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Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame

Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame

Action · Adventure · Drama · 2010

When the future empress Wu Zetian's two courtiers die in a mysterious fire, she gets Di Renjie, a former detective and rebel, released from prison to solve the mystery of the fire.

Movie details

Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame

“The Fate of an Empire Is in His Hands.”

2010 Action · Adventure · Drama 2h 3m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.6 / 10

Community rating

When the future empress Wu Zetian's two courtiers die in a mysterious fire, she gets Di Renjie, a former detective and rebel, released from prison to solve the mystery of the fire.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Tsui Hark

Written by

Chen Kuofu · Zhang Jialu

Andy Lau

Andy Lau

Detective Dee

Li Bingbing

Li Bingbing

Shangguan Jing'er

Deng Chao

Deng Chao

Pei Donglai

Tony Leung Ka-fai

Tony Leung Ka-fai

Shatuo Zhong

Carina Lau

Carina Lau

Wu Zetian

Richard Ng Yiu-hon

Richard Ng Yiu-hon

Wang Lu (before face-lift)

Teddy Robin

Teddy Robin

Wang Lu (after face-lift)

Court is in session

Put Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Adrenaline Seeker

“Momentum is a formal choice.”

The velocity sharpens instinct and tension, making every beat land before self-importance can settle in.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Speed as an alibi.”

The film races past its weak spots and hopes acceleration will keep the audience from inspecting the evidence.