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| All Images Courtesy: 88 Films |
Following this week’s review of Part 3, we are continuing our journey through 88 Films’ special edition blu-rays of the In The Line of Duty series: the prolific Hong Kong action franchise which launched the career of Michelle Yeoh. Yeoh is long gone from the series by this point, but new lead Cynthia Khan immediately proved herself as a phenomenal action star in her own right, more than capable of filling Yeoh’s shoes. And now she has some very impressive martial-arts-superstar support, from the iconic Donnie Yen, in In The Line of Duty IV. Part 3 was a bit of a weak link in the series: despite a star-making performance from Khan and some great action scenes, it was way too formulaic for its own good, and felt very much like a weaker retread of Part 2, Royal Warriors. But Part 4 is a fan-favorite in the franchise, directed by master fight choreographer Yuen Woo-Ping (The Matrix, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Once Upon A Time in China, Iron Monkey, Black Mask, etc), and featuring the coolest martial arts team-up in the franchise since Michelle Yeoh partnered with Cynthia Rothrock in the original film, Yes, Madam!. So let’s dive in to the film itself, and 88 Films’ special edition.
THE FILM:
As In The Line of Duty IV begins , Cynthia Khan’s Inspector Yeung is on assignment in Seattle, working with Donnie Yen’s FBI Agent Yan to take down an international drug smuggling ring. But things go south immediately when Yan's partner is killed after discovering the truth (unbeknownst to Yeung and Yan) that the drug smuggling ring is being run by corrupt CIA operatives. There is only one witness to the crime: a hapless Chinese dock worker who isn’t sure what he saw, but who flees back to Hong Kong when it’s clear that lots of people want him abducted, arrested, or dead because he saw it. Yeung and Yan follow in pursuit, and thus begins an international game of cat and mouse with multiple factions of villains, murky alliances and double-crosses, and mistaken identity, with everyone trying to save or kill the dock worker who has no idea why he’s suddenly the most wanted man in Hong Kong.
It is a really good plot, full of very fun (though not entirely unpredictable) twists and turns. It is definitely the best-plotted of the four films, with an excellent balance of story and action that makes it as narratively satisfying as it is fun. After part 3 feeling like a stale carbon-copy of the established formula, In The Line of Duty IV shakes it up and gives us a series entry that feels very fresh again. It also doesn’t overdo it with the twists and turns to the point of bogging down the film: the movie still powers along at a very brisk pace, and it is never long between fight scenes. As one might expect from a film directed by one of Hong Kong cinema’s best fight choreographers, In the Line of Duty IV has momentum and force to it, and doesn’t slow down.
It also is much more tonally consistent than some of the other films in the series. Royal Warriors is quite consistent, mostly sticking with its darker and more brutal, John Woo-ish tone, but Yes, Madam! swings wildly back and forth from hard-hitting martial arts action to dialed-up-to-11 goofball slapstick comedy (in a way that mostly works), and In The Line of Duty III likewise swings between gritty cop thriller and broad comedy, but much more poorly. In The Line of Duty IV, on the other hand, has a very self-assured and deliberate tone and style which I found to be the most satisfying of the bunch.
I am tempted to say that in many ways this is the best of the first four In The Line of Duty films, at least narratively and stylistically. But in terms of action it is much harder to judge. Yes, Madam! probably remains the strongest in terms of action, since the stunning double-act fight choreography and physicality of Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock is pretty unparallelled in the series. But this film gives them a run for their money by pairing Cynthia Khan with the always brilliant Donnie Yen. Not only is Yen one of the best martial arts action stars by pretty much any metric, but he pairs beautifully with Khan in terms of action style, in much the same way that Yeoh and Rothrock were perfect as a double-act. Khan, like Yeoh, is first and foremost a dancer and acrobat, and her fighting style is layered on top of that background to create a balletic form of combat. Yen, like Rothtock, is a true martial artist first and foremost. In contrast to Khan’s balletic style of fighting which emphasizes choreography, Yen’s fighting is fast, brutal, and direct; stunning in its speed and precision. These two very different fighting styles, both of which are breathtaking and cinematic, compliment each other in fight scenes that are extremely varied and always interesting, especially in the hands of master fight director Yuen Woo-Ping, who is in excellent form here. This film definitely has the best double-act action team-up since Yes, Madam!, and while I may still give the edge to Yes, Madam!, they are very close.
In The Line of Duty IV is a truly great action film; one that I would highly recommend to any fan of Hong Kong cinema. Coming off of the underwhelming part 3, this is a wonderful return to form for the series, which I would say is just as good as Yes, Madam! and Royal Warriors. An argument could even be made that it might be the best of the series, although I would hesitate to commit to that opinion, since that Yeoh/Rothrock double-act in Yes, Madam! is simply too good. At any rate, this one is essential viewing.
THE 88 FILMS SPECIAL EDITION:
Since In The Line of Duty Part IV is not only a fan-favorite in the franchise, but a serious contender for maybe the best film of the bunch, it is appropriate that it gets the best blu-ray in the series that 88 Films has put out since Yes, Madam!. The extras are more robust than on Royal Warriors or In The Line of Duty III, although a mix of new and archival.
As has been the case with most of these discs, the transfer is absolutely excellent: once again it is a new 2k restoration of the film provided to 88 Films by Fortune Star, and it looks and sounds great. Detail is very strong, color grading really pops and looks beautiful, and it looks pretty filmic with no distracting DNR. And while In The Line of Duty III had some source-material defects on its audio track, the audio sounds great on this disc: a pretty standard vintage 2.0 track, but one that sounds quite robust and more than good enough. Fans should be very happy with the presentation.
The extras on the disc start off with the alternate English-language export cut of the film, which is slightly longer and has a unique prologue (though personally I don’t think it’s as strong a beginning, and the Hong Kong cut is better). Then it features a 20-minute archival interview with Donnie Yen about the film, from a previous DVD release. It’s a very good interview, and well worth a watch, and I’m glad that 88 was able to include it, to have one of the stars represented in the extras. The main new extra is, once again, a commentary by Frank Djeng and Michael Worth, and as with their other commentaries, it is an essential listen: full of facts and anecdotes about the production which give the film a lot of context and will definitely add to one’s appreciation of it. Rounding out the extras is an archival commentary from a previous DVD. All in all it is a very solid package for the film.
In The Line of Duty IV is excellent: a top-tier Hong Kong action film. And 88 Films have assembled an appropriately very good special edition package for it. This is one that I would highly recommend – and since the plot basically stands on its own, seeing the weaker Part 3 is not necessarily required. For the time being this is where 88 Films’ In The Line of Duty collection ends, but after ending on this high note, I am hoping that we get a second box set with the rest of the sequels in the future.
- Christopher S. Jordan
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