Mastermind Review: Hong Kong Mystery Criticized for Awful Plotting and Lack of Logic
The South China Morning Post reviewed Mastermind, a detective mystery from emerging Hong Kong writer-director James Hung Ling-ching, stating that it features irredeemably awful plotting and hollow tropes, leading to a low rating.
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According to the South China Morning Post, viewers anticipating a gritty whodunit should anticipate disappointment in Mastermind, as the film is described as being filled with hollow tropes and lacking any forensic logic. The review gave the film a rating of 1/5 stars. The publication noted that there is a narrow distinction between a complex murder thriller and a mess that is frustratingly fragmented. Mastermind, directed by emerging Hong Kong writer-director James Hung Ling-ching (known for The Seventh Lie), is said to cross this line with unrestrained abandon, presenting a detective mystery whose plotting is so poorly executed that genre enthusiasts are unlikely to have felt so insulted. The film is set across one continuous night in H City, a fictional, dystopian city of 5 million people that lacks proper rule of law. The narrative commences with Earl (Yeung Wai-lun), a witness who has been battered by corruption, fleeing to the dilapidated East Precinct police station in search of safety.
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