Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon

Director Tsui Hark's second film featuring legendary 7th-century Chinese sleuth Dee Renjie is a prequel in which young and untested magistrate Dee (Mark Chao) arrives at court just in time to be faced with: a complicated case involving the kidnapping of the capital's most voluptuous courtesan by a scaly green creature (the beast to the woman's beauty), a plot to overthrow the ruling house using poisonous parasites that kill from within, and an immense sea monster that can annihilate entire fleets with its tail. In tying together these disparate plot strands, the script offers plenty of opportunities for flamboyantly staged martial-arts combat and special-effects showpieces, and Hark takes full advantage, fashioning a sprawling, episodic film that might not be particularly strong on logic but compensates with lots of eye-popping action. Silly but enjoyable, Young Detective Dee is recommended. (F. Swietek)