Mad Detective (Sun taam) Review

This smartarse cop drama teams Hong Kong’s most prolific action auteur, Johnny To, with two favourites - lead Lau Ching-wan and screenwriter Wai Ka-Fai. The result is as gung-ho, occasionally brilliant and ultimately frustrating as exercises in artistic back-slapping tend to be. Lau shines as the eccentric Inspector Bun, whose methods are tolerated while he cracks case after case. Then he slices off his own ear as a present for a senior officer and earns a swift discharge. Five years later, a former protégé enlists Bun’s help on an uncrackable case involving a missing cop. But just how mad is Bun? To’s Election duo and Exiled are slicker affairs, but there’s still plenty here to please the fans.