Super Cops
Director:
Mao Chiang-pang
Year: 1997
Rating: 4.0
It pains me to
only give this film 4 stars, but that may have been too generous. With a
cast like this, I was hoping for much more. If this had been ten years earlier,
it would have been - but not sure what was going on here. Clearly, the girls
with guns era was coming to an end, but still. For Hong Kong action fans,
this is a cast that had a lot of cred. The two actresses are Cynthia Khan
and Yukari Oshima - two of the best of the Girls with Guns actresses - but
throw on top of that Billy Chow, Gordon Liu, Waise Lee and William Ho. And
the star is . . . Bruce Mang Lung! Yay! Who? If you look at his filmography,
it is filled with him being uncredited or in bit parts - the thug, rascal,
terrorist, killer - but the thing is to get those jobs, you have to have
talent and be willing to punish your body. Those are the guys who get kicked
by the hero and go flying 20-feet backwards or fall from heights. You never
get their names as they get bounced around - but here he is the star of a
film filled with stars. Not sure how that happened, but he is actually fairly
good in his action scenes and in one stunt he is on the outside of a train
that looked fairly dangerous. Sadly, for him this wasn't the big break. In
films after this his role is described as extra, thug, hitman, guard etc.
No a Star is Born story here.
He and his sister are on a train going to
Zhuhai to see his uncle (William Ho) who owns a restaurant. Two robbers pickpocket
the sister's wallet and a decent fight ensues in which he has to climb outside
to get around them. When they arrive, he is thanked by a policewoman - wait
a second - she looks familiar - yup, Cynthia Khan. One of the best. When
they finally find their uncle - after a few more fights - the cook is Gordon
Liu who does some great kung fu on vegetables. A gang is led by Billie Chow
with the second in command, Tsai Hung, constantly causing trouble at the
restaurant. Chow's moll is the stunning Ling Liu who takes pleasure in killing
men - especially with her bladed fan. More fights with Mang Lung take place.
Then Japan sends an Interpol agent over
to help capture the gang. Yes, Yukari. Both she and Cynthia are photographed
very nicely. But until the end, they stay out of the action other than a
small fight between Khan and Oshima when they didn't realize they were on
the same side. The Superintendent is Waise Lee. There is a big fight at the
end that includes almost everyone. At one point, Chow is having to fight
off Yukari, Khan and Mang Lung. But there are also cooking lessons from Gordon,
molestation by Ho and lots of other scenes that have little to do with the
narrative - and though Mang Lung looks very competent, the choreography is
third rate. Gordon gets to fight - for about one minute. Yukari and
Cynthia have a bit more in that final scene - but dang, with this cast dreams
are made, not lost.
