Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame is a standard example of the action-intense films to come out of Hong Kong.
Hong Kong films refined action to beauty. Without glorifying violence, they turned martial arts, gun fights, chase scenes, and many other standard action tropes into a deadly ballet. Martial arts inherently lends itself to beauty with all its graceful movements and counter-action interplay. Plus it has a practical use, unlike real ballet. These martial arts concepts were then integrated into other forms of action like the chase scene and gun fighting.
The first half of this film has intrigue and fast-paced fun martial arts action. The viewer is gripped.
But the second half of the film seems too preoccupied with tying up loose ends. The plot is interesting enough that the viewer is still engaged, but despite its grandeur the story is more a "generic" Sherlock-Holmes-story, rather than a "Moriarty" Sherlock-Holmes-Story.
If you enjoy Hong Kong action or would like to try one, I highly recommend Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame.
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