Inspector Michelle Yeoh of the Hong Kong Royal Police arrests a flasher, then foils an armed robbery, killing the bad guys. She's ready to go off on her vacation, when her mentor at Scotland Yard is killed in a Hong Kong hotel room. She's assigned the case, and has to contend with C. I. D. Inspector Cynthia Rothrock, who's just as capable and a lot more violent. What neither knows at this point is that three cheap thieves have stolen the dead man's passport, with microfilm in it that criminal mastermind James Tien wants.
It's a combination of goofy comedy among the three cheap thieves, interspersed with bloody-minded fight sequence -- Miss Yeoh has a "do you feel lucky, punk" exchange with the bank robber about the shotgun she's holding on him. Meanwhile the thieves, all named after over-the-counter cold medicines, are bickering, smuggling roast chicken to their old boss in the nursing home, and getting caught by Miss Yeoh and Miss Rothrock, and released to serve as bait for big bad guy Tien. But as everyone's mother said, it's all fun and games until someone gets kidnapped, and the last half hour is all death and martial arts, with an ending that I didn't see coming, even though it was properly set up.
This was Miss Yeoh's third movie, and Miss Rockroth's first, so they each had a lot riding on it; the Scotland Yard inspector was originally intended to be a man, until they saw the five-times World Champion in martial arts Forms and Weapons. Both women have done very well out of their mutual start in stardom. Miss Rothrock has starred in about 60 movies, with more to come, and, of course, Miss Yeoh has just won an Oscar.
Stardom is an elusive thing. It requires a lot of luck to be in the right role in the right movie. More than that, it requires skill.
It's a combination of goofy comedy among the three cheap thieves, interspersed with bloody-minded fight sequence -- Miss Yeoh has a "do you feel lucky, punk" exchange with the bank robber about the shotgun she's holding on him. Meanwhile the thieves, all named after over-the-counter cold medicines, are bickering, smuggling roast chicken to their old boss in the nursing home, and getting caught by Miss Yeoh and Miss Rothrock, and released to serve as bait for big bad guy Tien. But as everyone's mother said, it's all fun and games until someone gets kidnapped, and the last half hour is all death and martial arts, with an ending that I didn't see coming, even though it was properly set up.
This was Miss Yeoh's third movie, and Miss Rockroth's first, so they each had a lot riding on it; the Scotland Yard inspector was originally intended to be a man, until they saw the five-times World Champion in martial arts Forms and Weapons. Both women have done very well out of their mutual start in stardom. Miss Rothrock has starred in about 60 movies, with more to come, and, of course, Miss Yeoh has just won an Oscar.
Stardom is an elusive thing. It requires a lot of luck to be in the right role in the right movie. More than that, it requires skill.