Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame

In 690 AD, China's capital is preparing for the coronation of Wu Zetian as the country's first empress. A giant Buddhist statue is being raised for the ceremony, but a series of deaths by fire strikes officials connected to the project, and panic spreads through the city. Wu Zetian turns to Di Renjie, a detective she herself imprisoned years earlier for opposing her rule, and has him released so he can investigate. He takes the case, though his own freedom and the court's suspicions hang over the inquiry.

Tsui Hark directed this 2010 Hong Kong-Chinese production, the twenty-second of the thirty-one films he has directed in chronological order, following Seven Swords and preceding Flying Swords of Dragon Gate. The screenplay is by Kuo-Fu Chen and Chang Chia-lu, with Tsui Hark among the producers. Andy Lau plays Detective Dee, alongside Li Bingbing, Deng Chao, Tony Leung Ka-fai and Carina Lau as Wu Zetian. Made for about 13 million USD, it returned roughly 52 million USD worldwide. On IMDb it holds 6.6/10 from around 12,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.6/10 from 445 votes, while critics rated it 6.8/10 from 55 reviews, a slightly warmer response than the audience scores. At 123 minutes, it blends action and mystery with court intrigue.