DETECTIVE INVESTIGATION FILES III [TVB]

Written by Funn Lim

This review was posted many years ago, exactly when I am not sure but it should be within months from the original broadcast of this series. I am posting it as I have posted it originally.

SPOILERS ... SPOILERS ... SPOILERS

How Long
Should be about 20+ episodes

Who
Basically,same cast as in DIF I/II but with addition of Monica Chan and Margaret Chung.

What & Where
Family drama intervowen with issues of memory loss,secret admirers,love,hate,murder,deaths,lost loves and did I mentioned,police investigations?Set in HK.

The storyline
Continuation from part II where Jessie left HK after losing her memories of EVERYTHING.But she came back to real troubles like a woman pretending to be her,taking her place,then staying married to Michael Dao only to write stuffs in her diary like how she felt only gratitude for all his love and devotion but never really loving him,like having to at last realise that she did indeed care about him but Michael was already going out with his very devoted and affectionate old school chum,Monica Chan.Yep,it’s one big love triangle,only that Michael never actually loved Monica.It’s almost the same plot as in DIF 11 where Amy Kwok was in Monica’s shoes.Then tragedy struck!!As for Joey,he leads a lonely existence,misses his son/dead wife.Then enters a new collegue who speaks with china accent as she was from China in the form of Margaret Chung.They detested each other only to have Margaret secretly admiring Joey when she found out that he was the cousin who saved her life when she was a little girl and she had pledged her undying love to this unsung hero.But a little too late because Joey was madly and deeply in love with the girl with that impossibly big eyes(Yeung Yuen Yee,I hope).And in between,plenty of emotional scenes between Michael and his younger brother from the States(they have a rocky relationship because Michael never really trusted the younger brother,always thinking him as irresponsible), police investigations and plenty of deaths of those you never suspected or wanted them to die.Yeah,get ready with your tissues.

Who is with Who
For clarity sake, Kenix-Michael-Monica and Margaret-Joey-Yeung Yuen Yee.Who ends up with who?I’m sure you would have already guessed.

The HATE factor
Those suspects that killed for the most silliest and dubious reasons,where a simple thing called communication would have saved the day and innocent lives.Maybe some deserved to die but 99.99999% didn’t.It just shows that how less people talk to each other anymore these days.

The PITY factor
Firstly,Monica Chan.I mean she was like so in love with Michael,being the most devoted and affectionate girlfriend,focused all her love to that one man who actually,well never really loved her.Maybe cared but never ever loved her.Then she had to die..oops!Sorry.Yeah,she died.How?Why?Watch it then you’ll know.Secondly,Michael’s younger brother.The black sheep of the family,the misunderstood one.Michael kept nagging at him to be more responsible but in actual fact,the brother was being resposible for his own life.All he wanted was respect from his big bro and he had to die like being stabbed,most horribly and poor Michael,in the most emotional scene was like crying so hard,and you’ll too.

Most Adoring Couple
You’ll probably say Kenix-Michael,some would say Joey-Margaret.But I would say Michael-Joey.No!!I didn’t mean couple would have to be lovers,just generally!And generally,the pure joy of this serials is the relationship between the two main characters,Michael and Joey.They do remind me of some kind of women,they can be gossipy,and in fact naggy.Very funny.

Most Annoying couple
Kenix-Michael.One just lost her memory so she can’t remember him and her love for him.The other just because continues to be involved in relationships with people like Monica who just adored him but he just can’t seem to try to love her.See some similiarities here?One can’t remember her love for him so she cannot love him and the other can’t forget his love for her so he can’t love someone else.ARRGGG!!!

Most Memorable Bits
I know you’ll say where Kenix at last got her memory back and thus her love for Michael,or when Joey confesses his love for Margaret in front of everybody in the airport but frankly,that’s just corny.My personal vote would be where after Michael’s brother was murdered,he found a tape where his brother recorded his innermost feelings and hurt about his relatiuonship between him and Michael.All the boy wanted was just respect by his big brother and all Michael ever did was to put him down.It was the most memorable one because you’ll cry along with Michael.Maybe you’ll cry harder than Michael.

Most Over-quoted Line
In the entire serials,you’ll definitely hear this line over and over again ,courtesy of Kenix Kwok’s character,Jessie.I would wish I could type it out in Chinese but I can’t so what for what’s it worth,this is my bast effort in translation.Remember she lost her memory?So she can’t remember her love for Michael?When people say why don’t you give him a chance coz he’s such a nice guy,a great and devoted husband and he reply would always be..” I can’t because I don’t have that kind of feelings for him”.What she meant was she couldn’t remember her love for him.Which makes you wonder.Can’t she at least try to rekindle or perhaps build a new kind of feelings for him?Does that memory loss served as a correct justification for her rejection of his love for her?Wah,serious stuffs here!

Most Memorable Performance
Definitely Michael Dao Tai Yue.He’s very good here and definitely the driving force of this serials.This guy got charisma!And can he cry!

The VERDICT
Put aside the fact that this was supposed to be a police drama but all we can see is that people who are murdered are somehow related to the principal characters and there’s more stories of love than the police works,if you have watched like the other 2 installments and have this force that keeps you awake at night wondering how will all end,by all means go watch it.Personally,I was never a fan of any DIF.

Is is BETTER than…
DIF IV??I can’t really say for sure.DIF IV is much more stylish,more good looking people there and much much more police investigations and one character you’ll love to hate.DIF III is like your typical drama with some police action in it.The two aren’t the same if you really really look at it.Some liked the change others didn’t.If you’ve read my review for DIF IV,I don’t really cared much for the overall DIF serials.But frankly,I would have nicer words for DIF III than DIF IV because in DIF III,the two principal characters are just so much involved with us simply because we saw them before and it’s like friends to us.So for that familiarity sake,I’ll say DIF III wins!

Interesting Facts/Fiction
After DIF III,Michael Dao left TVB for greener pastures and much more demanding role in the form of the Flaming Brothers serial In ATV.Frankly,I loved Flaming Brothers because it is there that you get to see real acting from Michael.He was very good.But I heard some news that he might be back to TVB for a sequal to Healing Hands which was originally intended for him anyway in the form of Ng Kai Wah’s role.Let us all pray,real hard for this to come true.