'Detective Chinatown 3' Review: Record-Setting Mystery-Comedy Tackles Tokyo
'Detective Chinatown 3' Review: Record-Setting Mystery-Comedy Tackles Tokyo
The third chapter in Chen Sicheng's mega-hit series is fun on the fringes but undercooked in the center.
Richard Kuipers, provided by
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Director: Chen Sicheng
With: Wang Baoqiang, Liu Haoran,
Satoshi Tsumabuki, Tony Jaa, Tomokazu Miura, Masami Nagasawa, Tadanobu Asano, Shota Sometani, Hirayama Motokazu, Shang Yuxian, Zhang Zifeng, Cheng Xiao, Chen Zheyuan. (Mandarin, Japanese, English, Thai dialogue)
Running time: Running time: 136 MIN.
Courtesy of WanDa Pictures
The mega-successful Chinese franchise about a mismatched detective duo tackling baffling crimes in foreign destinations continues with a wildly uneven caper set in Tokyo. With performances, plotting and visuals amped up to 11 as per usual, this hyperactive combination of Sherlock Holmes-type sleuthing and Three Stooges-style slapstick comedy offers plenty of zany fun, but the central murder-mystery contains so many convoluted diversions, digressions and detours it makes the whole enterprise play like a long stream-of-consciousness sketch with a glaringly hollow core.