Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon (Tsui Hark)

[Stay Puft]

YOUNG DETECTIVE DEE: RISE OF THE SEA DRAGON
Dir. Tsui Hark

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2-Hp6VBf_Pc/UiXXTBIBy3I/AAAAAAAATQ4/_A5kk2q4WyU/s640/Young+Detective+Dee+Rise+of+th e+Sea+Dragon+-+Di+ren+jie+qian+zhuan+(2013)+-+3.jpg

IMDb page (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2992146/)

[Rowland]

Hmm, maybe I should give the first Detective Dee another look. I thought it kinda sucked at the time, but almost everyone else seemed to like it, and I really want to be in the corner for one of these new, CGI-infested Hark films, so who knows, I may not have been in a receptive mood at the time.

I don't remember what you thought of the first, so how does this compare?

[Stay Puft]

I went to see it because it's Tsui Hark, you know, and afterwards I have to say I was a little disappointed I didn't get to see it in 3D (they were only showing the 2D version here in Toronto). I wasn't expecting much given Tsui's recent output, and really, this is cut from the same cloth (look at all that terrible CGI!), but Tsui cuts loose here. No fucks are given. This thing is basically a Saturday morning cartoon, and I found myself enjoying it in that context. It's so ridiculously silly, and the action scenes are unabashedly preposterous. It's brisk, colorful, and carefree.

I called the original Andy Lau version CSI: Ancient China, and this is a little more Sherlock Holmes by way of Guy Ritchie - truly, we are not in the company of good cinema. Let's call it for what it is. There's very little here that's even recognizable as Tsui Hark anymore. Tsui has transitioned almost completely into the mainland's answer to a Hollywood blockbuster filmmaker (I wouldn't be surprised if he just makes Detective Dee movies now, like Michael Bay and Transformers). But if this is how he's going to wrap up his career, making big bucks at the box office and loving every minute of it, I can't blame him. If he continues to pursue the cartoon sensibilities evident in this film, I might even start anticipating further entries.

That being said, it's still a little disappointing to see Tsui basically slumming it now. Despite the superficial pleasures afforded by the Detective Dee franchise, they don't even have half the wit of Tsui's best gonzo work earlier in his career, not to say anything of the now obvious absence of anything approaching a vital political voice. Has he earned his indulgences at this point in his career? I can't say. I couldn't honestly recommend Young Detective Dee to anybody that isn't either: a) a Tsui Hark completionist; b) a sucker for wuxia flicks. I mean, I enjoyed it, but I have no problem admitting I'm a sucker, and I'm not going to pretend this is something it isn't.

[Stay Puft]

I don't remember what you thought of the first, so how does this compare?

I wasn't a fan of the first (I'd probably give it two stars, or a three star mixed rating in such a thread, and a nay vote). But I don't remember it terribly well, either. As per my above post, this struck me as more playful and colorful, and the tone is certainly a lot more goofy and less self-serious than I remember the first being. Young Detective Dee feels like a Saturday morning cartoon, as I said, and I thought it was enjoyable in that context, but again, see the above post for the necessary caveats.

Whatever one's opinion of Tsui's recent output, I doubt this is going to change any minds. And like the Dragon Gate film he just did, this probably works best as theatre spectacle regardless (I actually gave the Dragon Gate film the same rating as Young Detective Dee at the time, having been admittedly tickled by seeing a Tsui Hark film in IMAX 3D, but watching the 2D version at home, the whole thing just felt tired and depressing).

[Rowland]

Are the action scenes at least remotely coherent? That was one of the biggest issues I had with the original, and I was flabbergasted by how more people didn't call him out on it. Even by Hark standards, they registered for me as a flurry of nonsensical shit happening that most critics and film buffs wouldn't give a pass in a Hollywood film.

And I presume it still pales in comparison to his underrated Van Damme joints?

[Stay Puft]

Are the action scenes at least remotely coherent? That was one of the biggest issues I had with the original, and I was flabbergasted by how more people didn't call him out on it. Even by Hark standards, they registered for me as a flurry of nonsensical shit happening that most critics and film buffs wouldn't give a pass in a Hollywood film.

Haha, I don't think I even remember any of the action scenes other than the underground river scene, which I liked, and the final scene with the CGI deer, which was laughably bad.

I'd say Young Detective Dee was a mixed bag. There were some good action beats throughout, and some of it is so ridiculously over the top it's enjoyable for its own sake, but there were also definitely moments where I was raising an eyebrow and questioning the internal logic of what was happening (I mean I can call it a cartoon but yeah that doesn't excuse lapses in coherency or craftsmanship).


And I presume it still pales in comparison to his underrated Van Damme joints?

Obviously.

[D_Davis]

Cool.

Just ordered the DVD. Really liked his first Dee film, just because it was totally crazy like old Tsui films are. And let's be honest here, even if I don't love it I'll still keep it because Tsui films are the only films I buy on DVD any more.