Movie Digest
The great detective returns again to solve a trail of the impossible. Di Renjie was a subordinate judge in Bianzhou before entering the imperial court. When his tutor Yan Liben was welcoming Empress Wu back to the imperial court from Ganye Temple, he came upon a weird ghostly episode known as “Qingji.”
Master Yan was wrongfully suspected of being the killer who planned to assassinate Empress and was imprisoned as a result. Dee arrives at Chang’an alone to solve the mystery, and with the assistance of his beloved Gongsun Yu and his buddy Yang Lu, a small-time criminal in Chang’an, he solves the “Qing Ji” murder case.
The Feel-Good Part
Firstly, the poster for this movie is amazing and also pretty much accurate if I may say so. With the release of the poster and the trailer, there was a lot of anticipation for this installation of the Di Ren Jie or Detective Dee Franchise. Each year, the movie just comes back bigger than ever. The movie promises a testosterone-filled action movie with loads of fight sequences and a ton of special effects. That is exactly what the film delivers. There are explosions, supernatural and mythical creatures along with an intelligent and crime-fighting detective. What is there not to like? Di Ren Jie is almost like the Chinese equivalent of a Sherlock Holmes if not better!
The Disappointing Factor
This is the latest instalment of this super huge franchise. The Di Ren Jie franchise is one of the biggest of its kind with a long history and multiple remakes from different production houses. With such a background, of course, there is a lot of expectation to deal with and that’s where things go wrong. “Di Ren Jie – Demon-Catching Record” is a good action movie if you base it simply on terms of action but for the larger audience, it may not exactly make sense at times. The plot has a lot of gaps and holes that do not necessarily get filled or addressed throughout the movie. The pacing is all over the place and the character interactions are not as fullfilling as you would think.
In-Depth Analysis
Living up to expectations is never easy, especially as the years go by. This film was released in 2021, a year that saw a lot of good movies all over the world. Especially for action-adventure or historical films, it is getting easier and tougher at the same time. Its easier because there are so many resources like CGI and special effects that make it easier to recreate certain elements with better quality. Tougher because the expectations tend to reach monumental heights. That is exactly what happened with this movie. The movie has some of the most top-notch CGI and special effects. Yet, improving that aspect made them lose out on the script and the intellectual progression of the movie. It is a really good movie in a stand-alone capacity but when it has to live up to years of legacy, it gets harder and harder.
Star Power
We see the charismatic Qiu Yu Shuo as Di Ren Jie in this instalment of the series. He had really big shoes to fill after heavyweights like Andy Lau and Yiheng Du among others. Yet, he delivered a commendable performance especially since he had to portray a character much older than him. Opposite him, the talented Cui Bao Yue played the role of Gong Sun Yu. Cui Bao Yue is an upcoming actress on the Chinese film circuit who has worked in films like “South of the Clouds” and “The Witness”. She too delivered a good performance but she had relatively less pressure since hers wasn’t a recurring character.
Overall Opinion
If you are an avid follower of this franchise then you may have mixed feelings after watching this film. But if you are watching it for the first time then you will certainly enjoy the movie thoroughly.
