DVD Review: THE DETECTIVE

The Detective

reviewer: Harry Davenport
Rated: 15(UK)
Release Date: 11th April  2011
Director:Oxide Pang Chun
Cast: Aaron Kwok, Kai Chi Liu, 

The Detective is a 2007 Hong Kong neo-noir thriller that follows the investigation of a barely capable Private Eye, who’s search for a woman starts his suspicions of a larger conspiracy.

The film is directed by Oxide Pang, one of the Pang brothers who brought us Bangkok Dangerous and the original The Eye. The Detective is neither as tense or exciting as those, it moves along at an uneven pace and can be quite dull, however Pang occasionally focuses in on detective work and inserts some fascinating details. There are some original sequences, a particularly memorable scene has Tam being chased by a truck that destroys the neon signs and stalls on the side of the road, however, these moments are few and far between.

Aaron Kwok stars as Tam, a private eye who isn’t very good at his job, the film labels Tam as a C+ Detective, so he does get results but not efficiently. This is quite a good device for most hard boiled detectives are usually on top of things and way ahead of the viewers but here we get a chance to be on the same level with our protagonist if not a little ahead of him. Tam is not the most interesting of characters and the only thing more boring than him is his friendship with Inspector Fung Chak played by Liu Kai- Chi. Neither give a bad performance it’s just that they are given little to do other than look shocked or angry.

The film looks great and its setting, Bangkok’s Chinatown, is certainly a colourful and inventive location. You get the feeling of the area; shots of stores, food and people’s dilapidated houses create a wonderful atmosphere. The trouble with the location is that we never get a sense of its place in Bangkok or how big it is, which means we are left with what seems a very small community most of which seem to be dead by the end of the film.

The two biggest problems are a side story involving the disappearance of Tam’s parents, which is underdeveloped and clumsily done, and the inclusion of some supernatural elements, which simply don’t fit the realistic world they have set up.

The Detective looks great and has some very memorable moments, but these are not enough to save a film that just does not work.

Movie Rating: 2.5/5