Detective Di must discover the reason behind 4 mysterious deaths. The deaths looked like a medieval Joker went on a rampage as all the victims were left smiling. Were the causes natural or supernatural? An imperial guard was also looking into the matter and she and Di reluctantly teamed up.

The townspeople were convinced the deaths were a punitive action by Apsaras or murals coming to life to take vengeance. Di and Imperial Guard Xie Yaohuan immediately dismissed the flying fairies theory and started digging for more human motivations. Along the way there were twists and turns, many of them foreseeable.

Di and Xie went from if not enemies to lovers, at least enemies to allies. The slow burn was believable as the two worked together. Who the real villain was didn't take much detective work for the savvy viewer but at least they made the journey to the discovery interesting most of the time.

There were several swordfights in the rain which were good, not Jet Li-Donnie Yen in Hero good, but entertaining nonetheless. Most of the fights without torrents of water being dumped on the actors tended to be clumsy looking. It wouldn't have been a proper wuxia without someone being attacked in the woods by a black hooded assassin and Detection checked that box, too.

The acting, sets, and costumes were all more than adequate for a low budget Detective Dee. The story, while predictable at times could also be engaging. There was nothing spectacular, just a comfortable, familiar who-done-it. One word of caution if you have a snake phobia, Di and Xie were confronted by many, many snakes in one scene.

Detection of Di Renjie is not something to rush out and put in your Plan to Watch list, but if you enjoy ancient detective stories, this might be one to check out on a slow night if you keep your expectations low.



8/5/22