China Lion Film Entertainment has announced that they will be bringing DETECTIVE DEE: THE FOUR HEAVENLY KINGS (狄仁傑之四大天王) to Australian and New Zealand cinemas on 27 July 2018. There will also be advanced screenings on the 26 July in selected locations.
Starring Mark Chao, William Feng Shao Feng, Kenny Lin, Sandra Ma, and Carina Lau, and directed by action movie veteran Tsui Hark, it marks the return of Detective Dee after the success of the first back in 2010’s Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame. There was, of course, a later prequel called Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon also directed by Tsui.
Tsui hark is one of those names that Hong Kong cinema fans of a certain age will forever associate with the action genre. Many a well spent youthful night was spent for this writer watching the likes of A Chinese Ghost Story or the A Better Tomorrow series, on which Tsui served as writer/producer for John Woo, before directing the third installment. Of course, it’s the Once Upon a Time in China series, a period series that served as a vehicle for Jet Li, that will forever solidify Tsui Hark place in legend.
Tsui Hark’s more recent directorial outings have included 2014’s The Taking of Tiger Mountain, for which he won the Hong Kong Film Award and Golden Rooster Award for Best Director, and last year’s Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back.
