Lady Detective Shadow (2018) [Film Review]

Lady Detective Shadow; or, The Royal Constable
     Wrong! I’m Sima Feiyan. My friends in Jianghu gave me the name Ghost’s Sorrow.
Lady Detective Shadow is a 2018 Chinese production directed by Si Shu-bu and produced by Bey Logan and James Nan. It is a well-made Wushu flick with Shang Rong as the female lead.

Release Info

Directed by: Si Shu-bu Starring: Shang Rong, Zhang Ren-bo

Language: Mandarin Runtime: 90 min

Synopsis

Ancient China is torn between imperial dynasties and rough scoundrels. When a series of gruesome murders takes place in a remote desert area, the courageous Lady Detective Shadow (Shang Rong), who bears the title of the Royal Constable, is called to the scene. With her extraordinary deduction skills and martial arts, she tracks down the murderers. Little does she know, however, that there is a huge hunt going on for a lost treasure…

Shadow of the Night
The movie opens with a beautiful animation which provides the much-needed exposition: these are the times of lawlessness and Lady Detective Shadow is send to clean up the town. The main heroine feels like an amalgam of Sherlock Holmes and Detective Dee due to her outstanding wisdom, memory, and fight skills.

The undeniable advantage of the film is production design and well choreographed action sequences which really give the picture that classic Wushu feels. Even though Lady Detective Shadow was made on a tight budget (evident use of CGI in certain outdoor scenes), it certainly feels like an homage to good old Shaw Brothers productions.

The story itself is a classic morality tale which turns the third act into Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). Apart from evident Indiana Jones feels, the narrative is more akin to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon with its pacing and subtlety. Of course, Wushu films are not for everyone. If you can’t stand the slow pace, then it is better to give this film a pass.

Speaking about performances, I’m surprised at how much I liked Shang Rong as the main heroine. A sequel has to be made just because of her performance. Ideally, it would have been awesome to see a crossover in which Lady Detective Shadow meets Detective Dee.

Recommendations
If you are into a martial-arts adventure story, then give Lady Detective Shadow a chance. It is an entertaining flick that harkens back to old Chinese period pieces. My thanks go to TriCoast Studios for sharing the screener. They released the film under their DarkCoast label. See the trailer below: Overall score: 7/10

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