IN THE LINE OF DUTY III

This movie's aim is pretty simple -- to make Cynthia Khan a credible star, and it does that. Khan (born Lan Yi Chiang -- her stage name is a combination of Michelle Khan [Yeoh] and $$ID=Cynthia Rothrock$$, stars of previous movies in the series) had no martial arts experience before this film, but the producers needed a fill-in for $$ID=Michelle Yeoh$$, who was retiring from the film business upon her marriage to producer Dickson Poon. Girls-with-guns movies, in particular the ITLOD films (Yes! Madam and Royal Warriors before title changes) were making good money with local audiences, and, more importantly, overseas and so the producers rushed forth with Cynthia as the star.

Given what she had to accomplish -- step into the shoes of Asia's biggest female action star at the time (it should be noted that Cynthia was only 20 at the time of filming and had only done some television work beforehand) -- Cynthia does a good job in the movie. She doesn't seem as tough as Michelle was, and there are obviously a lot of camera tricks and doubles used for her fight scenes, but overall she comes off as a credible action star. However, with such a large and talented supporting cast, one doesn't notice any of Cynthia's (small) shortcomings. The action (done under the direction of five co-ordinators) comes fast and furious, with just enough time given to some exposition to let the viewer catch their breath. Of particular note is the final confrontation between Cynthia and Michiko Nishiwaki; it's a very brutal fight that shows just how females can be just as aggressive (or even moreso) than their male counterparts.

Review Courtesy of Neil Koch