Royal Warriors - Crime, sadness, and some butt-kicking

 

executive producer.............................Dickson Poon

producer..................................................John Sham

director......................................David Chung

starring..........................................Michelle Yeoh

                                                         Henry Sanada

                                                         Micheal Wong

Distributed by.........................................D&B Films

Synopsis

When a Hong Kong policewoman, a Japanese Interpol-agent and an air security officer botch a plane hijacking fempt by a militia fanatic, his veteran friends vow revenge. In order to stop the terrorist attacks and also to save their own lives, the three heroes most team up once again to fight their gun-totting adversaries.

Review

The morning I wrote this, I woke up early today so I could get in my fix on action movies. The first movie I watched was Royal Warriors, which is the sequel to Yes, Madam! The movie met my exceptions.
 

Sure the movie is now missing Carrie, Aspirin (Mang Hoi who portrayed Aspirin directed the action choreography in this movie and won a Hong Kong Film Award for it.) & Strepsil, now bringing a less humourous feeling to the movie. But all the action and scenes with Micheal Wong make up for it! 

This movie is in particular one of the greatest Michelle Yeoh movies ever. If you have an old copy lying around, you need to pop it in your PS3 and watch it immediately.  I recommend watching the film for the shootout and the final fight. You can feel the anger in the three main characters during these two scenes. The acting is natural and great!

Rating: 9.5/10

WATCH

 'ROYAL WARRIORS' 

aka

"IN THE LINE OF DUTY"

aka 

"POLICE ASSASSINS"

at the 

https://archive.org/details/in-the-line-of-duty-2-royal-warriors 

(Tai Seng VHS rip version)

Export Trailer

"Yes, Madam" Puts the "POW!" in Female Empowerment

 

Directed by Corey Yuen

Written by Barry Wong

Produced by Samo Hung

Starring

Michelle Yeoh

Cynthia Rothrock

John Shum

Mang Hoi

Release date (Hong Kong): November 30, 1985 

Synopsis

Two unlucky thieves break into a just murdered man's hotel room and steal his passport with a hidden microfilm wanted by a triad boss. Two hard kicking women cops from HK and UK get the case.

Review 

This is the first Michelle Yeoh film I've watched fully without Jackie Chan with it, and it did not dissapoint. The fight choreography is truly amazing and eye-catching like no other 'Girls With Guns' movie. The stunt co-ordination performed by Yeoh and Rothrock is truly epic. 

Secondly, Dick Wei's performance as the scary villian is amazing. No matter what role I see this guy in, he is super intimidating. (Sorry, Urquidez)

This film is a bit of an alternative to Police Story. The opening chase is shot in the same place as it is in Police Story, there are tons of sequences with glass breaking, (the big stunts in both films involve glass) and of course, the over-confident jerk of a villian.

Now, I must talk about the ending. The ending has a bit of an annoying turning out. In NO version of the movie we get to see what happens after the ending (One of the protagonists shoots the main antagonist in a response to the main antagonist killing one of their best friends). Do Ng and Carrie go to prison? Does the antagonist dies? Who knows? Nobody!

Rothrock and Yeoh have amazing chemistry, and they're both different. One is a good madam, the other is a bad madam. One is an inspector, the other is a sergeant. One likes crumpet and teas, one likes ramen.

Who said girls never knew how to handle guns?

 

 Rating: 9/10

 

WATCH YES MADAM

AT THE 

 https://archive.org/details/in-the-line-of-duty-1-yes-madam (Cantonese audio English subtitles)

 

Beyond the Bombs: Supercop 2 - An Action-Packed Exploration of Love, Loss, and Redemption

 

Directed and written by Stanley Tong

Written by Sandy Shaw

Produced by  

Barbie Tung

So Haau Leung

Starring 

Michelle Yeoh

Yu Rong Guang

Emil Chau

Jackie Chan

Release date: December 22, 1999
 

Synopsis 

As a crime wave sweeps through Hong Kong, the police call on Jessica Yang, a rising star in their ranks, to help stop a notorious gang of thieves.

Review 

I will admit, for my first Michelle Yeoh movie where SHE is in the spotlight, this did not dissapoint.

The movie has subtle comedy at times, especially with scenes between Guang and Yeoh. It doesn't have a lot, trust me, but when it does it is pretty funny.

The movie has a very great casting choice, a good score, and good voice dubbing for 1998.

The action may not be as eye catching as you see in the first 3 other Police Story movies, but it still doesn't dissapoint.

And for the people who were expecting a one by one film to Supercop, ehmmm... no. But there are some subtle references, in the dialogue, and even during the fights! 

 

Oh, and yeah, there is a lot of glass breaking in this movie, as is with the first 2 Police Story films with Jackie Chan.

But one thing that does annoy me is the opening credits. The way it goes is this - action scene, credit, action scene, credit, and it goes ON AND ON for 3 minutes. I mean, if you're GOING to put credits in between an action scene, place them as text on the bottom of the screen, or at least dedicate 2 minutes to the opening credits!

Anyways, the film is pretty good, fight scenes are good, dubbing is good. 

Oh, yeah, that Chackie Jan guy is good as well.

 Rating: 6.3/10

Watch Supercop 2 on 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKV6xjtS2r0 (Dimension Films cut from 1999)

Super Cop: The perfect action film?

 I know some of you might be angry about me calling the film Super Cop and not Police Story 3 as it was released in Australia, but the version of the film I downloaded and watched was the 1996 Dimension Films cut, so I can't review the original version if I never watched it.

Produced by and starring Jackie Chan

Directed by Stanley Tong
Written by 

Edward Tang
Ma Fibe
Yee Lee Wai
Produced by 

Willie Chan
Edward Tang
Leonard Ho

Starring   
    Michelle Khan
    Maggie Cheung
    Ken Tsang
    Yuen Wah
    Bill Tung
    Josephine Koo
    Wong Siu

Synopsis

To infiltrate a drug cartel, Royal Hong Kong Police Force Inspector Kevin Chan (Jackie Chan) goes undercover in a Chinese prison. There, he earns the trust of Panther (Yuen Wah), a cartel member, by breaking him out of prison. With the help of another undercover agent, Jessica Yang, (Michelle Khan), they travel to Hong Kong and join up with Panther's gang. Ka Kui is accepted by the gang's leader (Ken Tsang), but his operation is jeopardized when Kevin's girlfriend, May (Maggie Cheung) accidentally reveals his true identity.

Review

Supercop is easily the best work in the Police Story series. Jackie Chan and his stunt team went all out on this one. Unlike First Strike which was overloaded with comedy (like putting too much salt on a food), the comedy in this was funny and subtle.

Anyway, Michelle Khan is a great actress, and this is the movie that introduced me to her. Her movies are insane, and soon enough you'll be seeing more of her on this site (infact, reviews of Supercop 2 and Yes Madam are coming soon)

Super Cop is one of the best Chan films ever. It must have taken months to come up with choreography. Jackie Chan is a legend. This movie is one you wish never ever ended, unlike it's spinoff, Supercop 2, which I gave up on watching after 2 minutes. I'll be watching it again for the sake of the blog. 

(edit 2.1.24 - I watched the movie on Dec. 16 2023. A review is coming in June.)

Not to mention, Dimension Film and Miramax's edit and voice casting choice of films is actually amazing, including this one, and it's actually great they got Chan and Khan to voice for the film. Many would complain about the American editing of this franchise, but especially this movie, I actually enjoyed it! In fact, it was even better then the Hong Kong version. I'm not exageratting when I say this movie is the best movie of the whole 1990s. Watch it for yourself!

Superheroes? Forget them. We have the one and only Supercop.

Watch Supercop at the

Original Hong Kong version from 1992 (Cantonese audio, English subtitles) - https://archive.org/details/police-story-3

Rating: 10/10 

35 Things You Might Not Have Known About the Action Star #3 - Michelle Yeoh

1.  She returned from a five-year hiatus just so she could work on Police Story 3: Supercop.
2. She was so good at fighting in "Tomorrow Never Dies" that they had to call up Sing ba Gan (Jackie Chan's stunt team) to find a stuntman that was as good as her.
3. She is Samo Hung's favourite actress.
4. She is so good with stuntwork that Jackie Chan got jealous on the set of Supercop.
5. She was billed as Michelle Khan for the release of Supercop.
6. She was billed as Michelle Kheng for the release of Yes Madam.
7. She trained for eight hours a day before filming Yes Madam
   
8. She was Miss Malaysia of 1983.
9. She agreed to doing a commercial with a "Sing Lung" and she didn't even know that was Jackie Chan.
10.  She has no proper training in Kung fu.
11. She almost quit acting in 1996 because of a failed stunt.
12. Most of the roles she has were originally made for men.
13. She is the first Malaysian to win an Academy Award.
14. She speaks four languages.
15. She wanted to be a ballerina
16. She was forced to do Miss Malaysia
17. She does her own stunts
18. She is often mistaken to be from Hong Kong
19. She has her own production company, Mythical Films.
    
20. Yeoh can hold her breath for over 4 minutes.
21. She credits Jackie Chan's work ethic and dedication to stunts as a major influence on her own career.
22. She also has called him a male chauvinist pig.
    
23. Yeoh is the first Malaysian to star in a Hollywood blockbuster (Tomorrow Never Dies) and the first Asian actress to lead a Disney animated film (Raya and the Last Dragon).
24. She's a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and advocates for children's education and welfare worldwide.
25.   She avoids dubbing to maintain authenticity in her performances.
26. She trained Kate Winslet for the fight scenes in Ang Lee's Hulk and Lucy Liu for Charlie's Angels.
27. Yeoh speaks out against Hollywood's typecasting and fights for more representation of Asian actors in leading roles.
28. She designed many of the cool weapons and tech Wai Lin uses in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" herself.
29. In the male-dominated world of action films, Michelle Yeoh helped pave the way for strong female characters. Her powerful performances challenged stereotypes and inspired generations of actresses.
30. Michelle Yeoh is a passionate animal rights activist. She's spoken out against cruelty and even refused to wear fur in costumes, opting for faux alternatives.
31. In the 1980s, Hong Kong action cinema was dominated by men. Yeoh shattered the glass ceiling, becoming one of the first female action stars and paving the way for others like Lucy Liu and Zhang Ziyi.
32.    She performed in various stage productions and even choreographed some of her own fight scenes.
33. Yeoh's first love was ballet, even attending the prestigious Royal Academy of Dance in London. An injury at 15 forced her to switch paths, leading her to the world of action cinema.
34. She performed the motorcycle stunt in Supercop, despite not knowing how to ride a motorcycle.
35. Michelle Yeoh was promoted as Sammo Hung's favourite actress in the trailer for Yes Madam.