03-18-2025, 12:03 AM
(This post was last modified: 03-18-2025, 12:34 AM by Drunk Monk.)
I must recant my original review of Detective Chinatown. I just rewatched it because it’s now a 4 film franchise and I felt I should catch up, and barely remembered the first one. It’s not so bad really - I must have been overly critical when I first watched it, or I just didn’t get its vibe. It’s not great, still not a D00M rec worthy film, but I appreciate it more now, knowing where it goes. It is highly derivative of Lost in Thailand being another Wang Baoqiang buddy flick set there. Perhaps that’s what put me off.
The fight choreo bothered me before because I expected more from Shaolin-trained Wang, but it’s stooge fu, eye jabs and groin grabs. And I confess, I giggled at some of the later groin shots for the most puerile reasons. Also, the detective that kept falling on his nose was a simple goofy gag that built up for me over the repetitions and eventually squeezed another giggle out.
There’s a lot of absurd running chase scenes but like the groin grabs, that’s a motif of the franchise. And there’s a twisty solution, an epilogue that changes everything, which also a franchise motif. And there’s a Bollywood dance ending.
Seen on Amazon Prime.
Detective Chinatown 2 (2018)
Set in New York, this is a wicked jab at US culture. Wang & his eidetic nephew arrive in NYC with several other top quirky detectives to solve a murder. The sequel went over the top right away. There’s a ghetto Chinese language classroom filled with black gangstas who all draw guns. There’s an Irish bear biker bar who all draw guns. Theres a roofer out military bodybuilder detective that draws a bazooka. There’s a police chief trumper.
The foot chase, the eye poke groin grab fu, and the twisty epilogue that changes everything are consistent (I did guess that final twist). This ramps it up with a third wheel to the detective buddies (the murder suspect of course), cross dressing disguises, more feng shui, the King of somersaults, the cancelled Jedi, and Sabine Wren! Luv her.
The King of Somersaults is Yuen Wah, a KF brother of Jackie & Sammo, and plays Tang Ren’s (Wang Baoqiang) Shifu. It’s a great role for him and he’s the master of eye poke groin grab fu. The cancelled Jedi is Bai Ling who plays a psychic detective. She’s underused but glad to see she still gets work. And Sabine Wren (from Ashoka) is Natalie Liu Bordizzo, who i once interviewed when she first emerged. She’s looking hawter then ever as a NYPD detective.
Totally goofy, this installment just goes for the absurd, often commenting that solving the case is not like in the movies. NY is strangely empty for many scenes and part of the finale chase goes big the Times Square (which is also where the end credit Bollywood dance scene happens)
DC2 was the 5th biggest box office for PRC when it came out (Ne Zha 2 is now #1). Now DC2 is #17.
Seen on YouTube.
BC3 goes to Japan. BC4 came out this lunar new year and goes back in time - DC 1900. DC3 is #8 & DC1900 is #15.
The fight choreo bothered me before because I expected more from Shaolin-trained Wang, but it’s stooge fu, eye jabs and groin grabs. And I confess, I giggled at some of the later groin shots for the most puerile reasons. Also, the detective that kept falling on his nose was a simple goofy gag that built up for me over the repetitions and eventually squeezed another giggle out.
There’s a lot of absurd running chase scenes but like the groin grabs, that’s a motif of the franchise. And there’s a twisty solution, an epilogue that changes everything, which also a franchise motif. And there’s a Bollywood dance ending.
Seen on Amazon Prime.
Detective Chinatown 2 (2018)
Set in New York, this is a wicked jab at US culture. Wang & his eidetic nephew arrive in NYC with several other top quirky detectives to solve a murder. The sequel went over the top right away. There’s a ghetto Chinese language classroom filled with black gangstas who all draw guns. There’s an Irish bear biker bar who all draw guns. Theres a roofer out military bodybuilder detective that draws a bazooka. There’s a police chief trumper.
The foot chase, the eye poke groin grab fu, and the twisty epilogue that changes everything are consistent (I did guess that final twist). This ramps it up with a third wheel to the detective buddies (the murder suspect of course), cross dressing disguises, more feng shui, the King of somersaults, the cancelled Jedi, and Sabine Wren! Luv her.
The King of Somersaults is Yuen Wah, a KF brother of Jackie & Sammo, and plays Tang Ren’s (Wang Baoqiang) Shifu. It’s a great role for him and he’s the master of eye poke groin grab fu. The cancelled Jedi is Bai Ling who plays a psychic detective. She’s underused but glad to see she still gets work. And Sabine Wren (from Ashoka) is Natalie Liu Bordizzo, who i once interviewed when she first emerged. She’s looking hawter then ever as a NYPD detective.
Totally goofy, this installment just goes for the absurd, often commenting that solving the case is not like in the movies. NY is strangely empty for many scenes and part of the finale chase goes big the Times Square (which is also where the end credit Bollywood dance scene happens)
DC2 was the 5th biggest box office for PRC when it came out (Ne Zha 2 is now #1). Now DC2 is #17.
Seen on YouTube.
BC3 goes to Japan. BC4 came out this lunar new year and goes back in time - DC 1900. DC3 is #8 & DC1900 is #15.
Shadow boxing the apocalypse