Intriguing Detective a Maddening Mystery

After a missing police gun is connected to a serious of gruesome murders, Regional Crime Unit Inspector Ho (Andy On) finds himself at a loss as to how to connect all the dots. With nothing to lose, he turns to his former superior, the forcefully retired Inspector Bun (Lau Ching Wan), his unorthodox methods breaking impossible case after impossible case during his time on the force.

Lau Ching Wan could be losing his mind in IFC Films' Mad Detective

But there is a reason this gifted criminal profiler lives in seclusion with his beautiful wife May (Kelly Lin), the constant glare of societies rhythms driving the man perilously close to insanity. Still, Ho is undeterred, and it isn’t until Bun reveals the secrets behind his almost mystical abilities that the young detective starts to wonder if he’s doing the right thing getting so close to him.

With all signs pointing to gangland Inspector Chi-Wai (Lam Ka Tung) as a major suspect, the line between reality and fantasy begins to blur for just about everyone involved with the case. With time running out, Ho must make a choice, go against his own best instincts and listen to his unhinged mentor or stand by a fellow police officer claiming his innocence, the answer sure to have tragic consequences no matter what he decides.

Hong Kong action auteur Johnnie To’s (Exiled) latest madcap surrealistic mystery Mad Detective is two-thirds of a fantastic motion picture. Working with co-director Wai Ka Fai (Running on Karma), the duo create a wondrously bizarre world of multiple personalities, ghostly apparitions and ethical quandaries that gets increasingly more engrossing as it goes on.

Unfortunately, a major shift happens as things move into the third act erasing much of the ample good will generated by so much of the first two. With a swift suddenness the movie becomes stilted and unfocused, everything building to an explosively dimwitted climax that couldn’t help but be calssified as anything other than a massive disappointment. While the pair thankfully don’t go for the obvious they don’t go for the interesting either, the only thing memorable being just how quickly the filmmakers’ bullet-riddled house of cards falls to frustratingly stupid pieces.

All of which is really too bad, because for a while there sitting in the theater To and Fai had me completely under their collective spell. Their movie bobs and weaves into unusual corners of the mind I can’t say I was ever expecting, Bun one part Monk, two parts Allison Dubois and another so utterly original and different I don’t remotely know who to compare him to. He is a fascinating character I wanted to see more of, and even when things started to become turgid and borderline unbearable the man was just still so mesmerizing I almost didn’t care.

Obviously this is a testament to the amazingly talented Wan. I can’t really say I’ve seen him before (He won the 2007 Hong Kong Films Best Actor Award for a picture called My Name is Fame) but after this I fully intend to scour his filmography and see which features I can greedily get my hands on. To call the guy terrific would be an understatement, and any and all traction Mad Detective ultimately achieves is totally due to him.

If only the final bits weren’t so darn exasperating I’d be able to give this enterprise an energetic pass and move on to the next review. But that just isn’t the case, the climactic portions both maddening and banal all at once. The thing is, there is a perfect point in the story where the film could have truly skyrocketed and went into an entirely unexpected and refreshingly creepy direction distinctly its own. Instead, the directors settle for the obvious, and while the final bullets fired are a bit startling they aren’t so much so that they blow a hole through any of the climax’s numerous faults. 

A part of me is starting to wonder what all the fuss over To is really about. While I can’t say I’ve seen a ton of the guy’s work, I think I’ve watched enough of it at this point to feel like he doesn’t really add that much to the Hong Kong thriller cannon. Frankly, John Woo or Ringo Lam this guy is not, and no matter how many keep wanting to say otherwise I just don’t see it, Mad Detective just another disappointing misfire unable to live up to its ample promise.

Film Rating: êê1/2  (out of 4)

Additional Links:

-  2008 SIFF Blog by Sara Michelle Fetters
-  2008 Seattle International Film Festival Home Page
-  Mad Detective Theatrical Trailer