It's 689 A.D. China. Wu Zetian is set to be crowned as the first female empress. She faces great opposition ready to overthrow her. A towering Buddha is under construction for her inauguration. During a tour with a foreign ambassador, an official spontaneously combust. Officer Pei Donglai goes to investigate and his superior is killed. Shangguan Jing'er is the Empress' attendant. Dee is released from prison and reinstated as the Imperial Commissioner to solve Phantom Flame Case.
I started out much more invested in the mystery. The movie sets up a great Sherlock mystery to solve. Then it overflows with wild fight spectacular. It's imaginative fun but the mystery gets muddled. It does some bizarre acupuncture plastic surgery and hallucinatory bucks. It's so wild that the movie loses its meaning for me. I just lose my way in this funhouse martial arts movie.
I started out much more invested in the mystery. The movie sets up a great Sherlock mystery to solve. Then it overflows with wild fight spectacular. It's imaginative fun but the mystery gets muddled. It does some bizarre acupuncture plastic surgery and hallucinatory bucks. It's so wild that the movie loses its meaning for me. I just lose my way in this funhouse martial arts movie.