Detective vs Sleuths

Detective vs Sleuths
Theatrical release poster
Traditional Chinese	神探大戰
Simplified Chinese	神探大战
Directed by	Wai Ka-fai
Screenplay by	Wai Ka-fai Ryker Chan Mak Tin-shu
Story by	Wai Ka-fai Mak Tin-shu
Produced by	Wai Ka-fai Jason Siu Elaine Chu
Starring	Sean Lau Charlene Choi Raymond Lam Carman Lee
Cinematography	Cheng Siu-keung
Edited by	Allen Leung
Music by	Chung Chu-wing Ben Cheung
Production companies	Emperor Motion Pictures Miracle Age Pictures Super Lion Pictures
Distributed by	Emperor Motion Pictures
Release dates	8 July 2022 (2022-07-08)(China) 21 July 2022 (2022-07-21)(Hong Kong)
Running time	102 minutes
Country	Hong Kong
Language	Cantonese
Box office	US$107.4 million [a]

Detective vs Sleuths is a 2022 Hong Kong action thriller film directed, co-written and co-produced by Wai Ka-fai, starring Sean Lau, Charlene Choi, Raymond Lam and Carman Lee. ^[1] The film follows former police officer Lee Jun (Lau) and elite police inspector Chan Yee (Choi) as they investigate a series of murders that appear to be connected to previous cases they investigated. They find themselves in a race against time to uncover the mastermind behind these murders.

Announced in 2018, Detective vs Sleuths was Wai's first film since 2009's Written By. It also marked a reunion between Wai and his frequent collaborator Sean Lau. Filming took place in Hong Kong and Guangzhou from 21 August 2018 to 17 December 2018, and the film began the post-production process in April 2019.

Detective vs Sleuths was released in Hong Kong on 21 July 2022, after a period of postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film received critical acclaim, winning 4 out of 11 categories at the 41st Hong Kong Film Awards, including Best Director for Wai Ka-fai, Best Screenplay, Best Actor for Sean Lau and Best Cinematography. It was also nominated for Best Film.

Synopsis

Lee Jun is a former police chief inspector and elite detective in the Hong Kong Police Force (OCTB) who has been expelled from the police force following a mental breakdown due to wrongful convictions in two murder cases.

Years later, a series of high-profile murders have been commited by a group of culprits calling themselves the "Sleuths." At the crime scenes, the perpetrators leave behind police case file numbers of previous murder cases. The Sleuths believe that they are killing the real murderers who were not brought to justice.

Lee hallucinates that he is talking to victims and future victims of the Sleuth, leading him to deduce the victims and locations of the Sleuths' upcoming murders. This leads the OCTB to suspect that Lee is a member of the Sleuths. Chan Yee, a senior inspector of the OCTB who is also the only survivor of a murder case that occurred 17 years ago, requests Lee's help. During their investigation, Lee and Chan uncover secrets regarding past murder cases.

Cast

• Sean Lau as Jun Lee, a former police chief inspector and detective in the OCTB who was expelled after experiencing hallucinations. ^[2] He quotes Nietzsche: "Whoever battles monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster himself."
• Charlene Choi as Yee Chan, a senior inspector who is also the only survivor in the Butcher case and later got promoted to chief inspector of the OCTB. ^[2]
• Raymond Lam as Fong Lai-shun, a chief inspector in OCTB. ^[3]
• Carman Lee as Yan Wong, Jun Lee's old colleague, chief superintendent of the OCTB, the superior of Yee Chan, Fong Lai-shun and Au Yeung Kim.
• Tan Kai as Au Yeung Kim, a superintendent of the OCTB.
• Carlos Chan as Tsai Ka-chu, an OCTB senior inspector. Chun Chi-to's son and Yeung Lai's boyfriend.
• Kathy Yuen as Yeung Lai, an OCTB senior inspector. Keung's daughter and Tsai Ka-chu's girlfriend.
• Jeana Ho as Lynn Cheung, Jun Lee's rebellious daughter.
• Deep Ng as Chun Chi-to, a deceased victim from the Devil Cop Case.
• Timmy Hung as Keung, a deceased victim from the Butcher Case.
• Stephanie Che as Fishmonger, one of the murderers in the Corpse Cooking Case.

Release

Detective vs Sleuths was originally planned for release in December 2019 but was postponed. ^[4] Production company Emperor Motion Pictures did not gave any reasons for the delay. ^[4]

Reception

Box office

Detective vs Sleuths grossed a total of US$107.4 million worldwide, combining its box office gross from Hong Kong (US$1,906,153), ^[5] and China (US$105.5 million). ^[6]

In Hong Kong, the film grossed HK$5,224,908 (US$645,603) during its first four days of release, debuting at No. 2 behind Chilli Laugh Story . ^[7] The film remained at No. 2 in its second weekend, grossing HK$5,318,944 and accumulating a total gross of HK$10,543,852 (US$1,343,166) by then. ^[8] During its third weekend, the film grossed HK$2,999,499, moving down to No. 4, and have grossed a total of HK$13,543,351 (US$1,725,290) by then. ^[9] On its fourth weekend, the film grossed HK$1,396,127, coming in at No. 7, accumulating a total gross of HK$14,939,478 (US$1,906,153) so far. ^[10] Announced on August 15, 2022, the box office exceeded HK$15,000,000. ^[11]

Critical reception

Edmund Lee of South China Morning Post gave the film three stars out of five, writing, "its relentless parade of shoot-outs and explosions also make this quite an exhausting watch". ^[2]

Awards and nominations

Ceremony	Category	Recipient	Results
41st Hong Kong Film Awards [12] [13] [14]	Best Film	Detective vs Sleuths	Nominated
	Best Director	Wai Ka-fai	Won
	Best Screenplay	Wai Ka-fai, Ryker Chan, Mak Tin Shu	Won
	Best Actor	Sean Lau	Won
	Best Cinematography	Cheng Siu-keung	Won
	Best Film Editing	David Richardson, Allen Leung	Nominated
	Best Art Direction	Jean Tsoi	Nominated
	Best Costume & Make Up Design	Stanley Cheung, Pat Tang	Nominated
	Best Action Choreography	Jack Wong Wai-leung	Nominated
	Best Visual Effects	Don Ma, Chan Wah, Spectra Wong, Jacky Chung	Nominated
	Best Sound Design	Thomas Cheng, Vincent Tam, Chill Yang	Nominated

Notes

1. See Box office

References

1. 許育民 (3 March 2022). "《神探大戰》海報藏韋家輝青雲作品 《大時代》《嚦咕嚦咕》上榜". 香港01. Archived from the original on 2 July 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
2. "Detective vs Sleuths movie review: Sean Lau in wildly chaotic police thriller with urgent moral messages at its core". AsiaOne. 21 July 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
3. "'We were like fighting a war every day': Detective vs Sleuths' Sean Lau and Wai Ka Fai on challenges of filming the action scenes". AsiaOne. 20 July 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
4. "Cop thrillers shunned as Hong Kong protests fuel resentment towards police". TODAY. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
5. "Detective vs Sleuths". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
6. "China Daily Box Office (09/07/2022)".
7. "Hong Kong 2022 Weekend 29 July 21-24, 2022".
8. "Hong Kong 2022 Weekend 30 July 28-31, 2022".
9. "Hong Kong 2022 Weekend 31 August 4-7, 2022".
10. "Hong Kong 2022 Weekend 32 August 11-14, 2022".
11. "《神探大戰》票房勁破1500萬💥多謝大家支持！👏🏼👏🏼". facebook (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). 神探大戰 Detective VS. Sleuths. 15 August 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
12. "Nomination List of The 41st Hong Kong Film Awards".
13. "Controversial school documentary wins best picture at Hong Kong Film Awards". South China Morning Post. 16 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
14. Shackleton, Liz (17 April 2023). "Michelle Yeoh Attends Hong Kong Film Awards As Controversial Doc Wins Best Picture; 'Detective Vs Sleuths' Wins Most Prizes". Deadline. Retrieved 17 April 2023.

External links

• Detective vs Sleuths at IMDb  
• Detective vs Sleuths at the Hong Kong Movie DataBase
• Detective vs Sleuths at Douban (in Chinese)
• Detective vs Sleuths on Facebook