Tang tan 1900

This is a film released on the first day of Chinese New Year 2025. I have watch none of the Chinatown Detective series, nor other films in the same time period. I find it an okay one.

This movie is characterized as comedy. In fact, I do not find such scenes particularly cleverly developed, and am not amused by these. However, it does entertain the majority of the audience.

What makes it okay is the plot. It is, of course, not a very surprising story, and some people may say it is boring. But the movie tells the story to the audience completely and well. Forgetting about the technologies nowadays, telling a story is a film does, and this one does it fine.

Yesterday in the Chinese cinemas there was a real frenzy, so we arrived 30 minutes earlier and settled into our seats, expecting the same -according to the cinema app every ticket was gone for shows until 11:30 p.m. But to our surprise, it was pretty chill. Cinema 1 at He Ping in Wuxi was actually only half full, and after watching the film, I totally get why!

"Detective Chinatown 1900" (2025), directed by Chen Sicheng and Dai Mo, is a total flop that brings the once-promising franchise to a new low. What was supposed to be a clever blend of comedy and murder mystery ends up being a cringe-worthy display of poor filmmaking that might even make you feel a bit dumber after watching it.

Set in 1900 San Francisco, the story centers around the murder of a white woman in Chinatown, with a Chinese man as the main suspect. This intriguing setup had the potential for sharp social commentary and gripping storytelling. Unfortunately, the execution is so terrible that it completely wastes any potential the plot had.

Chen Sicheng's direction is all over the place, resulting in a jumbled mess of scenes where Chinese characters face abuse from white racists, justice is obstructed with assumptions of guilt, and white families would rather see their daughters dead than have a Chinese grandchild! The humor misses the mark, often feeling forced and awkward against the serious backdrop of a murder case. The characters are flat and underdeveloped, and the performances are equally disappointing, with actors struggling to deliver their lines or add any real depth to their roles.

It's really sad to see a franchise that started with so much potential fall apart like this. "Detective Chinatown 1900" is a weak attempt that fails to hit the mark on any level, leaving viewers frustrated and let down. This latest entry is a textbook example of how not to make a film that is a complete waste of time for everyone involved. Do yourself a favor and steer clear of this cinematic disaster!

Detective Chinatown 1900, originally known as Tang Ren Jie Tan an 1900, is the fourth entry in the commercially successful comedic investigative franchise. The story takes place in San Francisco's Chinatown where a young Caucasian woman and an elderly First Nations man are found dead in a back alley. The main suspect is the son of a Chinese businessman who cannot provide an alibi for the time of the crime. The father thus hires a quirky, naive and inexperienced Chinese medicine physician as well as the son of the murdered elderly man who happens to be an orphaned Chinese man who had been adopted by a First Nations tribe and who has developed particularly sharp senses.

This movie initially does many things very well. The colourful, detailed and diversified settings look astonishing throughout even though they obviously represent a much more beautiful version of the actual San Francisco's Chinatown. The costumes and make-up also deserve much praise and bring viewers back to a time set between traditional manners and modern perspectives. The quirky characters are introduced step by step which helps the audience to warm up with them when additional information is delivered in a prologue as well as in several flashbacks. The story itself is quite compelling as well since the body count quickly rises and economical, political and social aspects come into play.

However, the film loses its entertaining structure halfway through the rising action. Comedic moments are awkwardly intertwined with investigative passages. Critical comments about the treatment of Chinese immigrants to the United States of America are intertwined with a vapid love story pulled out of thin air. The most important First Nations member in this whole film is played by a Chinese actor who essentially plays a shameful caricature of a truly fascinating culture and even the supporting actors are portrayed as people who constantly misunderstand situations on an almost shockingly stupid level. Criticizing the way Americans have treated Chinese immigrants is indeed important but this film loses itself in racist stereotypes that can be summarized as all important American characters being rotten to the core and all important Chinese characters being inherently heroic. The film goes even further by justifying a violent revolution against monarchy that will ultimately establish a socialist country. As if that weren't enough, the movie even concludes with the megalomaniac statement that one day China will become the most powerful country in the whole wide world. What started as a very good movie develops a very bitter aftertaste due to its aggressive, brainwashing and omnipresent political propaganda. The director, scriptwriters and political influencers behind this film really seem to be taking its audience for complete idiots who can easily be manipulated. To me, this propagandistic movie feels like a desperate cry for help, nationalism and pride in a desperate time when China suffers its most dreadful economic crisis following a long-winded deadly pandemic and numerous particularly outspoken protests against the state system itself.

Now, don't get me wrong at all, I'm positively amazed by Chinese culture, history and society and even share many of the country's economical, political and social values but this movie's radical propaganda show will even drive off people who actually sympathize with the People's Republic of China. This is what must be called a disastrous political own goal.

At the end of the day, let's try to be perfectly fair with our final verdict. This movie is a very entertaining crime comedy that entertains throughout. Its disturbing, extremist and unnecessary propagandistic elements however slow the enjoyment of this film down significantly. Recent reviews by Chinese members of the audience who have found a way to express themselves freely seem to confirm this analysis time and time again.

It only seems right to address the elephant in the room when setting a movie in a California Chinatown in the 1900s. Chinese Exclusion Act, working conditions for Chinese labourers who built the transcontinental, etc. All seem relevant and could create a very interesting background if done correctly. Detective Chinatown 1900 beats these over the heads of the audience to the point it's out of place. I think it's more effective to give the audience room to ponder these topics.

When the movie isn't focusing on those travesties or diving into more modern day nationalistic propaganda, it's still weaker as a buddy cop movie than any of the trilogy save a few action scenes.

Honestly, considering Chen Sicheng's usual... performance, this movie is way better than the third one.

A miracle, really.

(He's tortured my expectations so low, it's kinda sad.)

But you gotta admit - dude knows how to make a Chinese New Year blockbuster.

He single-handedly invented "Spring Festival Gala: The Movie."

Whatever's trending on Douyin?

He throws it in.

Musical numbers? Check.

Plot twists? Check.

Stand-up comedy vibes? Yup.

Magic tricks?? Bro, even those.

A big happy ending with a cheesy group song? You bet.

Chen Sicheng really took the recent Spring Festival Gala vibes to heart: "Teach a lesson first, then let people have fun." Man's getting older - just wants that iron rice bowl now.

When it comes to cashing in on patriotism, even Wu Jing would have to bow and call him the godfather.

Honestly, if it weren't for Chow Yun-fat's acting saving those cringy lines, I would've been rolling my eyes halfway through.