Royal Warriors (Wong ga jin si, Ultra Force, In the Line of Duty, In the Line of Duty II, Police Assassin) is a 1986 Hong Kong action martial arts film directed by David Chung (Magnificent Warriors, I Love Maria), a well known cinematographer in his homeland, and it starts Michelle Yeoh in her second lead role after the success of Yes, Madam! (1985), as well as Hiroyuki Sanada, Michael Wong, Ying Bai and Wai Lam. This is considered to be the second film in the In the Line of Duty series, added retroactively to the franchise after the release of Yes, Madam. Although, sometimes it is mentioned as In the Line of Duty I.
Michelle Yip (Yeoh) is a police officer and kung-fu expert who stops the hijacking of a plane coming from Japan by a group of terrorists. The murder of two terrorists sets in motion a search for revenge by the organization behind the criminal act, ending the life of many innocents and provoking the stalking of the people involved, which include Michelle, flight security agent Michael, and Yamamoto, a Japanese Interpol agent.
As it is the case with many typical Hong Kong films the fighting is pretty dynamic, favoring quick cuts in movement, highly unlikely and impractical but cool-looking flips or rolls and very fast-moving violence. The style of the best of the Hong Kong action movies is present here and you will see a lot of what you are looking for if you have tasted the genre before. Yeoh and some of the actors really show off their stunts and martial arts talent in some of the best sequences (there's an incredible chainsaw fight, a daring building scuffle, destructive car crashes and some wonderful shootouts), especially the ones that open and close the movie, as you can imagine.
There's a sense of unexpected harshness and sometimes even cruelty in these Hong Kong movies. This edge is what puts stuff like Righting Wrongs or Yes, Madam on a whole other league compared to the usual action flick. The best example is when the family of a character is murdered by the criminals in this movie. First of all, usually, it's the agent in the field the one who gets killed and is then avenged by a partner or something (something that also happens here), but they also have a red herring scene that plays with the idea of the agent dying on the job but the opposite happens. Second of all, It's not something you would expect to see, especially so early in the film, because it's kind of shocking to have these types of characters, who often survive the film, or who are used to create tension and as an incentive for the hero to rescue his family, but here they are disposed off quite early since the film is more about revenge and what drives people to commit acts of vengeance, something that's explored in the antagonists as well.
The main leads are likable enough even if the chemistry is very poor while the acting isn't. Some characters are kind of weak and not well defined but they are redeemed by the fact that the actors do a decent job at injecting some semblance of presence or charisma, even if it's tiny. This is also evident because the art direction and the visuals aren't particularly polished or elaborate, so a lot of the time you can get a somewhat plainly shot sequence that goes on for too long, followed by an action-packed and better shot one that elevates the experience.
With adrenaline-fueled dangerous action choreographies, a script with more meat and emotional resonance, Royal Warriors is a kind of stand out movie that functions as a bold addition to the subgenre. The main problem I have is that Michelle Yeoh's character should have been more active and should have had more protagonism because she isn't as much of a driving force in this as in some other later flicks or even the previous ones she starred in. Either way, she has her cool moments throughout.
Very recommended for Hong Kong action movie buffs and fans of action superstar Michelle Yeoh.
The Heroic Trio (Three Heroines of the East, Ángeles Vengadores) is an action fantasy film directed by Johnnie To and written by Sandy Shaw. It stars Michelle Yeoh, Anita Mui, Maggie Cheung, Damian Lau, Anthony Wong and Paul Chun. The film became a pretty big hit and is one of the Hong Kong films that managed to reach a wider audience while being a cult favorite for genre enthusiasts. It is now considered to be one of Michelle Yeoh’s classic films.
The plot is set in motion as an invisible entity snatches babies around town. The wife of a police inspector (secretly a superheroine known as Wonder Woman), a tough and badass bounty hunter (known in the field as Thief Catcher) and the responsible for the baby kidnappings (a powerful warrior with supernatural techniques) unite their forces to fight the evil master behind the crimes.
An insane fantasy martial arts film that really delivers some hardcore action. The kooky plotline is actually simple and clear enough that you can properly follow it all throughout. The main characters have very distinct and likable personalities. The characterizations are fun, while the actresses are very good. I think a lot of the heavy lifting is done by the lavish costumes, props and simple writing in just 80 minutes. I wasn't expecting it to have such dynamic acrobatic action choreography, people don't just move or leap, they glide and hover through the air, but it is truly a very entertaining spectacle with people flying around and achieving impossible jumps and convoluted moves.
At first, you kind of have to put the puzzle of the storyline and the character relations and identities together because things are very slowly and eclectically established, they don't bombard you with information but everything comes together by the end of the first act. I think the tone is pretty perfect for the most part, being able to handle comedy, fantastical wonder and serious action quite well. I will also add that they had the balls to do something very shocking with a baby and that never actually hurts the established tone. I will leave it at that.
The wardrobe, art direction, production design and special effects are all expertly crafted and taken full advantage of by the meticulous and skilled direction. Johnnie To was able to take this somewhat disjointed and easy to mess up story and executed it perfectly and clearly, delivering a high caliber action classic from Hong Kong that fluidly tells its story with a variety of moods, tones, places and sensitivities.
A must watch for any martial arts fanatic. Quick and swift, The Heroic Trio is bound to thrill and amuse with its impressive filmmaking and imagination.
The film was followed by a sequel titled Heroic Trio 2: Executioners (1993).
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.
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