Reviewed by Neil Davey
Stars Lau Ching Wang, Andy On, Lam Ka Tung, Kelly Lin,
Lee Kwok-Lun, Lee Choi-ning, Flora Chan, Lam Suet,
Cheung Siu-Fai, Jay Lau, Eddy Ko, Jo Kuk
Written by Wa Ka Fai & Au Kin-Yee
Certification UK 15
Runtime 86 minutes
Directed by Johnny To & Wai Ka Fai
Mad Detective does, as they say, exactly what it says on the tin. Inspector Bun (Ching Wan) is a policeman. Inspector Bun is also somewhat mentally unstable. You can tell this because he solves his 'investigations' through intuition rather than logic and can “see” people's inner personalities. But mostly you can tell it because he cuts his ear off and presents it to his retiring superior.
This moment of Reservoir Dogs self-harm follows perhaps the year's best opening scene. Bun's new sidekick Ho (Andy On) arrives to find his new boss mid-murder investigation. This basically entails the brutal stabbing of a dead pig and then asking Ho to zip him into a large suitcase and throw him down the stairs, like the victim. “It was the ice cream seller,” announces Bun as he's released from the luggage... shortly before he gets all Mike Tyson on himself and offers that unusual leaving gift.
Five years later, with Bun not surprisingly medically retired, Ho approaches him for help on a baffling case. Some 18 months ago, two cops chased a suspect into a forest. One returned. The other, Wong, disappeared but his gun has recently been used in a series of armed robberies. The first port of call is Chi-Wai (Tung), the surviving cop and, by definition, the prime suspect. Ho sees Chi-Wai. Bun, however, sees Chi-Wai as seven distinct personalities and that's the point the viewer realises that what's on screen is not always “real”.
It's a great device and you certainly can't question the directors' visual flair. Whether the screenplay — and the audience — can keep up with it is another question. Things do get a little confusing, but you can't help but admire their balls for trying something so different. And you can't help but think the US remake is only a matter of time.