Detective Chinatown 2 *** (2018, Baoqiang Wang, Haoran Liu, Yang Xiao, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Michael Pitt) – Movie Review

Detective Chinatown 2 is that rarest of all kinds of movies – a wacky slapstick action comedy serial killer thriller. With the goofy performances, and general air of carefree silly fun, you’d think they couldn’t make this work, but, they do! How many slapstick comedy serial killer movies do you know? Any one that ends with a song and dance number in Times Square? Exactly! So how do they make it work – sheer exuberance, oh and hard work, some imagination and lots of money.

Haoran Liu and Baoqiang Wang return as odd couple amateur detectives Qin Feng and Tang Ren from Detective Chinatown (2015), a late teenage boy and his older distant cousin, who head for Manhattan to solve the serial killer case that is baffling police detectives, even the sassy Chen Ying (Natasha Liu Bordizzo), leading to endless hijinks. Wang’s slapstick turn looks like it’s going to be infuriating, but he somehow wins you over. It helps that Liu is low key and sweet. They share easy-going, good-natured screen chemistry and their odd couple act certainly works, otherwise the film wouldn’t.

Haoran Liu and Baoqiang Wang in Detective Chinatown 2 (2018).

After a lot of silly arsing around, with the comedy playing like an old Blake Edwards movie with also a touch of the Some Like It Hots, as Liu gets mistaken for a girl and Wang becomes endlessly fascinating to the leader of the pack of a gang of bikers, (oh and they get dresses up as women at a hospital – no wonder Liu gets mistaken for a girl), they finally even take the serial killer story seriously.

Michael Pitt makes a surprise appearance as the villainous hospital boss. It is not the best thing he has ever done but he does look like he’s enjoying himself.

Directed and written by Chen Sicheng, the fast paced, funny, inventive and likeable Detective Chinatown 2 runs 121 minutes and never runs out of steam once.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Movie Review

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Haoran Liu plays amateur detective Qin Feng in Detective Chinatown 2 (2018).