This was so much better and so much more
fun than I was expecting. I had read some reviews saying it made no sense
and was awful. I have to guess that they saw a different version. I have
one in Cantonese with subs but the quality is impossible to watch. This is
dubbed but the picture quality is decent and in truth dubbing didn't really
matter in a film like this. It is a Shaw Brothers exploitation film with
lots of action - and nudity whenever they can fit it in. Which is often though
some might complain not often enough. But this is a great female action film
in which they kick and kill many bad guys. And the women are a nice gathering
of actresses that fit into this type of film.
Leading off with Evelyn Kraft of The Mighty
Peking Man fame and a bunch of trashy European films. Then there is the Queen
of Shaw's soft core films - the legendary Yum Yum Shaw as she was known in
the States but in Hong Kong she was Siu Yam Yam. Not as well known but as
lovely and willing to disrobe in some trashy films is Dana. Only the one
name. Bamboo House of Dolls, Girl with the Long Hair and Sex for Sale are
a few of her titles. More modest and appearing in many Taiwanese kung-fu
films was Nancy Yen and finally rounding out the women is a Korean actress,
Kim Jeong-nam. who came to Hong Kong and was in about a dozen martial arts
films.
A brutal gang are robbing jewelry stores
in Hong Kong wearing very cool space like helmets and uniforms (perfect for
covid). Once they have the stolen goods they need to get them out of Hong
Kong as soon as they can. So they recruit nubile young women to hide the
jewels in their brassiere and fly to either Tokyo or Seoul. A few minutes
into the film we get a dose of both the violence and nudity as one of these
mules gets to her destination and has her bra ripped off and is then killed
by a thrown knife by an expert knife thrower (Si Wai). Kraft shows up from
Scotland Yard and forms a group of four police women (including herself)
to infiltrate the gang by trying to be picked to carry the contraband. These
are Dana, Kim and Nancy. They all have their fighting skills and secret weapons.
Nancy has a mace - not the spraying kind but a real mace that fits into her
purse, Kim can pull out a cross-bow and shoot deadly darts and Dana pulls
out a simple slingshot but she uses miniature bombs.
When the boyfriend of one of them has his
father killed during the robbery he joins them. This is Lau Wing who does
a whole lot of fighting as well. There is a ton of action. Now obviously
these women are not trained martial artists - well maybe Kim and Nancy
have some - but they look just fine kicking, punching using their weapons
and taking a beating as well. Our Yum Yum is on the other side - the girlfriend
of the Boss and she shares her bed with a snake and large lizard. When she
has to go into a hospital to kill a witness, she goes psycho and it is great.
Just a rollicking fun film.
