into flame (from inside out) is her overseer. The construction overseer Shatuo Zhong (Tony Leung Ka Fai, “the other Tony Leung,” star of Jean-Jacques Annaud's "The Lover" and Johnnie To's "Election [I,II]") had a hand chopped off for his participation in a rebellion led by Dee, who has been imprisoned for eight years by the empress. but is summoned to solve the mystery of the phantom fire, when she infers that her coronation is imperiled.

Shangguan Jing'er (Li Bing-Bing [The Forbidden Kingdom]), the (lesbian?) favorite of the empress-turning-emperor, is a skilled warrior whose weapon of choice is a bullwhip. Also assisting and/or spying on Dee is an albino palace policeman Pei Donglai (Deng Chao [Assembly]). Who is loyal to the woman who would be emperor, who is covertly backing a coup by the crown prince, and who the Chamberlain who speaks through a sacred deer is and whether he is a part of any party other than his own are more mysteries that constitute considerable danger for Dee as he tries to understand how people can spontaneously ignite.

There is a whole lot of CGI for the palace and a market in a grotto and for various stunts, along with flamboyant wire work, and occasional dialogue between the incorruptible bemused Dee and others. At a point about two-thirds of the way through, I asked my partner how many sides there were in the movie. I have to admit that I was surprised that by the end I more or less knew what had happened, who had ordered whom killed. I guess this indicates a strength of the screenplay by Zhang Jialu that he says in one of the making-of featurettes was ten years in preparation.

There was a 10-meter-high wooden Buddha statue that was 10 months in the making, but which looks CGI to me. The pillars flying and the deer in one-on-one combat with Dee also looked obviously CGI to me, though I found the deer attackers entertaining as well as “fake.” The model of the palace (far interiot Xi’an with what look to me to be 18th-century sea-going ships in a nearby harbor).

Many of the scenes are highly frenetic, but the pace of the movie seemed sluggish to me — as well as confusing. (I still don’t understand the two heavens of the Chinese title (translated for me as “Two-Heaven Empire”), though I know that Wu favored Buddhism and disfavored Daoism). Andy Lau seemed perfect for the title part (that was originally announced would be played by Jet Li), though not stretching him much as an actor. For costume epics with Lau, I prefer Peter Chan's “The Warlords” (2007) and Zhang Yimou's “The House of the Flying Daggers” (2004), other movies in which who was on what side was unclear. And I adore most of his performances in modern-dress Johnnie To movies, especially “Running Out of Time” (1999; and as the gang mole within the police force in Lan Mak’s “Infernal Affairs [I-III]” from 2002-03; Wong Karwai’s “As Tears Go By” from 1988, and “Days of Being Wild” from 1990). And I prefer John Woo’s “Red Cliff,” which also has a lot of very fake-looking CGI, but considerably greater coherence.

The making-of featurette is divided into four parts (without a “Play All” option):
The Making of Detective Dee (4:06)
Creating the Character (5:18)
Weapons, Stunts, and Action (3:51)
The World of Dee (5:15).
The first and third of these are the most interesting IMO.

 ©2012, Stephen O. Murray

30th Hong Kong Film Awards and Nominations for “Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame” ("Two-Heaven Empire")

    Nominated: Best Film ["Gallants" won]
    Won: Best Director (Tsui Hark)
    Won: Best Actress (Carina Lau)
    Nominated: Best Supporting Actor (Tony Leung)
    Nominated: Best Supporting Actor (Deng Chao)
    Nominated: Best Cinematography (Chan Chi-ying, Chan Chor-keung)
    Nominated: Best Editing (Yau Chi-wai)
    Won: Best Costume Design (Choo Sung-bong)
    Won: Best Production Design
    Nominated: Best Action Choreography (Sammo Hung)
    Nominated: Best Original Score (Peter Kam)
    Won: Best Sound Effects
    Won: Best Visual Effects (Phil Jones)

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD