Review: The Detective

A good take on the well-worn detective genre, brought to you by the people behind the Hong Kong horror hit, "The Eye". Following very closely to formula, the movie starts off with an odd character named Lung (Shing Fui-On) who engages the help of private investigator Tam (Aaron Kwok) to find a mysterious woman named Sum, who may be trying to kill Lung. Typically, the P.I. follows a trail that leads to one dead body after another before the horrific truth is unveiled.

There is nothing much here that you couldn't find in another detective story, but the movie is visually intriguing, and entertains with the central relationship between Tam and his Thai police connection, played with great relish by prolific Hong Kong supporting actor Liu Kai-Chi. There's also a rogue's gallery of TVB familiars taking up various supporting roles.

Frankly, I'm surprised the whole endeavour holds up so well. The direct Cantonese translation of the title is "C-plus Detective", which is a word play on the Cantonese equivalent of "Private Investigator". The movie is easily a "B+". Recommended.

Format: DVD, looks like a 2.40:1 Anamorphic Widescreen.
Source: Belongs to my brother.
Experience: Home, 47-inch LCD with home theatre surround system
Cost: Apart from electricity and hardware depreciation, none.