"The Bullet Vanishes" is flawed, a mixed bag, but is filled with plenty of tense and suspenseful moments that makes the film worth taking a look at.

Director Lo Chi Leung ("Inner Senses" and "Koma") certainly have a hand in creating tense and suspenseful moments, which is vital in low budget thrillers. However, "The Bullet Vanishes" is budgeted at US$12 million, one must wonder, why producer Derek Yee is not directing instead. Lo lacks experience in directing anything outside the genre of thrillers and in most cases those films are carried by the ever wonderful Karena Lam ("Kidnap", "Koma" and "Inner Senses") or the late Leslie Cheung ("Double Tap" and "Inner Senses"). That's not to say that this film is without great actors, as the likes of newly crowned best actor Nicholas Tse, the ever versatile Lau Ching Wan, the always brilliant Liu Kai-Chi and rising Mainland actress Mini Yang, more than fill the acting dues. So what exactly went wrong? That is a question that kept me puzzled right from the moment the film finished. The film looks wonderful, credibly produced, expensive sets and contains some brilliant turns from Lau Ching Wan and Liu Kai-Chi, but somehow it feels like a mixed bag. It doesn't help when the film ends with one twist too many. Perhaps upon viewing the film, one just cannot stop themselves referencing to "Sherlock Holmes" In essence, it is still a relatively entertaining, suspenseful and gritty detective thriller, that just didn't quite cut it on an emotional and deeper level.

As usual, Lau Ching Wan is in his "Mad Detective" mode. Lau manages to carry the film once again and alongside the scene stealing villainous turn from Liu Kai-Chi ("The Viral Factor") are the highlights of the film. In those confrontation scenes, the interaction between Lau and Liu are simply priceless and oozes with screen presences. While reigning best actor Nicholas Tse ("Beast Stalker" and "The Stool Pigeon") is dependable without being stunning and lacks chemistry with Mini Yang ("Painted Skin: Resurrection"). At times, it seems as though Tse is going on auto-pilot and a far cry from his performance in "The Stool Pigeon". Yang is pretty much underused and under-explored and in many ways the film seems to be using her current hot streak in Mainland to sell more tickets. One must question what role she really plays in the film, other than exposing some skin and getting hot with her co-star Tse. Yumiko Cheng ("Heat Team") is Yumiko Cheng and despite having more screen time than Yang, she adds nothing to her role.

All in all, "The Bullet Vanishes" is at times suspenseful, gritty and even thrilling, but the film feels stretched and is filled with unnecessary scenes and characters that adds nothing to the overall storyline. While, Lo is probably trying to saying something noble or about the human condition, he is clearly constrained by filming for the Mainland market. Still, this is far from being a bad film, as there is really a lot to like about. In particular, it is always a joy to watch Lau Ching Wan going the distance and Liu Kai-Chi always surprises the audience with his performances. The film most certainly could've been done with tighter editing, but for what it is worth, "The Bullet Vanishes" remains a highly watchable detective thriller. Certainly worth a look, despite its flaws…(Neo 2012)

I rate it 7.5/10

-thehkneo.com/blog

Co-written and directed by Law Chi Leung, whom some of us may know from his debut directorial feature Double Tap, The Bullet Vanishes may probably be his most polished and accomplished film to date, with remarkable production values blending beautiful sets and costumes, with CG to recreate the Old Tiancheng, which is terrorized by what could be the double whammy of corruption in high office, and a phantom linked with the city's superstition, with inexplicable messages inked in blood popping up, and mysterious deaths occurring to workers in a sweatshop operation of a ammunitions factory. This calls for not one but two detective sleuths to step in, and plough through threats, coercion and obstruction to justice as they engage in rudimentary science and crime scene investigation to get to the truth.

Both Law and co-writer Yeung Sin Ling managed to craft a top notch detective whodunnit that's heightened with mystery, chock full of supporting characters, and blended with set action pieces that made The Bullet Vanishes possess a little something for everyone. The title, which may sound chunky in both English and Mandarin, explains the bulk of the mystery, because bodies are turning up, but each without the remnants of a round that should usually be found within the victims, or in the surroundings where they turn up. A little bit of CSI through autopsies, hypotheses that requiring tests, and an all round good use of science, will make you work as hard as the detectives in trying to stay a step ahead of them.

Lau's Song Donglu is yet another cop character that the veteran actor has tackled in his career, and is as unorthodox as can be, preferring to be his own little guinea pig to run experiments on, in order to study forensics, and his methods also involve getting into the criminal psyche, engaging with inmates, and through conversation, learn techniques, and is able to appeal for those innocent to be let off the hook. To varying levels of success of course, but these efforts don't go unnoticed, and he gets sent to Tiancheng to deploy his skills. Song's introduction with detective Guo Zhui (Tse) didn't turn up all too chummy at first, but both men quickly share a common ground in investigations, with Guo having a keen eye and observation skills, which serve him well since he's arguably one of the fastest marksmen in town. Just in case you'd think one of them takes on the Sherlock mold, and the other as Watson, well, think again, as there's no clear cut division between the two in such fashion, with both main leads being quite apt for the job, except for Song's preference to not be packing a pistol.

And you can sense that the writers got into a love affair with the leading characters, taking time off the main event to tell some of their back stories, or letting romance get in the way as well, such as Guo's relationship with a young fortune teller played by Yang Mi, and Song's exchange of letters with an inmate (Karena Lam) which form the narrative background for the movie, and become the moral compass as well by the time the story runs into its thrilling double climax. It examines the nature and plausibility of the "perfect crime", while also deals with the perennial nature versus nurture issue on how criminals get made, since it is believed that no human being is born evil, and some may turn to crime or twisted justice as a means out of an unbearable environment they live in.

Other supporting actors who stand out include Liu Kai Chi, who is running a risk of getting stereotyped with his devilish, over the top portrayal as the unscrupulous factory owner, while Boran Jing's role as a rookie cop almost makes it a triumvirate for the heroes if not for his character's lack of experience in the field, and becomes the slight comic relief in this film that's suspiciously seeped with a social commentary about exploitation and corruption in pursuit of monetary goals, and how the corrupt always make strange bedfellows. Nicholas Tse and Yang Mi may sizzle on screen for their love scene, but all eyes are definitely on Tse-Lau as their excellent chemistry par none here will probably pave the way for more future films together, I hope.

If there's a little bit of a letdown, it's that the censors here decided to snip off those little impact moments where bullets make contact with the skull. Save for the scene near the beginning of the film that allowed one to sink into the moment of an unnecessary, cruel killing that set the stage, the rest got unceremoniously truncated, which is a pity since there's a subplot involving the fastest and most accurate gun in town put into the story for a reason. It's too bad that we only get to see the outcome, and not that I'm bloodlusting, but I'm never for butchering a movie in this day and age.

Still, The Bullet Vanishes is Chinese Cinema's answer to a detective story that's worthy of some of the best that Western cinema has to offer. There's definite room for a franchise because it's a pity to stop what this film has started, and hopefully it'll be able to find a more unique voice than to look too Holmes-ish. I'm giving this my vote of recommendation, and it's an automatic shoo in for those who have been starved of a good detective flick. It's period setting is great, as the filmmakers are forced to be creative with techniques since they cannot use modern day ones, and this means plenty of innovation on their part in crafting such a tale. Who knows, I may just sneak this in as one of the best of this year as well.

THE BULLET VANISHES is a vibrant and snappy spin on the detective story. When I saw the mainland China setting and the Chinese involvement I was deeply concerned, but the good news is that this is very much a Hong Kong movie in terms of verve and entertainment value. Lau Ching-wan and Nicholas Tse play a pair of detectives teaming up to tackle unsolved murders in a bullet factory; is a local curse at play or a cleverer murderer behind the crimes? There are larger-than-life mannerisms, locked-room mysteries to solve, lots of stylish camerawork, playful music and good performances here. There's also a surprising amount of action, with exciting shoot-outs building to an appropriate crescendo. It's fun and frothy, and that's the important thing; a quirky Chinese version of the classic detective tale.