Customer Reviews

Mad Detective

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

MAD DETECTIVE is from Johnnie To's production outfit; Milky Way Image, the production company responsible for such acclaimed Hong Kong hits such as "Exiled". Milky Way has given new life to Hong Kong Cinema and perhaps maintaining the country's image as a reputable leader in the crime genre. This latest offering from the creative team of Johnnie To and Wai Ka-Fai still has the usual coolness, it mixes crime thrills and detective work, familiar motifs and themes, but somehow it feels more cryptic and enigmatic than the usual. The film definitely feels a lot more like a psychological detective thriller than anything else.

Synopsis partially derived from the Mei-Ah dvd back cover:
A missing police pistol is connected to a series of recent heists and murders. Its owner Wong (Lee Kwok Lun) vanished after pursuing suspects in the bushes. His partner Chi-Wai (Lam Ka Tung) miraculously returned unscathed.
Inspector HO (Andy On) the officer in charge, seeks assistance from his former mentor; Bun (Lau Ching Wan), who had once been recognized as a gifted criminal profiler until he became judged insane some years ago. He has the uncanny ability to see into a person's inner personality, where the subconscious desires and emotions are laid bare. After the first contact with Chi-Wai, Bun concludes that Chi-Wai is the murderer. What began as a quest for answers has now taken a schizophrenic turn where truth and lies, reality and delusions intertwine....

If you saw the film "Running on Karma", you have a good idea on how this exercise in Buddhist indulgence plays out. The film takes the very cryptic and odd premise of "seeing a person's inner personality" to a very creative style. The film's premise is very ambitious and effective. An eccentric detective, who can see the emotions and inner desires of a person; to his associates, Bun appears quite insane. Bun uses this uncanny ability to explore complex emotions in solving a crime. True, "Mad Detective" is about cops and the investigation of crimes, but the complexity of its plot is just who these people are and what they are about to do. It was very different and creative the way the director expressed the inner personalities within one person. Viewers have to pay special attention to its proceedings as the camera's perspective shifts from time to time, a person will "morph" into someone else as a representation of that character's hidden personality. This style will have to be embraced by the audience, as the very unusual visual manipulation may sometimes show 7 people walking along the sidewalk in place of one person, 7 folks crammed in one compact car instead of one, a woman standing to urinate, etc. The switching characters and perspectives will encourage the viewer to stay sharp, it made me think and analyze the sequences. Truth be told, the film made me work, and while I was definitely drawn to the film, some viewers may become a bit alienated and confused.

Thankfully, award-winning actor Lau Ching Wan plays the lead. No one can play a weird eccentric with dynamic charisma better than Lau. His weathered and exhausted appearance, very manic and strange behavior adds a lot of depth to his character; Bun. Lam Suet and Eddie Cheung makes appearances as Chi-Wai's different personalities, Kelly Lin plays Bun's wife. "Mad Detective" is so full of compelling and multi-dimensional characters, that at times, I felt a bit of character overload. These characters aren't very different from everyday folks, with inner voices nudging the person to either do right or wrong; with unexpected consequences that may also be damning and dangerous to others.

"Mad Detective" may be a bit different from the other films I'm used to by Johnnie To but one thing that still held his signature is its great storytelling. As usual, there is somewhat of a "shock ending" that is bereft in ultimate irony. The film can definitely form a connection with its viewers, its real-world and real-life execution is likely to strike a chord to many. The ending may cause some people to scratch their heads, but if you've been paying attention during its entirety, it does make perfect sense. The twist and turns may prove a bit maddening but pseudo-intellectuals will no doubt have a field day trying to interpret its meaning.

Johnnie To's "Mad Detective" will no doubt become a favorite among his fans, who are used to the deadpan humor, crazy irony, plot arches, and a bit of misogyny. The film is definitely to a selected, intended audience as it may prove a tougher sell to people who like to be spoon-fed the details and uninitiated to this style. Still, the content and its meaning did prove very intoxicating and compelling to me. I may not be able to fully explain why I enjoyed this film and some details may seem a bit confusing, but my inner personality (who is The Mighty Thor LOL) who is flailing his arms says I like this film a lot!

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! [4 Stars]

This movie is brilliant, possibly even genius. Let's just get that out of the way. I've seen many people refer to it as a Johnnie To film, which is only half-right. Here, the great To re-teams with his 'Running on Karma' co-director Wai Ka Fai. It also pairs To up with legendary actor Lau Ching Wa (who, personally, I loved in Black Mask). With a team like this there are some big expectations-and they more than deliver.
Without saying too much, let's just say that Lau (playing Det. Bun) is a 'Mad Detective' who has an uncanny ability to read people and deduce crimes (think Sherlock Holmes meets Rainman). He's been called back by the police to help solve the case of a missing police detective. While the concept behind the character is fairly unique, it's been done before in different ways-but rarely as good as this.

What makes this film great is that it starts where most other films end. It gives you the big Shyamalan twist up front and then spends the next hour and a half trying to figure out what to do with it. This movie may set a new bar for richness of character.

Bun and the relationship he has with his wife provides some genuinely heart-wrenching moments. Lau really gets inside the character and you feel it, from beginning to end, emotional/psychological roller coaster and all. But we'd expect nothing less of To and Fai; they usually tend to populate their world with rich characters. Every actor turns in a stellar performance. Plus, we're treated to appearances by a fair number of To and Fai regulars.

'Mad Detective' really is a fresh take on the Crime/Murder/Mystery genre. But while fresh is good, it's not everything. This film succeeds in being smart and entertaining at the same time. Seeing such a great concept put together by such a talented team on both sides of the camera is a gift. Repeat viewings will reveal more and more subtle and intricate layers to an already brilliant film. There's really not much more to say, just watch it, already!

I had minimal expectations when sitting down to watch "Mad Detective," an intriguing film from Hong Kong by the esteemed Johnnie To (co-directed with Wai Ka Fai). If anything, it seemed likely that the film would be an insanely over-the-top crime melodrama--that's just the mental impression imposed by such a title. But what unraveled was a perplexing and thoroughly unique film. Having captured several screenplay awards in Asia, it's easy to see why the multi-layered narrative is such a critical draw. "Mad Detective" is intricately structured and elaborately staged in a visual style quite unlike other pictures I have seen. The titular "Mad" represents the primary character who has a tenuous relationship with reality--and seen through his eyes, the film is a compelling cerebral challenge.

"Mad Detective" introduces us to Inspector Bun (the stellar Lau Ching Wan) who has an almost supernatural ability to solve crimes. He can put himself into the mind of the culprits or into the circumstances of a crime through visions, dreams, and impressions. But his grasp of the here and now isn't always so strong as he is having interactions that no one else can detect. As the story fast forwards five years, the controversial Bun has been removed from the force but a young inspector who idolizes the madman genius asks for assistance in the case of a missing police officer. Jumping at the chance, Bun launches himself into the case with vigor and becomes a mentor for the younger man. But is Bun really a genius? As his actions become more erratic, his useful contributions start to become more and more suspect.

The mystery element to "Mad Detective," in truth, if fairly perfunctory. What makes the film so special is the way in which it invites us to view the world through Bun's eyes. Bun claims to see the personalities within any given individual, so at one point as he's trailing a suspect--the audience is actually following seven actors who represent those personalities. I'm not going to give much more away, other than to say that it is essential to pay close attention so you don't lose track of reality as well! There are numerous other terrific devices used to get into Bun's thoughts in a visual way. It's a finely tuned juggling act that "Mad Detective" works as well as it does. A fantastic lead performance and genuine chemistry between the two cops enhance the trickery and provide emotional context. "Mad Detective" is a truly unique Asian crime story--one that will linger long after the last frame. KGHarris, 10/10.

When one detective is crazy and the other one is a greedy gangster in the disguise of a detective and the third one is a bitch that does not want to be dominated by her crazy man and the fourth one is a frightened little boy in the disguise of a courageous crime solver, you can be sure nothing is simple and everything is definitely twisted, distorted, warped and a few other limping true menaces. And only one will have to survive to clean up the snake nest, and only one will survive. Then the rest is anecdotic. But I like this detective clairvoyant when you bury him alive. I must admit it is funny to follow the intricate and completely messed up chase after an Indian criminal who will be the first one to be killed though he probably never killed anyone. You need eggs to break if you want to make an omelet, don't you? The eggs are of course always innocent even if they come from the rear end of some chicken or rather hen. A film that is more funny than frightening but maybe that is due to the fact that we do not have a dubbed version, only a subtitled one.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines

Despite its rather gruesome opening, this highly unconventional Hong Kong police movie manages to be both engrossing and compelling right to the very end. There are times when the pace flags just a little but by and large it achieves a fine balance between police drama and psychological thriller. It is well acted and stylishly shot throughout and has so many unexpected elements as to buck all expectations of just where it is heading, or how it might get there. With twists aplenty along the way, it pays to keep your wits about you whilst watching; its apocalyptic conclusion provides a nicely ambiguous ending.

With a generous dose of interesting extras on the DVD, this is very worthwhile release from Masters of Cinema. Highly recommended.

Hong Kong film makers have a way of putting new twists on older stories. But as far as I can see "Mad Detective" is totally fresh.

A crooked detective may or may not have killed his partner while in pursuit of a perp in the woods at night. He may or may not be using the partner's gun in robberies. 18 months pass and the partner's body still has not been found. A young detective on the case approaches a "retired" detective for help. The detective is really strange. He can see people's inner personalities, even if there are more than one. He hears voices that aren't there and he has dinner with his wife who isn't there. But his weird way of looking at things allows him to solve cases that have stumped everyone else.

I've never seen a plot like this. It's so fresh and works so well. As things start to ramp up and you get the lay of the land (I won't spoil) you become more and more intrigued wondering how it will all play out. Johny To is a veteran director of crime thrillers and he's up to par here. Ching Wan Lau, as the 'mad detective', Bun, is also a veteran. He's been in nearly 100 movies and he wears the world on his face. He's got this beleaguered, hang-dog look that might not be handsome but is arresting. You can pick him out of a crowd. The production values are typical of Hong Kong thrillers. Not big budgeted but money well spent. You're not seeing the bones. And the music score is not what one might expect in this kind of flick. Very interesting.

What's happening here is Bun. What's with this character? As I began to see what he was all about it struck me a near genius. There is a John Woo-ish standoff in the climax and I'm not certain if I "got" the ending, but this is one of the greater crime thrillers I've seen. If you're predisposed toward this sort of thing this is about as good as they get.

i picked this up for rental at the library randomly and didn't read the back cover so i went into it blind. i'm so glad i did as the film is about characters picking their way between reality and illusion and not having any preconceptions added to the ambiguity. basically if you like hard boiled detective stories and you think psychoanalysis has something to it then you'll likely enjoy this. or even if you just like oddities. the only disappointment i had was it's short running time (about and hour and 20 mins)- i could have handled a lot more.

'Mad Detective' is a riff on the veteran cop/rookie cop genre of films, but with a quirky twist from Hong Kong co-directors Johnnie To and Wai Ka-Fai. Those who think of Asian action cinema as either low budget chop-socky or period samurai films will be surprised and pleased at the clever script and the solid acting. 'Mad Detective' may not be the best of these new and relatively obscure efforts coming out of Hong Kong and Thailand today, but it stands head and shoulders above the tired blockbusters from the major studios that are regurgitated year after year.

A young police detective, Ho, reports to his first assignment and begins assisting Inspector Bun, an experienced supervisor with strange but effective methods. These methods conceal a deeper problem, though, and Inspector Bun leaves the force a few days after Ho arrives. Several years later, Detective Ho, because he has always remembered Bun's peculiar success, seeks out the older man for help on a case that has everyone baffled.

This film reveals itself slowly, and only to those willing to invest their attention. Eventually the viewer comes to understand that the source of Bun's insight is an ability to see the people around him represented as the inner, often conflicted, forces within their consciousness - or else he's a disturbed man who refuses to take his medication. Either way, his success rate leads Detective Ho to try following Bun's techniques, something that eventually reveals Ho's inner conflicts to Bun - and, in a way, to Ho himself. Bun's eccentric behavior finally distances the younger man from his mentor, though this comes at a critical time in their investigation.

Unlike many action/detective films which do the work for the viewer by supplying them with stock heroes and villians, 'Mad Detective' is subtler - and much more willing to portray the complexities of its characters. Those complexities deepen as the film proceeds - right up until it fades to black, which makes it somewhat of a hybrid, straddling the monochromatic, uninspired productions that pass for action and adventure; and literate films with slower pacing and dense thematic structure. Viewers who enjoy dramatic action films but are routinely disappointed in the dumbed down mass produced star vehicles churned out today may be well rewarded by seeking out movies such as 'Mad Detective' - a movie that isn't an 'experience', but still assumes an intelligent audience.

This film is unrated and subtitled. Although it contains little if anything that is offensive, an appropriate rating would probably be PG-13, as the thematic elements are aimed at a mature audience.

This was a very dark movie with a mad detective (title of film) trying to figure out a murder. He is able to fathom peoples' personalities. One major character has 7 assorted personalities and another character is seen as a scared weak boy. The mad detective has a wife who is imaginary as his wife left him. Later the real former wife notes that the mad detective has not been taking his meds, which is no suprise.

The movie progresses and eventually the grand ending, which is even darker than most of the movie, pits 4 people against each other, in a mirrored room, little light and lots of guns made more interesting that all seven personalities are there and the mirrors doubles the numbers. There therefore are about twenty people shooting at each other, bullets hitting, blood spattering and every one is dead or wounded. There is an ultimate survivor.

The photography was good. This is not your father's or mother's mystery story, but it was interesting, though, at least to me, somewhat confusing. The subtitles of this Chinese language movie did not detract from the movie.

Bun was once considered a genius detective, but his increasingly eccentric methods, combined with the fact that he cut off his own ear as a gift to the retiring captain, led to him being declared insane and dismissed from the force. When the pistol of a missing policeman is implicated in several violent crimes, the lead detective, Ho, seeks help from his deposed former mentor, Bun.

Johnnie To and Wai Ka Fai have created an incredibly inventive crime film, that seamlessly transitions from lead detective Ho's ordinary view of things and Bun's skewed perspective. Bun sees things that no one else can see; he sees the many competing personalities that vie for dominance in everyone's lives. The filmmakers do an exceptional job of combining two very different perspectives onto the world, sometimes at the very same moment, as when Bun sees through a mirror the multitudes that inhabit the individuals that Ho can see.

Mad Detective is a fast-paced thriller, that nevertheless takes its time to develop, that moves at just the right pace, in contrast with the hyper-kinetic flow of most American crime films these days. The style strikes me as a cross between Martin Scorcese's approach in The Departed and in GoodFellas and the inventively subtle supernatural style (minus the horrific elements) of Kiyoshi Kurosawa in films like Cure and Retribution. I was very impressed - highly recommended for lovers of Asian cinema, crime films or just plain inventive and exciting filmmaking of any genre or nationality. Check it out.