For sheer, high-concept flights of fantasy, leavened with labyrinthine political intrigue, punctuated with blistering martial arts sequences and dusted with weird magic and mythology, it’s hard to go past the Detective Dee movies.
Directed by revered filmmaker Tsui Hark (Once Upon a Time in China), who has been the beating heart of Hong Kong cinema for decades now, they’re the sort of films that make you realise how tepid, even timid, so much Anglophone screen fantasy has become, dutifully reiterating tired tropes from either Tolkien-esque epic fantasy or Rowling-derived YA fodder with little variation. Catching a Detective Dee flick after subsisting on that lot is like necking a spoonful of hot chilli after a year of cold porridge – your senses just aren’t ready for the sudden shock.
Our setting is 7th century China and our hero is Di Renjie, a preternaturally gifted investigator on par with Sherlock Holmes in terms of analytical skills, and far surpassing Doyle’s detective when it comes to martial arts prowess. When we first meet him in 2009’s Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame, where he was played by Andy Lau, he’s a rebel imprisoned for defying Empress Wu Zetian (Carina Lau). After a number of Imperial officials die after bursting into flames, Dee (technically Di, but let’s go with the title convention) is pulled from prison and set on the case, eventually uncovering a far-ranging magical conspiracy aimed at the Empress herself.
The next film in the series, Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon (2013) is a prequel, with Mark Chao taking over the title role. Set at the dawn of Dee’s crimefighting career, it sees the young detective investigating a sea monster that has attacked the Imperial Fleet and uncovering yet another occult conspiracy with evil designs on the throne.
Carina Lau as Empress Wu Zetian in ‘Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings’. Source: Distributor
But the matter at hand is the third film, Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings, which is set after Rise of the Sea Dragon but before Mystery of the Phantom Flame (much like the James Bond movies, don’t hesitate to jump into Detective Dee with any instalment). For his work in the last film, Dee (Chao again) has won the praise of the Emperor (Chien Sheng), who presents him with what will become his signature weapon, the Dragon-Taming Mace, which can shatter any object. This angers scheming Empress Wu Zetian (Carina Lau again), who tasks a coterie of mercenary sorcerers with stealing the weapon.
From there it’s another labyrinthine plot that takes in at various points a vengeful sect of Indian mystics, a number of ruthless and acrobatic assassins, a statue of a dragon magically brought to life, a giant albino gorilla, and enough incredible martial arts set-pieces, monsters and mayhem for even the most jaded action fan.
If that sounds messy, it kind of is, but Tsui’s kitchen sink approach to plotting and spectacle means there’s never a dull moment – we’re only ever a scene away from one dizzy revelation or another, and the sheer inventiveness on display is simply jaw-dropping. Our man Dee is a cop operating in a world where magic works, monsters exist, the gods are real and Imperial power is absolute, and while all those ingredients are vital to the films’ unique flavour, it’s perhaps that last one that is the most necessary.
In a world where Emperors rule like gods, Dee is both a moral man and a mortal one, and his first duty is to justice. While the rank-and-file enforcers of Tang Dynasty China work to shore up Imperial power, Dee strives to bring evildoers to justice, even if it embarrasses or inconveniences the throne – hence he’s banged up in jail when we first meet him. Strip away all the razzle dazzle, all the spectacular fight choreography and high-concept fantasy, and the Detective Dee series is really all about how power is exercised, and the price that must be paid when ethics are privileged over that power. Which makes Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings a cut above others in its genre in terms of thematic heft.
Mark Chao as Detective Dee in ‘Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings’. Source: Distributor
There’s no word yet as to whether we’ll be seeing a fourth outing from Dee, but with the prolific Tsui calling the shots it’s a reasonable bet that we’ll be visiting the good Detective again before long. Until then, sink your teeth into this one, a joyfully OTT high historical romp whose sheer lunatic imagination leaves its genre-mates in the dust.
Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
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