The Great Magician

The Great Magician (大魔术师; 大魔術師; dà móshù shī) is a 2011 Hong Kong action fantasy comedy film based on a 2009 novel by Zhang Haifan.

Set in Beijing in the 1920s, the film tells the story of an illusionist who returns from overseas to find his fiancée, who has been kidnapped by a warlord hoping to make her his seventh wife.

He is secretly collaborating with a group of spies working for the Republican government to lure Lei into attending a performance and take the warlord hostage.

Later, Chang discovers that Liu Kunshan is secretly working with imperial loyalists to restore the Qing dynasty, with support from a Japanese paramilitary group.

After his cover is blown, Liu Kunshan openly sides with the Qing loyalists and Japanese, and leads a mutiny against Lei, catching him off guard.