Trailers
Description
One rainy night in an arms factory near Shanghai, a young female worker accused of stealing a box of bullets from the ruthless Boss Ding is violently killed in a game of Russian roulette. Half a month later, a series of inexplicable deaths takes place in the factory, where the victims are shot but no bullets are found. Rumors of a deadly curse begin to spread in the factory, terrorizing the workers there. So, eccentric police inspector Song Donglu and his hot-blooded, gunslinging partner Guo Zhui are sent in to investigate the mystery of the phantom bullets...
Starring
Awards
Key opinion
The Disappearing Bullet is a stylish noir-inspired detective film that successfully leverages the strong chemistry between its leads to create a compelling historical atmosphere. While it draws heavy inspiration from Western tropes and Sherlock Holmes-style deduction, audiences generally enjoy its intellectual curiosity and action, even as critics point to its derivative plot and occasionally uneven execution.
| Acting | The central performances by Sean Lau and Nicholas Tse provide the anchor that carries the film's narrative weight. | |
| Production | The film effectively transports viewers to a 1930s Chinese industrial setting, blending noir aesthetics with distinct cultural atmosphere. | |
| Theme | The deductive methodology and philosophical inquiries into why good people commit evil evoke a Chinese variation of Sherlock Holmes. | |
| Direction | The inclusion of excessive, blockbuster-style action sequences creates a clash between gritty noir tones and stylistic spectacle. | |
| Screenplay | The script is praised for its sharp, intellectually tight premise, but some critics find the overarching plot and twists to be derivative or unoriginal. |