Three years after ushering in the incredibly complex yet relentlessly scintillating The Bullet Vanishes, Hong Kong helmer Lo Chi-leung has upped the ante with yet another detective thriller revolving around the investigation of a string of mysterious murders in the 1930s. Technically competent, visually ravishing and politically fiery, the merits of the noir-infused The Vanished Murderer sadly disappear under the weight of an overcooked narrative and painfully contrived analogies with real-life political developments in Hong Kong and China.