Yes, I know that almost everyone has seen this “must-watch” movie based around the time of Wu Zetian’s coronation (the only female Emperor in the history of China). Someone gave me a free pass to watch the movie only just now and of course I went to catch it! I can see why people are raving over the movie. Here’s some details:

This movie stars big names. Like really big Hong Kong film star kind of big. Tony Leung, Andy Lau, and Carina Lau were some of the principle actors. Produced and directed by the great Tsui Hark. With action scenes from Sammo Hung. FREAKING SAMMO HUNG.

Yes, I used to love all these old actors, and seeing them again made me fall in love with the Hong Kong movie scene all over again. Oh, and did I mention that the movie was in Cantonese? YES! It’s a dialect I actually understand!

And now, for the actual review…

If you’ve seen the trailers, then you know what Detective Dee is about. The plot is simple: Empress Wu Zetian is about to ascend the Chinese throne, becoming the first female Emperor of China. Just before her coronation, two loyal officials were killed; both were victims of internal combustion, dying because they had violated divine rules. Empress Wu recalls an official she had sent into exile eight years before, Detective Dee, to solve the case, promising him his freedom if he does. She does not trust him, however, sending her most loyal lady-in-waiting, Shangguan Jing’er, to monitor him. Official Donglai of the Supreme Court is assigned to help Dee with the case.

Now since that is out of the way, what do I think about the movie?

The action scenes were not too bad. The plot was… aimless after a little while. I thought it had potential to become a long running movie series but apparently the idea was nuked halfway through the movie.

All in all? 5.5 out of ten. Popcorn movie. Too lazy to write more. XD