Le mystère des balles fantômes

"The Bullet Vanishes" is flawed, a mixed bag, but is filled with plenty of tense and suspenseful moments that makes the film worth taking a look at.

Director Lo Chi Leung ("Inner Senses" and "Koma") certainly have a hand in creating tense and suspenseful moments, which is vital in low budget thrillers. However, "The Bullet Vanishes" is budgeted at US$12 million, one must wonder, why producer Derek Yee is not directing instead. Lo lacks experience in directing anything outside the genre of thrillers and in most cases those films are carried by the ever wonderful Karena Lam ("Kidnap", "Koma" and "Inner Senses") or the late Leslie Cheung ("Double Tap" and "Inner Senses"). That's not to say that this film is without great actors, as the likes of newly crowned best actor Nicholas Tse, the ever versatile Lau Ching Wan, the always brilliant Liu Kai-Chi and rising Mainland actress Mini Yang, more than fill the acting dues. So what exactly went wrong? That is a question that kept me puzzled right from the moment the film finished. The film looks wonderful, credibly produced, expensive sets and contains some brilliant turns from Lau Ching Wan and Liu Kai-Chi, but somehow it feels like a mixed bag. It doesn't help when the film ends with one twist too many. Perhaps upon viewing the film, one just cannot stop themselves referencing to "Sherlock Holmes" In essence, it is still a relatively entertaining, suspenseful and gritty detective thriller, that just didn't quite cut it on an emotional and deeper level.

As usual, Lau Ching Wan is in his "Mad Detective" mode. Lau manages to carry the film once again and alongside the scene stealing villainous turn from Liu Kai-Chi ("The Viral Factor") are the highlights of the film. In those confrontation scenes, the interaction between Lau and Liu are simply priceless and oozes with screen presences. While reigning best actor Nicholas Tse ("Beast Stalker" and "The Stool Pigeon") is dependable without being stunning and lacks chemistry with Mini Yang ("Painted Skin: Resurrection"). At times, it seems as though Tse is going on auto-pilot and a far cry from his performance in "The Stool Pigeon". Yang is pretty much underused and under-explored and in many ways the film seems to be using her current hot streak in Mainland to sell more tickets. One must question what role she really plays in the film, other than exposing some skin and getting hot with her co-star Tse. Yumiko Cheng ("Heat Team") is Yumiko Cheng and despite having more screen time than Yang, she adds nothing to her role.

All in all, "The Bullet Vanishes" is at times suspenseful, gritty and even thrilling, but the film feels stretched and is filled with unnecessary scenes and characters that adds nothing to the overall storyline. While, Lo is probably trying to saying something noble or about the human condition, he is clearly constrained by filming for the Mainland market. Still, this is far from being a bad film, as there is really a lot to like about. In particular, it is always a joy to watch Lau Ching Wan going the distance and Liu Kai-Chi always surprises the audience with his performances. The film most certainly could've been done with tighter editing, but for what it is worth, "The Bullet Vanishes" remains a highly watchable detective thriller. Certainly worth a look, despite its flaws…(Neo 2012)

I rate it 7.5/10

-thehkneo.com/blog

How can a bullet vanish? Magic? Or is it something different and what would it be? Well where's Sherlock Holmes when you need him. All kidding aside, this is a really good detective story, with quite a few twists and turns. The actors are good, the action and stunt scenes are more than decent themselves.

It is not without fault, but it keeps the tension high and the technical aspect of it is also something to behold. If you don't mind Asian movies, this will float your boat

Hong Kong's answer to SHERLOCK HOLMES (2009). Lo Chi-Leung's THE BULLET VANISHES is a stylish period whodunit blessed with charming two leads (Nicholas Tse and Lau Ching-Wan), clever plotting and impeccable technical areas. Best of all, it's a huge relief that Lo Chi-Leung has finally made his true comeback after his once-prolific directing career took a huge tumble in 2010's CURSE OF THE DESERTED.

Set in 1920/30s Shanghai, the movie opens with a suspicious death of a young female worker named Yan (Xuxu) of an ammunition factory, who is accused of stealing a bullet by his boss, Ding (Liu Kai-Chi). To prove her innocence, Ding challenges her for a game of Russian roulette. She is unlucky enough to end up dead after she shoots herself into the head.

Meanwhile, Song Donglu (Lau Ching-Wan), a quirky and eccentric prison superintendent who is known for his obsessive investigation method, is summoned by police chief Jin (Wu Gang) to investigate the murder of Chen Qi (Liu Yang), a foreman who has been hit by a bullet that went through his skull and made a dent in the wall. Teaming up with hotshot "fastest gun-in-the-region" detective Guo Zhui (Nicholas Tse), they head over to the ammunition factory where Chen Qi's death took place. Strangely enough, they find no trace of bullets. The workers there claims it must be the work of Yan, who returns as a ghost exacting revenge but Song and Guo figures there must be a less supernatural explanation in their investigation.

Lo Chi-Leung and Yeung Sin-Ling's screenplay surrounding the complicated mystery is especially intriguing and fun to watch for. Elsewhere, there's an intriguing subplot involving Fu Yuan (Jiang Yiyan), an inmate convicted of murdering her husband (Chin Kar-Lok) where Song is trying to learn the truth -- together with an entertaining flashback scene shot in stylized black-and-white silent movie-style. Somewhere in between, director Lo Chi-Leung also inserts a couple of lively action set-pieces especially the final Mexican standoff and the slow-motion explosion sequence.

The cast is top-notch, with Lau Ching-Wan being the best of the bunch. His eccentric performance is always fun to watch for, and his character easily recalls the one he did before in MAD DETECTIVE (2007). Nicholas Tse is charismatic as usual, while Liu Kai-Chi gives a gleefully over-the-top performance as the crooked Ding and Jiang Yiyan is captivating as the icy Fu Yuan.

As for Lo Chi-Leung, his direction oozes with plenty of style and enthusiasm to keep the viewers intrigued throughout the movie. But still, his movie is not without some of the glaring flaws. The pace is slow and draggy in some parts, while the obligatory romance between Guo Zhui and Little Lark (Yang Mi), who plays a fortune teller, feels like an afterthought. Then there's the unexpected twist at the finale. It's a surprise that baffles me, but it also feels unnecessary and also convoluted.

Despite the setbacks, THE BULLET VANISHES remains one of the best Hong Kong movies of the year.

http://caseymoviemania.blogspot.com/

I just finished watching this and I was quite impressed. Do yourself a favour and ignore the jaded, critical comments in the 1 or 2 other reviews which are completely unfounded.

I DO though fully agree with all the other 'GOOD' reviews here and their strong praise for this beautiful looking and engaging film! And, when I say 'Beautiful', I mean frigg'n BEAUTIFUL! The Blu-ray that I saw had a picture quality that was so stunning, it virtually leapt off the screen and was VERY 3 dimensional.

And YES it does very much bring to mind Guy Ritchie's recent 'SHERLOCK HOLMES' in the look and with the soundtrack. But, it is NOT as hyper stylized. The Mystery is very involving; the writing, direction, and acting is excellent. YES, the final twist at the end may or may not be completely necessary, but I personally do not think it detracts that much from the story and overall impact of the film.

So, if you DO happen to like Asian Action / Crime films that are sharply executed and very entertaining, not to mention beautiful looking, then you will indeed very much enjoy this movie!

Song Donglu is a prison police officer who is very friendly with all the Prisoners and also has a brilliant mind to solve cases. He got promoted as a detective and posted in a town where crimes are high. Donglu team up with a local cop Guo Zhui to solve the case of vanishing bullets. The victims were shot, but the bullets are missing from their body. Like Sherlock Holmes, the logic explanation scenes were very good and also some action scenes that come from nowhere. Apart from this, the film has good sound effects and gorgeous frames. The pace of this mystery movie was constant and visuals tells the remaining things. Both Ching-wan and Tse delivers a stylish performance and loved it. Overall, it's a good investigation movie even though some scenes were inspired from Sherlock Holmes movies.