Detective Dee e i quattro Re celesti

This latest Detective Dee film, directed by Tsui Hark, is a colorful epic ancient Chinese saga. It's filled with martial arts sequences, acrobatics, as well as plenty of treachery, deception, sorcery, illusions, and pageantry.

In the movie, the intrepid Detective Dee, head of the Bureau of Investigations, is awarded the super powerful Dragon-Taming Mace by the Emperor for his past heroism in saving the Kingdom. But the Detective will have to contend with the power hungry and evil Empress, as well as a reemerging cult, named the Wind Warriors, who seek control of the Dynasty as well, using magic and mind control.

I would say the film is somewhat overly long at about 2hrs. and 12 min. and it can be confusing and complicated at times.The final battle sequence I thought was too drawn out as well.

However, if one can just sit back and enjoy the wild special effects, the intrigue, the twists and turns, and colorful pageantry of it all, there are rewards here, although the movie is not for everyone.

'Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings' is the third in this series of Chinese kung fu films, after the original 'Detective Dee: Mystery of the Phantom Flame' back in 2010 and 'Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon' (2013). The plot follows Dee (Chao) as he leads an ancient FBI and his friendship/rivalry with Yuchi (Feng) and mentorship of Shatuo (Lin), as they try to protect/hide the Dragon Taming Mace, which has powers (like Excalibur).

Despite the four 'heavenly kings' of the title, they barely make an appearance or have an impact on the story. Rather, it's all about sorcery and a clan (the "Wind Warriors") who want to topple the dynasty. The sorcery aspect means there's plenty of special effects, most of it really well done. The dragon and the battle at the end are exceptional. Even the "illusionists", including Water Moon (Ma), are pretty cool.

There's still some mystery and police work for Dee to solve, but it's also merged well with the sorcery and political intrigue with the Empress and Emperor. It's well paced, not too long, with some funny moments and, obviously has excellent stunts and fight-scene choreography that's more than worth the price of admission. It all adds up to a fun ride!

The story is a complex, multi-character excerise in episodic storytelling. Thre is a full-bodied saga that unfolds in "The Four Heavenly Kings" that offers rich, creative characters drawing on layered back story that, although implied for a lot of the characters, very much recognizable and clear. The main cast give stellar performances potraying what has to be as fascinating a mythos as Disney's fairytale collection.

The special effects are extravagant, over-the-top displays that show a strong desire to "one up" Hollywood, and to a degree Bollywood" , producing a true to score blockbuster experience. I have to say that Tsui pulls it off marvelously. Obviously money wasn't a concern. Think ABC's 'Once Upon A Time' meets -well- Hong Kong! Overall "Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings" is a beautifully filmed fantasy tale of mythical mastery.

An Improvement over Phantom but still 20 minutes too long.

A better story, with the best visuals in the series but still lacking something...maybe Jet Li?

If you don't speak Chinese and appreciate visual effects like me, then this movie would be an entertaining movie while having popcorn and sometimes checking your phone. I have watched plenty of Chinese movie recently and I can see they are getting to the highest level in terms of VFX. This one is one the best so far.

Story wise, not bad. You don't expect that much, but in total I am fine spending 2 hours in cinema.