In the Line of Duty I-IV

Within the martial arts genre, women have never been thought of as second rate.  Michelle Yeoh’s recent Oscar win might be an outlier (hopefully not the last) here in the States, but in Hong Kong she was part of a wave of female stars who kicked butt even harder than the boys. The In the Line of Duty series, which began with two films starring Yeoh then swapped her out for Cynthia Khan, are amped-up examples of the golden age of Hong Kong filmmaking…and proof that it doesn’t take a Y chromosome to take down the bad guys!

 Yes, Madam! (1985) was Michelle Yeoh’s first starring role and it’s one hell of an introduction.  After thwarting an armored truck robbery in grand style, Inspector Ng (Yeoh) is paired up with Scottish investigator Carrie Morris (Cynthia Rothrock) to recover a missing microfilm that’s accidently passed through the hands of a group of dimwitted thieves.  The tone of this one bounces schizophrenically between tough cop drama and easygoing comic relief, but both women deliver solid athletic performances in tag team fashion.

 

Things get dramatically more exciting in Royal Warriors (1986) with a cadre of ex-military pals looking to avenge their buddy after Yeoh and company prevent a mid-air hijacking.  Actor Hiroyuki Sanada joins the cast as a renegade Interpol agent whose family pays the price for his involvement in the affair.  Directed with flair by David Chung, this one is an adrenaline rush from the opening scene all the way to the credits.  A mid-film nightclub massacre is every bit as intense as the Terminator sequence it was “inspired” by and Yeoh’s skill set is dramatically improved.  She was a star by her second film.

 

However, marriage and a short retirement pulled her away from the screen, leaving Cynthia Khan to take over the lead role in In the Line of Duty 3 (1988).  In a great skirt-ripping introduction, she goes from handing out parking tickets to investigating the theft of millions in stolen jewelry, paired up with another Japanese partner (Hiroshi Fujioka) who has a personal debt to pay.  The bad guys take center stage in this one which never quite approaches the frenetic pace of the rest of the series.

 

But things get back on track with Yeun Woo-ping behind the camera for In the Line of Duty 4 (1989), which pairs Khan with Donnie Yen and Simon Yuen Yat-Choh to resolve a CIA money-laundering conspiracy any which way they can.  The fight choreography this time around is tremendous, with creative staging and terrific stunt work.  The guns are mostly kept holstered, making this one more of a pure martial arts film.  The rooftop death match on top of a moving van is truly inspired action filmmaking. The series would continue for several more entries but this was certainly a high point.

 

88 Films is on one hell of a hot streak with their 88 Asia Collection!  This 4-disc Blu-ray box set includes 2K restorations of all four film, audio commentaries, interviews and packaging worth displaying in a place of honor.  A pair of fold-out posters and 100-page book go along with reversible artwork on each title.  Man, is this pretty!

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