DETECTIVE CHINATOWN 1900 (唐探1900) (2025)

Genre: Comedy/Crime
Director: Chen Sicheng, Dai Mo
Cast: Wang Baoqiang, Liu Haoran, Chow Yun-fat, Bai Ke, Zhang Xincheng, Yue Yunpeng, Xiang Wei, Yin Zheng, Tai Bo 
Runtime: 2 hrs 15 mins
Rating: NC16 (Some Violence & Coarse Language)
Released By: mm2 Entertainment 
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 29 January 2025

Synopsis: In 1900, a white woman was murdered in Chinatown in San Francisco, and the suspect was a Chinese man. The murder caused social shock, and people demanded the closure of Chinatown.

Movie Review:

It has been 10 years since we were introduced to Qin Feng and Tang Ren, the protagonists of Chinese director Chen Sicheng’s Detective Chinatown series. The endearing duo played by Liu Haoran and Wang Baoqiang had their first adventure in Bangkok back in 2015, and the movie was a huge success. A sequel set in New York was released in 2018, and fans were treated to a third instalment in 2021 that saw the pair taking down baddies in Tokyo.

The Detective Chinatown universe was further expanded in 2020 with a web series which introduced new characters and cases to be solved. With positive reception, a sequel followed in 2024.

With all these released over the last decade, was there a need for a fourth Detective Chinatown movie? The filmmakers behind the hit franchise probably thought so, and here it is – a comedy mystery flick fighting for a place among the crowded Lunar New Year offerings.

Kudos to the filmmakers for coming up with a fresh concept. We are brought back in time to the year 1900 to meet Qin Fu (Liu) and Ah Gui (Wang). While they are not the Qin Feng and Tang Ren we are familiar with, the movie suggests that they are their ancestors, with a on screen chemistry that is just as winning.

After a funny sequence of how the two men cross paths and become fated to be buddy sleuths, they begin investigating the death of a white woman in San Francisco’s Chinatown. The victim is the daughter of a scheming US congressman (John Cusack), while the suspect is the son (Zhang Xincheng) of a well regarded Chinese businessman (Chow Yun-Fat slipping comfortably into the role).

The 135 minute movie then scurries Qin Fu and Ah Gui through a series of incidents, which range from bizarre to hilarious. Along the way, they also meet other characters like a haughty Chinese official (Yue Yunpeng), a popular magician (Xiang Wei) and a patriotic academic (Bai Ke).

Similar to its predecessors, this movie is constantly engaging and entertaining. There are no sluggish moments, and you will be looking out for clues with the protagonists and trying to crack the murder case ahead of them. There are many twists and turns, but directors Chen and Dai Mo make sure you can follow the story. Diehard fans of the Detective Chinatown franchise will have fun spotting several Easter eggs in the movie.

Having worked together previously. Liu and Wang effortlessly bring their personalities to screen. Yue’s portrayal of an arrogant official is comical and empathetic at the same time. Cusack is increasingly becoming the villain you love to hate, while Chow shows why he is one of the best actors in the business in a courtroom scene where he delivers an emotion speech.

As a production from China, the movie naturally features themes about Chinese patriotism. This fourth film also happens to have the most political elements in the franchise. The story weaves in a plot involving the Chinese exclusion bill (an actual federal law signed in 1882 that prohibits all immigration of Chinese labourers for 10 years), and ends on a note that will have nationalistic viewers feeling proud of how far China has come, and how much its people have achieved.

Movie Rating:

(Engaging and entertaining throughout, this fourth instalment of the Detective Chinatown series delivers thrilling mystery and humour while commemorating a decade of the franchise with a heartfelt tribute to Chinese patriotism)

Review by John Li