Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon is a 2013 Chinese crime-action film on DVD, directed by Tsui Hark.

Empress Wu, who rules with her husband Emperor Gaozong, orders the Navys warships to Baekje Kingdom. They are to aid its old ally who is in the midst of an invasion by aggressive Buyeo forces that may target China next. Before they can leave port, however, the commanding warships are sunk by a mysterious black shadow that rises to the surface of the water. This is the action-packed and captivating tale of the legendary Detective Dees beginnings in the Imperial police force. In his very first case, he must investigate reports of a sea monster terrorizing the city, and reveal a sinister conspiracy of treachery and betrayal, leading to the highest reaches of the Imperial family.

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Young Detective Dee Movie Reviews

“Detective Dee is the action flick of the year, a two-hour epic that blows the "Pirates of the Caribbean” to the Bermuda Triangle." The Globe and Mail Toronto

“The movie is not just spectacle; it's got a tender, ultimately tragic love story and enough deadly political scheming to fill a Gaddafi playbook. Indeed, in its narrative cunning, luscious production design and martial-arts balletics, Detective Dee is up there with the first great kung-fu art film, King Hu's 1969 "A Touch of Zen.” We'd call it "Crouching Tiger, Freakin' Masterpiece."" Ti­me

“On the basis of its scale, energy and magical events, this is the Hong Kong equivalent of a big-budget Hollywood blockbuster. But it transcends them with the stylization of the costumes, the panoply of the folklore, the richness of the setting, and the fact that none of the characters (allegedly) have superpowers.” Chicago Sun Times

“An inventive marriage of ancient China and Agatha Christie, Detective Dee and the Mystery of Phantom Flame is a lavishly overwrought historical whodunit.” Variety