Film

Detective Chinatown

Name: Detective Chinatown
Genre: Comedy, Mystery, Action, Adventure
Released: 2015
Cast: Wang Baoqiang, Liu Haoran, Tong Liya, Chen He, Xiao Shenyang

Detective Chinatown is a rowdy buddy-comedy mystery that marries Hong Kong action cinema with slapstick humour and genuine detective work. Two mismatched cousins—one uptight, one chaos incarnate—tumble through Bangkok solving a murder. It's fast, loud, and genuinely funny, built on chemistry and the sheer pleasure of watching comedians work.

TMDb rating

3.4

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy buddy-cop banter that leans on bickering and silly misunderstandings, and you don't mind a mystery that is mostly an excuse for jokes and chases through a foreign city.

Skip it if you want a tightly plotted whodunit where the clues quietly add up, because here the comedy and set pieces keep pushing the puzzle to the side for long stretches.

What it asks of you: Settle in for a little over two hours of loud, physical comedy with a lot of running around, and expect a lighthearted tone that rarely asks you to hold a long, careful thread.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Rush Hour1998

The DNA of Detective Chinatown flows directly from this: an uptight and chaotic partner pair, international settings, action sequences punctuated by comedy routines, and the comedy coming from personality clash rather than jokes landing on punchlines.

But If you find the fish-out-of-water setup tired, or if you need action to stay genuinely tense rather than being a platform for gags, this won't convert you.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows2011

Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law play a detective duo with genuine affection beneath the verbal sparring. It finds the same sweet spot between mystery, action, and character comedy that Chinatown hunts for.

But It's longer and more plot-heavy, and some find the constant banter exhausting rather than charming. The steampunk aesthetic won't be for everyone.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows poster

The Nice Guys2016

Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe are a mismatched detective pair in 1970s LA with genuine warmth beneath constant needling. The mystery is real, the action matters, and the comedy flows from who these people are.

But It's slower and more melancholic than Chinatown. If you want relentless energy rather than character study, you'll miss what makes it work.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Detective Chinatown

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Gentlemen2020

Both films build their plot through interlocking witness statements and perspectives, revealing the same event from different angles. The mystery emerges from how people describe what happened.

Guy Ritchie orchestrating a crime caper with ensemble cast and rapid-fire exposition. Like Chinatown, it trusts the audience to follow intricate plot machinery while comedy comes from character and coincidence. Chaotic, stylish, and structured like a magic trick revealing how the pieces fit.

But It's cynical where Chinatown is warm. The humour depends on finding these characters' desperation and venality funny rather than endearing them to you.

Kung Fu Hustle2004

Stephen Chow's love letter to kung fu cinema and comedy merged into one. It has the same anarchic energy, the same commitment to absurdity, and the same sense that action and humour are two sides of the same coin.

But The violence is cartoonish but persistent. If you need a clear line between action and comedy moments, this constant blending will feel chaotic.

Police Story1985

Jackie Chan doing what he does best: using his body and props for both comedy and genuine spectacle. It shows the DNA of what Chinatown borrows from—action that's funny because it's real stunt work, not because the script says it's funny.

But The pacing is slower and the emotional beats matter more. It's less a comedy with action than an action film where Chan makes you laugh through excellence.

Mr. Bean's Holiday2007

Rowan Atkinson's physical comedy meets real plot and international settings. Like Chinatown, it finds humour in a character navigating somewhere foreign and chaotic, with genuine moments of warmth breaking through the pratfalls.

But If you need snappy dialogue, this will feel thin. It's almost entirely physical comedy, which lands or doesn't depending on your tolerance for that register.

Ocean's Eleven2001

A ensemble heist film where the pleasure comes from watching likeable people work together with crackling energy. The mystery of how they'll pull it off mirrors Chinatown's whodunit structure, but with style and charm instead of desperation.

But It's slick where Chinatown is sweaty. If you want grit and chaos, the polish here might feel like it's holding the fun back.

Tropic Thunder2008

An action-comedy about misfits in over their heads. It commits fully to both the action and the comedy, never apologising for slapstick or sentimental moments. Same energy, different setting and register.

But It's much cruder, meaner, and more satirical. If Chinatown's warmth is what drew you, this will feel jagged and abrasive.

Shanghai Noon2000

Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson playing a mismatched pair solving a mystery in the American West. It has the international buddy-comedy energy, genuine charm, and the commitment to making action sequences entertaining rather than just impressive.

But It's gentler and more straightforward than Chinatown. If you want the chaos turned up to eleven, this might feel quaint.

Werckmeister Harmonies2001

Both films structure their narrative around a protagonist moving through a landscape gathering information. The landscape and other characters reveal themselves through his presence. But where Chinatown is farcical, this is apocalyptic.

Béla Tarr's seven-hour Hungarian masterpiece where a drifter arrives in a small town and everything goes wrong in slow, inevitable accumulation. Totally unexpected, but it shares Chinatown's DNA: an outsider entering a space and the narrative unfolding through his navigation of it. Also: there's a whale involved. Also: it's shot in black and white and moves like a funeral.

But This is the furthest from entertainment you can possibly get. If Chinatown appealed for fun, this will test your patience in ways that feel punitive. Not everyone's evening—very few people's evening.