In the Line of Duty (1988)


	In the Line of Duty 3		Return to Review Archive - I
	Year:	1988	Cynthia Khan
	Director:	Brandy Yuen Chun-Yeung, Arthur Wong Ngok-Tai
	Action:	Lee Kin-Sang, Tony Leung Siu-Hung, Brandy Yuen Chun-Yeung, Yuen Cheung-Yan, Yuen Yat-Choh
	Cast:	Cynthia Khan, Michiko Nishiwaka, Hiroshi Fujioka, Stuart Ong (Yung Sai-Kit), Yueh Hua, Paul Chun Pui, Pang Kin-San, Dick Wei, Sandra Ng Kwun-Yu, Melvin Wong Kam-Sum, Law Ching-Ho, Eric Tsang Chi-Wai, Richard Ng Yiu-Hon, Stanley Fung Shui-Fan, Sally Kwok Ling, Lee Kin-Sang, Ma Si-San
	The Skinny:	Fantastic action and fighting lift an otherwise uninteresting cop thriller.
	Review by Kozo:	The retirement of Michelle Yeoh brought about a search for her replacement. One was found in Cynthia Khan, who followed up the previous two In the Line of Duty films (better known as Yes Madam and Royal Warriors) with this installment in the series. She’s a uniformed officer who gets promoted to the serious crime unit, but can’t see any real action because her uncle/superior officer (Paul Chun) won’t let her. After that routine plot device, Cynthia ends up trailing two murderous jewel thieves (Michiko Nishiwaka and Stuart Ong) who are trying to sell the jewels to finance the Red Army. They’re also being followed by Japanese inspector Hiroshi Fujioka, who demonstrates the intensity and acting prowess of an Eastern William Shatner (they even share the same natty perm). While the plot and tone are frequently baffling, the action is violent and brutal to an extreme degree. Cynthia Khan convincingly kicks ass, which is great because the film amounts to little else besides that. Definitely worth a look for fans of fighting females, but be warned: this is heavy on HK-style action but also heavy on HK-style cheapness of script and acting. (Kozo 1998)
	Availability:	DVD (Hong Kong) Region 0 NTSC Universe Laser Widescreen Cantonese and Mandarin Language Tracks Dolby Digital 5.1 Removable English and Chinese Subtitles
		image courtesy of Universe Laser & Video Co., Ltd.
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