Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame
Indomina Releasing | Release Date: September 2, 2011 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
75
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 23 Critic Reviews
Positive:
17
Mixed:
6
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Stephen ColeSep 22, 2011
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 JournalJohn AndersonSep 1, 2011
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
100
TimeRichard CorlissSep 1, 2011
The movie is not just spectacle; it's got a tender, ultimately tragic love story and enough deadly political scheming to fill a Gaddafi playbook. Indeed, in its narrative cunning, luscious production design and martial-arts balletics, Detective Dee is up there with the first great kung-fu art film, King Hu's 1969 "A Touch of Zen." We'd call it "Crouching Tiger, Freakin' Masterpiece." Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesKevin ThomasSep 2, 2011
It has opulent, stylized settings of elegance, grandeur and scope, flawless special effects, and awesome martial arts combat staged by the master, Sammo Hung. Yet bravura spectacle never overwhelms either the plot or the key characters. Chang Chia-lu's intricate script bristles with wit and suspense; the film from start to finish is a terrific entertainment. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertSep 21, 2011
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
MovielineStephanie ZacharekSep 1, 2011
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
80
Chicago ReaderBen SachsSep 22, 2011
Andy Lau (Infernal Affairs) gives a charismatic lead performance as Dee, a historical figure who became a folk hero, but the real attraction is Tsui's giddy imagination. Read full review
80
The New York TimesA.O. ScottSep 1, 2011
Witty but not campy, grand without being unduly somber, it is a crazy, almost-coherent riot of intrigue, color and kineticism anchored by the charisma of its cast. Read full review
80
Village VoiceJ. HobermanAug 30, 2011
Magnificent and cheesy, the latest and most proudly absurd of Chinese historical spectaculars, Detective Dee is a cinematic comic book for people who are sick of the mode. Read full review
75
Portland OregonianM. E. RussellOct 13, 2011
In their best moments, Hark's action movies have a what-did-I-just-see giddiness, as if their choreography were springing straight from a cartoon id. Though I could have done without much of the film's CGI-heavy fakery, "Detective Dee" finds that giddiness more than a few times. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayAug 31, 2011
A historical epic with elements of wu xia, supernatural thrillers, and drawing-room murder mysteries. Read full review
75
IndieWireEric KohnAug 30, 2011
While there's a casual dissonance to each twist in its winding plot that results in a disconnected and emotionally vapid experience, Detective Dee unquestionably achieves the escapism it intends. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineSimon AbramsAug 29, 2011
Hark's new film is a consummately bizarre crowd-pleaser that throws everything at the viewer from makeshift plastic surgery by acupuncture to death by spontaneous combustion. Read full review
70
Boxoffice MagazineNick SchagerAug 29, 2011
A CG-steeped period-piece fantasy that weds whodunit drama and punch-and-kick mayhem. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterDeborah YoungAug 29, 2011
Although it lacks the historical aura of classic Chinese wuxia backdrops, James Chiu's post-"Avatar" production design is memorably imaginative. Read full review
70
VarietyJustin ChangAug 29, 2011
An inventive marriage of ancient China and Agatha Christie, Detective Dee and the Mystery of Phantom Flame is a lavishly overwrought historical whodunit. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeMark FeeneySep 22, 2011
It's slambang in pacing, bald in exposition, and offers cast-of-hundreds spectacle. Read full review
60
Arizona RepublicRichard NilsenSep 29, 2011
If you can ignore the implausibility -- nay, the opacity -- of the plot, the film is wonderfully cinematic, with great photography, exciting editing, fresh camera angles and some impressive CGI. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanSep 2, 2011
To maximize your entertainment budget, look no further. Read full review
60
Time OutKeith UhlichAug 30, 2011
As the Sherlock Holmes of the second Zhou Dynasty, Lau is so effortlessly appealing that he manages to anchor the fatigue-heavy proceedings, even when his character has to outrun both the rays of the sun - don't ask - and a collapsing statue while crawling over and under a pack of stampeding horses. Now that's star power. Read full review
50
Washington PostJohn DeForeSep 23, 2011
A lightweight but enjoyable yarn. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleG. Allen JohnsonSep 15, 2011
Pure escapist hokum, with action choreography by Sammo Hung, but I sure miss that old-school wire work. Read full review
50
New York PostV.A. MusettoSep 2, 2011
All this is loads of fun, but after a while sensory overload sets in, dulling the mind. Even in a kung-fu flick, more isn't always better. Read full review
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