The Detective

B-

Directed by Oxide Pang

The Pang Brothers (Oxide and Danny) have had a career trajectory that reminds me somewhat of M. Night Shyamalan's. After making a number of heralded indie releases in their naitve Thailand, the brothers first internationally released film, "The Eye," garnered them considerable global acclaim. Since then, however, the Pang brothers have failed to release anything that comes close to matching "The Eye," just like Shyamalan has never duplicated the success of "The Sixth Sense." The biggest difference between the Pang Brothers and Shyamalan, however, is that Danny and Oxide Pang's releases since "The Eye" have only been guilty of mediocrity whereas everything Shyamalan has made since the "Sixth Sense" has been awful.

Which brings us the "The Detective," the newest release by the Pang Brothers, although this feature was directed by Oxide alone without the help of Danny. The film' s plot revolves around Tam, a Bangkok P.I. who, while trying to track down a woman who allegedly wants to kill one of his bar buddies, stumbles accross a string of grisly murders. As Tam continues his investigation the bodies keep piling up and he begins to think that maybe all the carnage is somehow related and is pointing him towards something more sinister than he may have originally suspected. Mwahahaha!!!

This is, in some ways, a return to form for at least one of the Pang brothers since, as a reviewer for lovehkfilm put it, "The Detective" actually fulfills some of its obvious potential, a feat that the Pang Brothers post-"Eye" films never managed to do. Indeed, "The Detective," although quite pedestrian as far as detective flicks go, is nonetheless intriguing throughout and benefits from the Pang Brothers undeniable flair for eye catching visuals, beautifully capturing the cramped streets of Bangkok's Chinatown. The Bangkok Tourism authority should probably send Oxide a hockey bag full of baht because "The Detective" made Bangkok look way better than the sweaty slab of concrete overrun by sex tourists I recall it being when I visited...

Now that I've grinded my axe, I will say that "The Detective" is a succesfull if not completely riveting or mind blowing take on the detective film.