Charles Herold (cherold) There are plenty of entertaining action scenes in this movie, ranging from wire fu fighting to large scale CGI-monster fighting. These are imaginatively filmed and have some nice touches, even if here's nothing as good as the best action scenes from the previous Detective Dee movie, Phantom Flame.In between action, there is a very poorly told story.Actually, "story" is an exaggeration. It's more like a collection of incidents told in a particularly order. Everything just kind of happens. A ship battle results in disaster! A woman in a mask is in trouble! There's a merman! There are bandits! There's a new detective! There's a swimming horse! There are poison flowers! Everything is introduced by someone just saying, here is this thing that we need right now.There's a general rule in film that if the hero is going to pull out a gun in the final act, you want to establish that he owns a gun earlier on. That doesn't happen in this movie. Instead, there's a problem, and suddenly someone says, I know who can help, or, I've got the solution right here, or, the solution is at this place let's go right now.This is how a ten-year-old writes a story.No character development, little motivation, no real coherence. Dee's Sherlock Holmes deductions are generally unpersuasive.It's a dumb story, badly told, but the action scenes almost make up for that. Almost.

Leofwine_draca I'm surprised at overwhelmingly positive reviews for this film on here, because I feel like I watched a different film. Okay, I didn't like the original DETECTIVE DEE to begin with, so perhaps expecting to enjoy this one was doomed from the outset, but I had no idea I'd be sitting through one of the dumbest, most CGI-laden fantasy adventures since EMPEROR AND THE WHITE SNAKE.If this is the way Chinese fantasy cinema is going, then I despair. YOUNG DETECTIVE DEE: RISE OF THE SEA DRAGON is a hopeless mess of a film, a sprawling action-adventure chock full of some of the worst CGI you'll ever see. As this is a 3D film, the viewer is constantly assailed by extremely poor looking CGI weapons flying out of the screen, but that's not enough. There's CGI jumping, CGI horses, CGI buildings, CGI backdrops, CGI everything really. Only the sea monster itself is a halfway decent bit of CGI. Everything else looks horrible, fake, like in a poor PC game.The plot is nonsensical and long-winded and even when the villain is apprehended it somehow goes on for another hour or so. The actor playing the youthful Dee is wooden and uninteresting and with no big names in the cast list you're struggling for something to enjoy. The comic relief guy with the ape's arm is okay, I suppose. Tsui Hark seems to have plowed THE AVENGERS for inspiration, what with the incessant CGI action and the big angry green bloke, but his film is a total failure by comparison. YOUNG DETECTIVE DEE is a dog of a film, one that's packed to the brim with action but constantly bores you nonetheless.

Derek Childs (totalovrdose) Empress Wu (Carina Lau) will not allow the enemy forces invading Baekje Kingdom to win. She orders a garrison of warships to bring assistance to their allies, but the calm seas they are to sail upon are immediately fraught with peril, as an unseen monster completely decimates everything in its path. It is a colossal loss, and the beginning of the film that is Young Detective Dee.Dee (Mark Chao) arrives in Luoyang, under orders to become a detective with the Da Lisi, the Capital's police force. Working alongside him in his quest for answers is Yuchi (Shaofeng Feng), who has little faith in Dee's capabilities, and a doctor, Shatuo (Lin Gengxin) who Dee appoints to assist. But the mountainous paranoia and fear gripping the Capital escalates when it's revealed there isn't just one monster attacking the city, but two, one of which is directly linked to the beautiful courtesan Yin (Angelababy).What is most impressive about the film Young Detective Dee is its flawless ability to come together, after originally feeling so fragmented at the beginning, with a vast quantity of plots being moved about like pawns in a chess game. At the same time however, this is potentially its greatest flaw, the chronologically directed film being tied together in a nice little bow. In the end, there are no unanswered questions, and because of this, the film fails to stay with you after the credits have finished.Although the movie is titled 'Young Detective Dee', Mr. Chao's Dee, despite been very likable and intelligent, occasionally seems to be out-staged by Mr. Feng's interpretation of Yuchi, a feat accomplished by their similar screen presence. Though Yuchi is the direct opposite to Dee, the film seems to fail in its attempt to develop Dee as the lead character.The feature contains a number of the stereotypes often found in Chinese action films, including brilliant fight scenes, an intriguing conspiracy, and a gorgeous young woman, although Young Detective Dee also incorporates a wealth of beautiful visuals. The special effects are exceptionally outstanding, rivaling Hollywood's technical capabilities, and the acrobatic fight scenes, if not occasionally a little fake, are just as effective, but even more so with Kenji Kawai's impressive score. Moreover, the use of humor brings a lively sense of amusement, and nicely prohibits the film from becoming too serious. In a feature which contains fantastical elements, the logical explanation to this uniquely original case, which incorporates science and medicine, is a highly interesting concept, however, this originality does not stem throughout the entirety of the feature.Some of Dee's detective skills mimic those seen recently in the American adaptation of Sherlock Holmes, while a number of the weapons share a similarity with those wielded in the Guillotines. A number of the ocean scenes will in all likelihood remind viewers of Pirates of the Caribbean, while one particular action scene set on a cliff, appears to be ripped right out of GI Joe Retaliation. Each of these particular components are fabulously executed, although the 'been there, done that' feel leaves the viewer hungry for something more.Furthermore, a number of the action scenes seem to continue for longer than they should, and though each will surely entertain, this is accomplished by sacrificing the viewer's interest. One thing I fundamentally enjoy about Chinese cinema is I am almost always wowed by their action scenes, and though the scope and ambition of Young Detective Dee was massive, I was never hanging off the edge of my seat. On top of this, a number of the action scenes failed to employ any sense of realism, and even suspending one's own disbelief cannot justify how some of the characters are able to walk away unharmed from the massive fights they endured.Young Detective Dee is a solid action film that won't keep you guessing, but will certainly keep your attention with its outstanding visuals. Though American films often have an over reliance on special effects, Chinese features are seldom similar in this respect, and this particular film's attempts to potentially impersonate a Hollywood feature is a decision that should not be attempted again lightly.

kluseba "Di Renjie: Shen Du Long Wang" or "Young Detective Dee: Rise Of The Sea Dragon" is a prequel to "Detective Dee And The Mystery Of The Dragon Flame". It takes place in the beginning years of Tang Dynasty under the reign of the weak Emperor Gaozong and just a few years before his cruel wife Wu Zetian would take his position and declare the second Zhou dynasty for fifteen years. This second movie shows us a young detective who arrives at the imperial city and has to face a lot of adversary, jealousy and mistrust. The case itself features two different story lines. First of all, there is a giant sea monster controlled by a mysterious enemy that attacks the imperial fleet. The other story features the beautiful courtesan Yin who is about to be sacrificed in order to appease the Gods and therefor the sea monster but who gets first kidnapped by a gang of thieves and later on by a strange human lizard creature. Both stories are loosely bound together and lead the detective and his new colleagues and friends to an adventurous mission on Bat Island.If you liked the first movie of the franchise, my guess is that you will also appreciate the sequel. It's really a matter of nuance if you prefer the first or the second movie as both pretty much have the same flaws and strengths. Just as the first instalment, the sequel convinces with elegant and typically exaggerated fighting scenes in Tsui Hark's unique signature style that goes back to classic Hongkong movies of the late eighties and early nineties like "A Chinese Ghost Story" or "Once Upon A Time In China". I must admit that the over-the-top fighting scenes on the ships towards the end of the movie are probably the most impressive sequences of both movies.The modern elements can be found in several decent CGI effects for the monsters in this movie as well as during the destruction of the fleet and the showdown on and around Bat Island. I must admit that I thought that some of these modern elements did not fit to the historical settings which are colourful and beautiful to watch but not always authentic. It's simply strange to see ultra-modern visual elements in a movie that takes place in the seventh century. I prefer the more limited but authentic settings of more traditional Hongkong movies.While the first movie had some more investigative elements, the sequel only features a couple of these. Detective Dee surely passes as a smart person and some of his investigative methods are still really impressive. Sadly, the movie quickly reveals friends and foes which means that there aren't any real mysteries to solve. The only element I would have liked to know isn't really answered after all. We don't get to know how the sea monster was created and how comes that it sometimes obeys the villains and sometimes it doesn't.As for the acting, the leading actors do an average job as some of them lack depth. Angela Yeung is simply a good-looking woman in love with a poet, that's it. The makers of the movie could have chosen any of the many good-looking Chinese actresses as Angela Young's character lacks uniqueness and feels like a hollow puppet to me. The jealous chief minister portrayed by Feng Shaofeng, the young prison doctor played by Lin Gengxin as well as Detective Dee himself who is now portrayed by Taiwanese-Canadian actor Mark Chao instead of Hongkong actor Andy Lau who was a little bit more charming in my opinion, all have interesting characteristics but remain somewhat superficial. Instead of focusing on special effects, the makers of the movie should have worked a little bit more on the character development.This sequel is a colourful, effect-ridden, fast-paced movie that doesn't fail to entertain and which includes a few impressive investigative methods, beautiful settings and stunning fighting scenes. On the other side, the story is much simpler than in the first film and the actors are mostly exchangeable or stereotypical as in the case of the crazy doctor for example. Fans of modern Hongkong cinema and historical fiction where traditional elements are overrun by modern effects will like this movie. Everyone else is invited to watch this fun ride once but more sophisticated viewers will probably forget about this film pretty soon. I still think that the concept behind this franchise has some potential and hope that there will be a third movie and that's why I'm willing to rate this film seven points instead of only six.