Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame: Difference between revisions

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The plot takes place shortly before the ascension of Wu Zetian, China's first female emperor, to the throne. An enormous Buddha statue is being built for the occasion when the director of its construction mysteriously bursts into flames and dies. The investigators are baffled until Wu Zetian calls on Detective Dee, a man whom she imprisoned eight years previously for opposing her rule. With the Empress' agent [[Action Girl|Shangguan]] [[Love Interest|Jing'er]] and cop [[White-Haired Pretty Boy|Pei]] [[Anti-Hero|Dongling]], Dee [[You Have 48 Hours|has until the coronation starts]] to solve the mystery of the phantom flame.

 

* [[Absurdly Spacious Sewer]]: The Ghost City is supposed to be what remains of the original city, which sank into the ground as centuries went by. But it looks like a maze of giant underground canyons.

* [[Action Girl]]: Jing'Er.

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Dee, of course. Dongling occasionally strays into this territory when he's teasing Jing'er.

* [[Determinator]]: After getting impaled multiple times by spring-loaded javelins, {{spoiler|Jing'er}} still manages to drag a grown man into the tree tops to hide, then survive the long journey on horseback to the palace before finally bleeding to death.

* [[Dwindling Party]]: By the time the movie ends only a handful of named characters survive.

* [[The Exotic Detective|Exotic Detective]]

* [[Femme Fatale]]: The Empress. Possibly Jing'er.

* [[Punny Name]]: Donkey Wang. Yes. Technically, it's [[They Call Me Mister Tibbs|Dr. Donkey Wang.]]

* [[Redemption Equals Death]]: {{spoiler|Shangguan Jing'er}}.

* [[Sinister Minister]]: The mysterious Chaplain, who apparently doubles as both a prophet and assassin for the Empress.

* [[Slap Slap Kiss]]: Dee and Jing'er, almost as soon as he's out of prison. A subversion, as this is staged as a way of getting close to him, which of course he sees right through.

* [[Spontaneous Human Combustion]]: The Phantom Flame. Of course, careful investigation shows that it's not at all spontaneous.

* [[Unresolved Sexual Tension]]: Jing'Er with virtually everyone. But mainly Dee.

* [[Voluntary Shapeshifting]]: An important plot point hinges on a certain acupressure point that allows you to completely alter the shape of your face.

 

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[[Category:Film]]