‘Detective vs Sleuths’ is a mystery crime thriller set in present day Hong Kong, as the city is rocked by a series of brutal murders, perpetrated by the self proclaimed ‘Sleuths’, a group of culprits targeting the suspects of long forgotten cold cases.
Years prior, police inspector Lee Chun suffers a mental breakdown as he holds a hostage at a police press debriefing, as the Butcher case is brought to a conclusion. Accusing the OCTB of not having captured the real murderer and also having botched the Devil Cop case earlier, Lee is dismissed.
As a string of murders start to happen, Lee, now living as a mentally unstable tramp, starts to put the pieces together, figuring out that the victims are suspects in cold cases that were never solved. Following the clues, the OCTB track the Sleuths movements and follow their clues to the next victims. Yee Chan, an OCTB lieutenant inspector chooses to allow Lee to help her follow the Sleuths, believing him to be able to help her see the case through to the end.
Yee’s husband, fellow OCTB officer Fong Lai-Sun, is more apprehensive about Lee’s contribution to the case. With Yee pregnant and on the Sleuth’s tail, she suffers a fall and is withdrawn from the pursuit. Believing Lee to be a hindrance, Fong has him detained, but Lee later escapes with the help of Yee.
Following the Sleuths, Lee discovers his daughter to be their leader, with the group seeking retribution for the victims of the cases that were never solved, enacting justice on the suspects believed to have been guilty but never charged.
It is also revealed the Yee was the only survivor in the Butcher case, having escaped the murderer, but never having been able to retrace her steps that night of her escape, to help solve the case once and for all.
On returning to the place where Yee had been found all those years ago, Lee and Yee realise that Fong was the Butcher, and had intercepted her as she was escaping from his lair, misleading her about where she had escaped from, thereby covering any tracks that may lead to him. Fong had also laid a trap as he predicted Lee would find him out, framing him as the Butcher and the Devil Cop.
As Fong and the OCTB chase down Lee and Yee to the docks, the Sleuths, actually lead by Fong, have a showdown with the SWAT team. Distressed, Yee’s water breaks and Lee and his daughter deliver her son. Trying to escape, Fong corners Lee and demands an exchange between his daughter and Fong’s son. Shooting Lee’s daughter, Fong coaxes Lee into taking revenge. Unable to harm the child, Lee is saved as Yee shoots at Fong, with him eventually catching on fire and dying.
After the case is settled, Lee is invited to rejoin the OCTB as a free agent and consultant, greeted by Yee and all of its members.
Describing ‘Detective vs Sleuths’ as a fast-paced thriller would be both apropos and somehow a slight, as the film exudes manic energy as it rushed forward, trying to tie in all of the twists, characters and revelations that Ka-Fai Wai wants to put up on the screen.
At a run time of under two hours, the film boasts a multitude of intriguing story-lines that could have been examined in separate projects. Most curious perhaps would have been a more tonally sombre look at Lee and his split personality disorder. At present ‘Detective vs Sleuths’ present Lee as an unstable ex-inspector that tries to redeem himself, yet a further exploration of his inner world and further development as to him mental state going forward would have provided for a more thought provoking experience, and a chance for Ching Wan Lau to deliver a more impactful performance.
The unsolved cases, and their eventual conclusion, could have provided enough material for a separate project, exploring the ethos of Fong, played by Raymond Lam, and the motive behind his actions. At present, his reasoning for the crimes remains one-dimensional and is only mentioned briefly, side-lining his character and labeling him simply at the films bad guy.
‘Detective vs Sleuths’ moves at break-neck speed, boasting multiple impressive and entertaining action sequences. Unfortunately there is little room for character development, moving scarcely beyond two-dimensional personas who are all drawn together by an elaborate conspiracy by the Devil Cop, whose motivations are never quite formulated.
Even though Ching Wan Lau delivers a great performance as disgraced cop Lee, his efforts are not enough to balance out the multiplicity of generic law enforcement officers that add little to the emotional weight of the feature. Exciting and explosive, ‘Detective vs Sleuths’ is a fun and crazy ride, but ultimately leaves little impression beyond that on the viewer.
Score: 2/4
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