After dropping out from 2020’s film line-up due to the pandemic, the third instalment of Detective Chinatown is finally ready to premiere on CNY in 2 days and is currently leading the box office pre-sales.
Liu Haoran and Wang Baoqiang reprise their roles as the genius detective x squeaky-voiced uncle. The film has also cast notable Japanese actors Satoshi Tsumabuki, Masami Nagasawa and Shōta Sometani.
The Island 一出好戏 is Huang Bo’s directorial debut, and revolves around the protagonist’s (also played by Huang) attempts to leave the island with his fellow travellers Shu Qi, Wang Baoqiang, Zhang Yixing, Yu Hewei, Wang Xun, Li Qinqin and Li Youlin.
[Image: Sorry there’s no image, I already wasted enough time to write a synopsis for this potentially great film tainted by too much poo. ]
Verdict: A sequel whose quality lives up to the original, with a tight, intriguing detective story and almost no wasted plot points. Unfortunately, the humor moves from voyeurism and verbal misogyny to straight-up sexual harassment from the leads, and ended with a huge f- you to the audience from the director Chen Sicheng that made me decide to never see another movie by him again.
In Detective Chinatown 2, scriptwriter-director Chen Sicheng proves himself once more as a talented scriptwriters and directors, but also the misogynistic jerk we all know he is. The sequel features a whodunnit story that’s just as compelling, full of plot twists, and sharply written as the first one. Tang Ren (Wang Baoqiang) and ( Liu Haoran) once shine as the buddy cop pair, this time joined by the welcomed addition of Xiao Yang, the new guy framed for a series of mysterious murders in New York City.
Unfortunately, the story’s treatment of its female characters left me with so much bitter taste it’s hard to enjoy it. With two women in fridges, multiple sexual harassments and one incident that I think looked like sexual assault by Tang Ren, a cheap plot of “she-left-me-for-money” to get rid of the former female lead (Tong Liya), the story was oozing with misogyny.
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Easily one of the best mysteries and best comedies of the past few years, Detective Chinatown is a sure crowd pleaser.
A belated review for one of my favorite films of 2016 to get ready for the sequel. Detective Chinatown 2 will be distributed by Warner Bros in the U.S. and will open in 48 markets (biggest in a long time for a Chinese film).
A clean and twist-filled mystery embellished with well-executed humor and splashes of romance kept me on the edge of my seats for Detective Chinatown 唐人街探案. The buddy cop flick from actor-turned-director Chen Sicheng proves that he continues to be one of China’s best young commercial directors.
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Running Man has succeeded in ratings, but will people pay to watch?
Hoping to replicate the record-breaking success of the film version of Daddy? Where are we going? last year, this year’s variety hit Running Man 奔跑吧！兄弟 will join the holiday box office competition. The film, an extension of the show, stars Running Man regulars Angelababy, Chen He, Wang Baoqiang, Wong Cho-lam, Zheng Kai, and Li Chen as well as guests Xie Yilin, Lynn Xiong, and Guo Jingfei .
International distributor China Lion has picked up the show for North American and Oceania audiences.