IN THE LINE OF DUTY III (1988)
As one cop says to another in the opening scene; shirk responsibility at all costs! It's an idea that the lead character certainly won't be taking on board. But have the film makers taken this advice by going into a mode that is more repetitive instead of being responsibly creative? Michelle Yeoh was on a hiatus and they've brought on board a doppelgänger in the form of Cynthia Khan. This obvious portmanteau isn't fooling anyone. Hiroyuki Sanada is also out, and they've brought in Hiroshi Fujioka as another partner from overseas. Michael Wong is out and they've got Melvin Wong as a character called Michael Wong... for some reason. It's a solid action packed movie overall, but with so much familiar territory its easy to see why it's less popular.
A lot of the ingredients have been transplanted straight over from Royal Warriors. Which this isn't a sequel to; despite the forever confusing numbered titles out there. A pair of investigators, one from Hong Kong and one from Japan, must team up to catch a band of crooks bound by blood. The leading lady has to deal with incompetent co-workers and other regular irritations, while her new partner is out for revenge after a tragedy. There's a club shoot out, another airport scene, and another sudden shock death in the third act. Of course the entire action genre is often less than original. But new ideas and innovation go a long way, while here the set pieces are often just pretty good instead of jaw dropping.
Still, there's fun to be had if you look beyond the way the two heroes and a lot of the story elements are copies of what happened last time. It's a kind of familiar nuts and bolts fun, but it's here nonetheless. Officer Yang (Cynthia Khan) is being kept on a short leash by her Uncle Inspector Qin (Paul Chun) after a family loss. He's against her doing anything but paperwork, but she's out to kick ass and take names. The opening sequence involves a parking violation quickly transforming into a robbery, where Yang's skirt and shoes are ineffective for the action which unfolds. As a result her Uncle is forced by his superiors to let her join his ailing Serious Crimes Unit. They're certainly in need of an effective team member.
Meanwhile an excessive shoot out goes down at a Tokyo jewellery show, which looks like something from a 1970's James Bond intro credits scene. A lot of cops and bystanders are taken out by a duo of psychotic thieves; sexual sadist Nishikawa (Michiko Nishiwaki) and her physically ill lover Nagakawa (Stuart Ong). It's a strange but memorable dynamic, in which explicit scenes in their hotel room inform character traits. It's odd to have a pair of lunatics with an added dimension, but it's welcome. Their long term goals, and how their fence (Dick Wei) is involved, remain very vague. They're out to buy arms for a terrorist group, who are never shown. But a few wrinkles in the heist plain make this fairly compelling as they move from money making scheme to fiery vendetta.
In the aftermath of the robbery Japanese detective Hiroshi (Hiroshi Fujioka) travels to Hong Kong, when the jewellery designer travels abroad for an apparent vacation. Suspecting foul play, in what turns out to be a good hunch, this leads him to working with Yang and her bumbling comrades. The formulaic incidents that follow are unsurprising as Yang treats him like a tourist to avoid trouble. But the Japanese police have given him free reign to take revenge. Maybe the customs x-ray should have spotted a huge revolver hidden inside a radio? There's a lot of basic shenanigans including a random cameo from genre clown Richard Ng. Meanwhile Uncle Qin's repeated despair becomes very dull, and a sub-plot involving Melvin Wong as a womaniser goes nowhere.
Luckily there are plenty of action beats even if it never reaches the heights of Above the Law or the extremes of Royal Warriors. The most brutal example is the warehouse battle between Hiroshi and Nagakawa, as boating paraphernalia is used in different ways. The final showdown between Yang and Nishikawa, in a separate warehouse, is also pretty good. It's here that Dick Wei also meets a nasty demise, finally getting in on the action after some odd toy helicopter related schemes. Forget the gadgets and get to the big kicks already. It's a shame Cynthia Khan isn't given more to do, since despite some obvious wire gags she has the agility required. It takes thirty minutes for her to get involved in a raid on an arms dealer, and it should have been sooner. It should have also been more spectacular, but here we are.
Is Khan a fair replacement for Yeoh? Yes and no in terms of ability and charisma respectively, although perhaps the film itself is at fault. Are there too many subplots and diversions? Probably, but that's always an issue in these action and comedy blends. Is the music that veers between faux Japanese instruments and faux Terminator style chords any good? Not really. Ultimately this is very watchable, but never exceptional. The old box factory tour has been done once too often and needs elevating by some seriously fresh ideas at this stage. Bomb plots, fire stunts, and foot chases are all standard fare. Maybe it could have been more exciting. Maybe they could have shot some of this at a time of day when a hundred bystanders weren't watching. But maybe part four is where it all goes into overdrive...
3/5
