Yes, Madam! (1985) Review

There are some movies that marked a new beginning for action women in cinema and this one is among the top of the line. It's a thrilling vehicle showcasing the combat skills of famous action girls Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock. Both had their breakthrough roles in this relatively tiny but hugely impactful film titled Yes, Madam! released in 1985 and produced by Hong Kong production company D & B Films. 

Directed by Corey Yuen, it marked his second credit as full director in a career that would last several decades, it was also the first in a string of films of the same caliber like Righting Wrongs (1986), No Retreat, No Surrender 2 (1987), She Shoots Straight (1990), Women on the Run (1993), So Close (2002) and DOA: Dead or Alive (2006), which was his last film. He was known for his ultra frenetic action stunts (he worked as an actor and a stuntman before sitting in the director's chair) and for showcasing strong female characters in many of his stories. He even co-directed Black Rose II (1997), a film that resurrected the tradition of the Hong Kong Jane Bond movies from the sixties. 

Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock

The movie was written by the duo of James Clouse and Barry Wong, Wong is known for his collaborations with director John Woo and several other Corey Yuen projects later on. 

Initially the film was going to be more traditional, featuring a male british cop teaming up with the titular Madam (Yeoh´s character), but the producers were very much impressed with a female martial artist who auditioned for the film, the talented Cynthia Rothrock, kickstarting the career of an icon.

Michelle Yeoh´s story was similar, she came from Malaysia and won Miss World Malaysia in 1983, but it was her role in a TV commercial with Jackie Chan in 1984 that sparked the interest from producers to cast her as an action star. Yeoh learned martial arts on the job as a lot of models who appear in these movies do, but once she was cast in a few small roles she was promoted to being the lead protagonist in Yes, Madam. Yeoh´s dedication was such that she hit the gym eight hours a day in order to prepare for the role. It certainly paid off. 

As it is the case with most asian action movies, this flick carries a few alternate titles with it, some include: Police Assassins, Police Assassins II (yes, a sequel to itself), Super Cops: Blood on the Streets, Mujer sin ley, In the Line of Duty 2, Lady Hard: Great Hong Kong Criminal Investigation, Karate Tiger, Ultra Force, Ultra Force 2 (these last two are specially confusing because they mix in with the real Ultra Force series).

What's more confusing is that this film is the first flick in the In the Line of Duty series, which stars female officers and inspectors often played by Michelle Yeoh or Cynthia Khan. Some of these include Royal Warriors (1986), In the Line of Duty III and IV, The Middle man (1990) and many more all the way up to Yes Madam 5 (a few of the sequels are unofficial). I will touch upon them in the future more extensively. 

The movie begins with Inspector Ng (Michelle Yeoh) busting an exhibitionist, it all goes according to plan but suddenly a robbery occurs and the inspector rushes towards the criminals hoping to catch them. A shootout ensues, Yeoh displays some impressive moves and physicality as she jumps into cars and runs across the scenario while blasting her foes. A wounded robber reaches for his gun but she intercepts him with a shotgun, the criminal goes for it and gets his hand blown off. Yeoh doesn't mess around. 

This exciting beginning is a little taste of the wild and kinetic energy the film has to offer and continues to present in it´s dynamic and impactful fighting sequences, shootouts and comedic slapstick moments all throughout it´s runtime.

In another part of town, two bumbling thieves manage to get themselves into serious trouble when they steal a valuable microfilm from a recently assassinated man. This microfilm features the main bad guy Mr. Tin doing illegal things, so of course he doesn't want it to reach the hands of the police. This puts the two low life criminals who stole the object in danger, frequently fearing for their life and getting chased around by mobsters. Their only hope is to assist Inspector Ng with the case. 

This plot with the thiefs takes a decent amount of screen time and is predictably the least engaging part of the movie due to the lack of investment one has regarding the goofballs. They aren't annoying, they are somewhat likable actually, and they do some great stunt work like the rest of the action cast but their scenes are what brings the movie down a little bit. Don't worry, they often cut back to Michelle Yeoh and Inspector Carrie Morris from Scotland Yard (Cynthia Rothrock) and their attempts at capturing the rich criminal boss.  

While the film doesn't focus on beautiful images or any type of elegant cinematography, Yuen instead goes for raw but still stylish blocking and staging that prioritizes energy and movement over prettiness, all decorated with eye-popping primary colors and mundane settings that help to ground the film.

Like in any other good martial arts movie from Asia, every substantial development and idea is explored through fighting, the visually stimulating movement of bodies and their relation to each other are what drive the story and convey it via combat and physical confrontations or meetings. 

One example is the set piece that unites the main female lead with her english speaking partner/equivalent. During an airport check, a tough thug goes mad and fights Yeoh and her police force, the bad guy then grabs a seemingly random lady as a hostage but it turns out the lady just happens to be superfighter Cynthia Rothrock who predictably kicks his ass. This sets both of them up as above average and noteworthy inspectors who can stand against enemies their male partners couldn't. This elevation of the females continues as Rothrock verbally humiliates two disrespectful policemen by suggesting they have small members. 

The two girls dont get along very well at first, Carrie is reluctant to collaborate with Ng, both have contrasting personalities and ways of working. An example of this disparity of methods comes when they interrogate the man who they previously arrested. Ng attempts to talk to him calmly but Carrie becomes frustrated and takes the man to a dark interrogation room. She then brutally tries to beat the information out of him. This shows that Carrie is a firecracker with an explosive personality and more violent tendencies, while Ng is a more relaxed and thoughtful inspector. This contrast between the American and the Asian action girls is something that always fascinated me.

The girl's relationship isn't deeply explored, it's all done mostly by quick economic characterization and arc development. Might be a little too paper thin for some but it gets the job done as it fits the structure and pace the film has been constructing.

The film is an extravagant mixture of contrasting tones, ideas, textures, sensibilities and realities. Sometimes to the point of deviating a little too much from the main plot. One scene is comedic, the next one is full of crime tropes, the one that follows is a straight fight scene and then it turns into a pessimistic philosophical debate about the prosperity of crime. It's nuts. 

A grounded movie where all of the stunts are real and impressively executed yet it's not a hyperrealistic film either, people go flying around with one kick or when they get shot, they unleash their inner acrobat like they are in a beautiful dance of grace and rhythmic movement. As I said, eclectic contrast. 

The cheapness and loose copyright laws of Hong Kong allowed them to use music from different sources. For example, you can hear some stingers that come from John Carpenter's Halloween (1978) throughout the picture. It wouldn't be the first time we have seen this done, since Godfrey Ho used music from that same movie in Angel Enforcers (1989) and we hear Ennio Morricone's Ecstasy of Gold in Golden Queen´s Commando (1982) too, to name a few examples. However, the rest of the score in Yes, Madam! is original and was composed by Yuen´s regular Romeo Diaz. 

The climactic fight features the biggest and greatest combat sequence in the entire movie and perhaps is among the high points of the action genre as a whole. The performers fluidly hit their marks with efficiency and precision, every punch, kick and somersault into the air feels resounding and earned. No reason to cover the action in quick cuts and shaky cam, might as well just show the astounding physicality of the actors in full and static frames. Having said that, the montage isn't lazy nor haphazard, it's as calculated as the stunts and the direction. 

You have to see it to believe it. It's an unstoppable array of flying kicks, potent punches, sword clashing, constant detonations, people jumping onto walls, people jumping into walls, people crashing through glass and goons are sent flying left and right. Until it comes down to one to one martial arts confrontations.

The actual ending is one of the most baffling you will ever see in cinema. The morality and ideas of the movie have been relatively generic up until this point, the good guys investigate a case and the bad guys kill people and menace others. Pretty basic stuff. However, after the final brawl finishes, policemen arrive at the scene and arrest the good guys! The gals included. Turns out the police department is somewhat corrupt and maintains a strong relationship with the villain. 

This kind of resonates now in real life considering how certain feminists are treated by sectors of the public while certain rich rulers do whatever they want with their power and connections. It all comes down to how the world rewards evil while hurting good people.

"There's no justice" one man claims, only to be corrected by the evil bad guy who declares himself the good guy. I remember this exchange being more nihilistic in the spanish version but it still packs a punch. I won't spoil the very end but let's say that justice was in fact served after all. Kind of a Sadean touch on Barry Wong´s part to spice things up, and it works.  

What are you waiting for? Go and buy the movie now! It's a total classic in the girls with guns and martial arts field. A total blast from start to finish. It rushes through the basics of traditional cinema but it replaces it with some raw and unpolished brute force that works even better.