lasttimeisaw Emulating Guy Ritchie's SHERLOCK HOLMES franchise, this Chinese detective mystery directed by Hong Kong journeyman Law Chi-leung, sets in a retro-era, the Republic of China in the 1930s, and pairs a hands-on, whip-smart inspector Song Donglu (Lau Ching-wan) with a justice-seeking police captain Guo Zhui (Nicholas Tse), aka. the fastest gun in the Tiancheng County, together they must solve a series of bewildering murder cases in a bullet factory, apparently carried out by the curse of "phantom bullets". Turpitude flagrantly sprawls inside the top tier of both the factory and the police department, a whey-faced Hong Kong veteran Liu Kai-chi (under heavy slap) unapologetically takes his showboating and hectoring to the hammiest level as the overbearing factory owner, whilst Chinese character actor Wu Gang countervails him with a more insidious and unobtrusive vibe as the on- the-take police chief. In due time, comeuppance will befall both, but the ace in the hole is that they are not the ultimate boss behind the whole scheme, as we assume that the hubbub reaches a somewhat tepid ending, the plot is leavened with its final twist, the Sherlock-Watson camaraderie swerves into a slipshod Sherlock-Moriarty revelation, only it strikes like an ill-devised move for its own shake value's sake, also the gambit of Russian roulette is exploited to the point of vexation. Female characters are ill-used here, the sex scenes between Yang Mi and Nicholas Tse is risibly gratuitous, and a protean Jiang Yiyan is pigeonholed more by her role's mystique than any substantial import (although the flashback of a crime re-enactment in pantomime is arguably the takeaway of the whole enterprise), thankfully the two leading actors are game in making do what they are offered, Lau Ching-wan dutifully makes great play of Song's science-abiding credence and personable persona whereas Nicolas Tse strives to ooze a modicum of sophistication through a contrived character arc. In the event, THE BULLET VANISHES is wheeled out with decent craft but barely passes muster as a potboiler catering to the lowest common denominator.

Akhil Balachandran Song Donglu is a prison police officer who is very friendly with all the Prisoners and also has a brilliant mind to solve cases. He got promoted as a detective and posted in a town where crimes are high. Donglu team up with a local cop Guo Zhui to solve the case of vanishing bullets. The victims were shot, but the bullets are missing from their body. Like Sherlock Holmes, the logic explanation scenes were very good and also some action scenes that come from nowhere. Apart from this, the film has good sound effects and gorgeous frames. The pace of this mystery movie was constant and visuals tells the remaining things. Both Ching-wan and Tse delivers a stylish performance and loved it. Overall, it's a good investigation movie even though some scenes were inspired from Sherlock Holmes movies.

DICK STEEL Co-written and directed by Law Chi Leung, whom some of us may know from his debut directorial feature Double Tap, The Bullet Vanishes may probably be his most polished and accomplished film to date, with remarkable production values blending beautiful sets and costumes, with CG to recreate the Old Tiancheng, which is terrorized by what could be the double whammy of corruption in high office, and a phantom linked with the city's superstition, with inexplicable messages inked in blood popping up, and mysterious deaths occurring to workers in a sweatshop operation of a ammunitions factory. This calls for not one but two detective sleuths to step in, and plough through threats, coercion and obstruction to justice as they engage in rudimentary science and crime scene investigation to get to the truth.Both Law and co-writer Yeung Sin Ling managed to craft a top notch detective whodunnit that's heightened with mystery, chock full of supporting characters, and blended with set action pieces that made The Bullet Vanishes possess a little something for everyone. The title, which may sound chunky in both English and Mandarin, explains the bulk of the mystery, because bodies are turning up, but each without the remnants of a round that should usually be found within the victims, or in the surroundings where they turn up. A little bit of CSI through autopsies, hypotheses that requiring tests, and an all round good use of science, will make you work as hard as the detectives in trying to stay a step ahead of them.Lau's Song Donglu is yet another cop character that the veteran actor has tackled in his career, and is as unorthodox as can be, preferring to be his own little guinea pig to run experiments on, in order to study forensics, and his methods also involve getting into the criminal psyche, engaging with inmates, and through conversation, learn techniques, and is able to appeal for those innocent to be let off the hook. To varying levels of success of course, but these efforts don't go unnoticed, and he gets sent to Tiancheng to deploy his skills. Song's introduction with detective Guo Zhui (Tse) didn't turn up all too chummy at first, but both men quickly share a common ground in investigations, with Guo having a keen eye and observation skills, which serve him well since he's arguably one of the fastest marksmen in town. Just in case you'd think one of them takes on the Sherlock mold, and the other as Watson, well, think again, as there's no clear cut division between the two in such fashion, with both main leads being quite apt for the job, except for Song's preference to not be packing a pistol.And you can sense that the writers got into a love affair with the leading characters, taking time off the main event to tell some of their back stories, or letting romance get in the way as well, such as Guo's relationship with a young fortune teller played by Yang Mi, and Song's exchange of letters with an inmate (Karena Lam) which form the narrative background for the movie, and become the moral compass as well by the time the story runs into its thrilling double climax. It examines the nature and plausibility of the "perfect crime", while also deals with the perennial nature versus nurture issue on how criminals get made, since it is believed that no human being is born evil, and some may turn to crime or twisted justice as a means out of an unbearable environment they live in.Other supporting actors who stand out include Liu Kai Chi, who is running a risk of getting stereotyped with his devilish, over the top portrayal as the unscrupulous factory owner, while Boran Jing's role as a rookie cop almost makes it a triumvirate for the heroes if not for his character's lack of experience in the field, and becomes the slight comic relief in this film that's suspiciously seeped with a social commentary about exploitation and corruption in pursuit of monetary goals, and how the corrupt always make strange bedfellows. Nicholas Tse and Yang Mi may sizzle on screen for their love scene, but all eyes are definitely on Tse-Lau as their excellent chemistry par none here will probably pave the way for more future films together, I hope.If there's a little bit of a letdown, it's that the censors here decided to snip off those little impact moments where bullets make contact with the skull. Save for the scene near the beginning of the film that allowed one to sink into the moment of an unnecessary, cruel killing that set the stage, the rest got unceremoniously truncated, which is a pity since there's a subplot involving the fastest and most accurate gun in town put into the story for a reason. It's too bad that we only get to see the outcome, and not that I'm bloodlusting, but I'm never for butchering a movie in this day and age.Still, The Bullet Vanishes is Chinese Cinema's answer to a detective story that's worthy of some of the best that Western cinema has to offer. There's definite room for a franchise because it's a pity to stop what this film has started, and hopefully it'll be able to find a more unique voice than to look too Holmes-ish. I'm giving this my vote of recommendation, and it's an automatic shoo in for those who have been starved of a good detective flick. It's period setting is great, as the filmmakers are forced to be creative with techniques since they cannot use modern day ones, and this means plenty of innovation on their part in crafting such a tale. Who knows, I may just sneak this in as one of the best of this year as well.

Jeff Lee THE production design of The Bullet Vanishes is gorgeous, the actors are commendable, with a little bit of eye candy thrown in, but, unfortunately, the storyline is tedious and has been rehashed a million times.Detective stories are nothing new and viewers would have seen two Sherlock Holmes movies and thousands of episodes of CSI over the past few years. Even the Russian roulette idea comes from The Deer Hunter.Also, the pairing of an elderly, more experienced detective with a young handsome hotshot is blasé.The movie's social critique, about the working class being under the thumb of a tyrannical rich guy, while praiseworthy, is also nothing new.Two detectives, Song (Lau Ching Wan) and Guo (Nicholas Tse), probe a series of mysterious shooting deaths in a bullet factory in Shanghai in the 1930s. The workers blame this on the ghost of a young female worker wrongly accused of stealing and then killed while being forced to play Russian roulette.The explanation is too complicated too reveal, but viewers get to visit a morgue headed by a pretty doctor and listen to vague theories on bone and ice bullets.What about the eye candy, you ask. That comes in the form of China's Yang Mi, 25, who plays Guo's informant girlfriend called Little Lark. Viewers, be prepared for her languorous figure and stunning beauty.As I said earlier, the sets and lighting are excellent, and credit goes to production designer Silver Cheung. The Silent War, starring Tony Leung and set in post-war China, also boasts terrific production sets and lighting.As the movie winds down, viewers get to view a Russian roulette face off between the two detectives. I don't know the reason for director Lo Chi-leung using this method for both of them to extract the truth from each other, but it's uncalled for and contrived.Finally, the flick is about good people doing bad things. Does this include the filmmaker and producers of The Bullet Vanishes?www.jeffleemovies.com