Tsui Hark achieves true greatness with Detective Dee, a return to the days when Hong Kong movies meant speed, madness, entertainment, spectacle, strong women, tragic heroes, cynical politics, kinetic action and kung fu deer. Carina Lau (in an award-winning performance) plays the Empress Wu, a controversial real-life figure whose coronation is being undermined by a series of assassinations by spontaneous combustion. To unravel the conspiracy she must release from prison the Sherlock Holmes-ian court official, Detective Dee (Andy Lau), whom she put there eight years previously for treason. This lavish blockbuster won Tsui Hark “Best Director” at the Hong Kong Film Awards and grabbed almost all the technical and design trophies, too.