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Review: Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (狄仁傑之通天帝國) (2010)
Didn't really enjoy this movie. I understood it was just supposed to be a fun almost low-fantasy mystery movie but I didn't really care for the style. I got bored very soon after I started the movie.
Spoilers.
Story
The mystery was surrounding a series of deaths by spontaneous ignitions and subsequent burnings. Wu Zetian, the current and new Emperor, ordered the release of Di Renjie so that he could investigate.
There was a weird subplot regarding Shangguan Jing'er, Wu Zetian's assistant, who was supposed to accompany Di Renjie. It was later revealed that she was also an abbott and Di Renjie killed her. But the reasoning behind all that was so muddy. Apparently Di Renjie suspected that Wu Zetian needed Jing'er to have two identities so that she could rule with an iron fist but that didn't explain why Jing'er and Di Renjie needed to fight. There was also that weird almost romantic subplot between Jing'er and Di Renjie. Sooo unnecessary.
The ignitions were traced back to a kind of beetle venom, that would cause people to burst into flames when they came into contact with the sun. The venom had contaminated the water supply. This scheme was traced back to Shatuo, a friend of Di Renjie's who was building a structure for Wu Zetian. He was actually an opponent of Wu Zetian and wanted to kill Wu Zetian.
There was a struggle between Di Renjie and Shatuo but he ultimately killed Shatuo. Di Renjie also saved Wu Zetian from a collapsing building but declined working in his court. Di Renjie had been infected by the beetle venom so he returned to live in a dark place.
The mystery itself was a little disjointed with points that didn't really go anywhere. But like with the movie I watched last week, Di Renjie was so much of a hero that I had to roll my eyes at every second. He was always the good guy, he was always doing things for the right reasons, and the movie was all about recognizing his good heart. Maybe it's the preconceived biases I have against Andy Lau. But anyway, this was not for me.
Production
In some areas, the production was fine. It didn't look totally wacky. There was some CGI like when people's faces changed, but it didn't bother me (though I know it will bother others). The action was...fine. I had no opinion. I did wish the movie had a nicer colour scheme.
In terms of the acting, the actors could only do as much as the script allowed them. That's particularly the case for the supporting characters like Shangguan Jing'er and Pei Donglai. As for Andy Lau...I don't like his acting and that's all I can say.
Characters
Di Renjie was a typical hero, almost to the point of having no personality. His personality was very Gary Stu-ish. 0/10 would not recommend.
Wu Zetian also didn't have much of a personality. We didn't really see her ruling style so we have no idea what she was like as a sovereign. Her character was built around Di Renjie.
Shangguan Jing'er was again built around Di Renjie. The romantic/sexual tension was so dumb. She tried to seduce Di Renjie, no doubt to be able to keep an eye on him. Then Di Renjie would think about her. But it never went anywhere. Nor did they even have a fun dynamic.
I can't even say Pei Donglai had a reason to be in the story. He was just there to say random stuff.
Shatuo was a placeholder. Fine, he was the big bad villain who was the root of all of the evil because he opposed the Emperor. But I hated that his personality changed towards the end after his evil scheme was revealed. He kept chanting that he had not lost, when right at the beginning, it was established that he was the kind of person who kept his thoughts close.
Overall
Not a great movie. Might have been exacerbated by the hate-on I have for Andy Lau, but it wasn't even fun stylistically.
Spoilers.
Story
The mystery was surrounding a series of deaths by spontaneous ignitions and subsequent burnings. Wu Zetian, the current and new Emperor, ordered the release of Di Renjie so that he could investigate.
There was a weird subplot regarding Shangguan Jing'er, Wu Zetian's assistant, who was supposed to accompany Di Renjie. It was later revealed that she was also an abbott and Di Renjie killed her. But the reasoning behind all that was so muddy. Apparently Di Renjie suspected that Wu Zetian needed Jing'er to have two identities so that she could rule with an iron fist but that didn't explain why Jing'er and Di Renjie needed to fight. There was also that weird almost romantic subplot between Jing'er and Di Renjie. Sooo unnecessary.
The ignitions were traced back to a kind of beetle venom, that would cause people to burst into flames when they came into contact with the sun. The venom had contaminated the water supply. This scheme was traced back to Shatuo, a friend of Di Renjie's who was building a structure for Wu Zetian. He was actually an opponent of Wu Zetian and wanted to kill Wu Zetian.
There was a struggle between Di Renjie and Shatuo but he ultimately killed Shatuo. Di Renjie also saved Wu Zetian from a collapsing building but declined working in his court. Di Renjie had been infected by the beetle venom so he returned to live in a dark place.
The mystery itself was a little disjointed with points that didn't really go anywhere. But like with the movie I watched last week, Di Renjie was so much of a hero that I had to roll my eyes at every second. He was always the good guy, he was always doing things for the right reasons, and the movie was all about recognizing his good heart. Maybe it's the preconceived biases I have against Andy Lau. But anyway, this was not for me.
Production
In some areas, the production was fine. It didn't look totally wacky. There was some CGI like when people's faces changed, but it didn't bother me (though I know it will bother others). The action was...fine. I had no opinion. I did wish the movie had a nicer colour scheme.
In terms of the acting, the actors could only do as much as the script allowed them. That's particularly the case for the supporting characters like Shangguan Jing'er and Pei Donglai. As for Andy Lau...I don't like his acting and that's all I can say.
Characters
Di Renjie was a typical hero, almost to the point of having no personality. His personality was very Gary Stu-ish. 0/10 would not recommend.
Wu Zetian also didn't have much of a personality. We didn't really see her ruling style so we have no idea what she was like as a sovereign. Her character was built around Di Renjie.
Shangguan Jing'er was again built around Di Renjie. The romantic/sexual tension was so dumb. She tried to seduce Di Renjie, no doubt to be able to keep an eye on him. Then Di Renjie would think about her. But it never went anywhere. Nor did they even have a fun dynamic.
I can't even say Pei Donglai had a reason to be in the story. He was just there to say random stuff.
Shatuo was a placeholder. Fine, he was the big bad villain who was the root of all of the evil because he opposed the Emperor. But I hated that his personality changed towards the end after his evil scheme was revealed. He kept chanting that he had not lost, when right at the beginning, it was established that he was the kind of person who kept his thoughts close.
Overall
Not a great movie. Might have been exacerbated by the hate-on I have for Andy Lau, but it wasn't even fun stylistically.