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| All Images Courtesy: 88 Films/Fortune Star |
Last year 88 Films released a limited edition box set of the In The Line of Duty series: a loose quadrilogy of cult-favorite Hong Kong action films notable for starring strong and badass women at a time when Hong Kong action was almost entirely dominated by men. Now 88 is releasing non-limited standalone editions of the first two films in the series, 1985’s Yes, Madam! and 1986’s Royal Warriors, with the subsequent films coming later this summer. These first two films are definitely the ones that are likely to get the most attention outside of the full-series box set, not only because they are excellent, fan-favorite films from the 80s/90s golden age of Hong Kong action, but because they are notable as the first starring roles for Michelle Yeoh, who instantly proves herself as a movie star of the highest caliber. Yes, Madam! actually has two firsts: it is also the debut film of co-star Cynthia Rothrock. If launching the careers of two of the most iconic martial arts actresses to come out of the 1980s isn’t enough to cement the film’s legacy as a must-see genre classic, I don’t know what is.
We're reviewing both discs to commemorate their standalone release outside of the limited-edition box, starting with the original that launched not only the franchise, but two incredible careers.
THE FILM:
While it never got much distribution in the US prior to this 88 Films blu-ray, and has struggled in English-language markets with a confusing bunch of alternate titles (In The Line of Duty 2 despite being the first film in the series, Supercops, Ultra Force, Police Assassins, etc), Yes, Madam! was a major hit in Hong Kong, and a great US release like this is long overdue. Fans of Hong Kong cinema will need to look no further than the impressive roster of talent in front of and behind the camera to know that this is a must-see. The film is produced by powerhouse action-movie producers Dickson Poon and Sammo Hung, and is directed by renowned fight choreographer and director Corey Yuen. Besides its two iconic leads in their first starring roles, Yes, Madam! boasts a fantastic supporting cast as well.
In a Hong Kong hotel, a British diplomat investigating a massive corruption scheme is executed by a hitman (Dick Wei) in the employ of a ruthless crime boss (James Tien). Moments after the execution, a trio of inept thieves (Mang Hoi, John Shum, and producer/director and sometimes-actor Tsui Hark) burglarize the room without noticing the body, setting up a spiraling situation of mistaken identity, misplaced blame, and a macguffin that the villains and police are desperate to get their hands on. Due to the international implications of the crime, a Hong Kong detective (Michelle Yeoh) and a Scotland Yard investigator (Cynthia Rothrock) are assigned to work together to solve the mystery, and the two martial-arts-expert cops soon find themselves brawling through the Hong Kong underworld, trying to make sense of the labyrinthine mess of the situation that the trio of bumbling thieves have created.
The film strikes a very good balance of action and comedy. It can be extremely funny, particularly in the misplaced-blame macguffin subplot involving the trio of out-of-their-depth petty thieves, as they bumble through a situation that they are wholly unprepared to navigate. It also knows exactly when to get serious, particularly with its intense and heavy-hitting action scenes. The action in the movie features a very good combination of gunplay and martial-arts physicality, with the martial arts aspects absolutely stealing the show.
Corey Yuen is a brilliant fight choreographer, and he is at the top of his game here, giving us some absolutely fantastic action sequences. Cynthia Rothrock and Michelle Yeoh bring very different skillsets and types of physicality to the film, with Rothrock having been a tournament-winning martial artist and Yeoh having been trained as a dancer, and these different movement/fighting styles make them a powerful double-act, bringing to the screen a wide range of stunts and combat moves. The scene introducing Rothrock’s character, wherein a villain makes the fatal error of mistaking her for a helpless bystander he can take as a hostage, may be one of the coolest introductory fights of any action star. And the film’s climax, with Yeoh and Rothrock fighting their way through a houseful of villains, is a truly spectacular, breathless piece of action filmmaking.
Both actresses are very good in their debut roles, in their performances as well as fighting. Considering that she is definitely a martial artist first and an actress second, I was very impressed by how good Rothrock is, and what a great, tough and confident energy she brings to the role. Michelle Yeoh proves that from the start, she was always movie-star material: she is great as the quick-witted inspector fighting to be taken seriously in a male-dominated police hierarchy. This is a very good career-launching role for her.
It must be said that the middle of the film is quite a bit weaker than the fantastic beginning and end: the plot gets a bit too freewheeling with the comedy involving the inept thieves, and this portion of the film focuses on them a bit too much, sidelining Yeoh and Rothrock for a lot of the second act. Perhaps Tsui Hark and Mang Hoi being important filmmakers in their own rights lead to them getting a bit more screen time than their characters needed. The film remains quite funny and is certainly never boring, but it does lose a bit of steam, and makes us long for more action sequences like Yeoh and Rothrock’s explosive introductions. It also has some odd moments of unintentional comedy throughout, like a few scenes that shamelessly steal John Carpenter’s Halloween score in a very conspicuous way. This makes Yes, Madam! a slightly mixed bag, but the film immediately gets that momentum back as it moves towards its phenomenal final fight, so all is ultimately forgiven.
Even with some unevenness in the freewheeling middle of the film, Yes, Madam! is essential viewing for any lover of Hong Kong action. Excellent debut performances by Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock and top-tier fight choreography by Corey Yuen would be enough to make this a must-see, but the film offers plenty more beyond that. Hopefully this release will finally cut through the confusion of alternate titles and poor distribution, and will make this as much of a fan-favorite in America as it is in Hong Kong. It deserves it.
THE 88 FILMS BLU-RAY:
88 Films gives us Yes, Madam! on an excellent, absolutely stacked blu-ray special edition. The disc is identical to the one in the initial four-film box set (and for region-free collectors, also basically identical to the Eureka UK special edition), but even without the limited edition physical bells and whistles, the disc contents are pretty spectacular on their own.
The film itself is presented in a new 2k restoration provided by Fortune Star, and it is absolutely gorgeous. Detail is sharp and pristine, colors look fantastic, and it has a nicely filmic look to it. I noticed no significant issues – it’s an excellent transfer, and fans should be thrilled. The film comes in both its Hong Kong cut (93 minutes) and its slightly trimmed, English-dubbed international cut (87 minutes). Audio options include both the theatrical and home video versions of the Cantonese language track, both of which are mono due to the limitation of the source, and a new English dub recorded in 5.1.
The extras are fantastic. 88 Films produced brand-new interviews with Cynthia Rothrock and Mang Hoi, the latter of which is particularly notable because Mang Hoi sadly passed away between when the interview was recorded and the disc was released. Both interviews are quite in-depth and very interesting, although it must be noted that the two actors remember some aspects of the production rather differently, like the notorious incident where Dick Wei accidentally kicked Cynthia Rothrock in the head during a fight scene, splitting her inner ear and sending her to the hospital: Rothrock remembers Corey Yuen calling “cut” but Wei not hearing him, taking a kick after she thought they were done, and she remembers remaining conscious, while Mang Hoi remembers her being too slow to dodge the kick, and getting knocked out cold by the blow. Questions of which version of events is actually true aside, both interviews are quite good, with Rothrock especially being a very fun and engaging interviewee.
Hong Kong cinema expert Frank Djeng, a staple of these 88 Films, Eureka, and Arrow blu-rays, provides a commentary, and as his commentaries always are, it is excellent. A very informative and fact-filled, very interesting track, which provides a ton of context about the film, its production, and the actors and filmmakers involved. Cynthia Rothrock joins him for two scene-specific commentaries, for her introductory fight and for the film’s climax, and both of these are also great, although I wish she had stuck around for the whole film.
Rounding out the extras are a very good archival interview with Michelle Yeoh about the film and its place in her career, and a vintage featurette about women martial artists and stunt performers, which features Rothrock.
All in all, this disc is an excellent package for a very good film. If you were more interested in this film as its own Yeoh and Rothrock star vehicle than you were in the full four-film set, then you should absolutely pick this up right away. I would highly recommend the film itself, and 88 knocked it out of the park with their treatment of it.
- Christopher S. Jordan
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