Royal Warriors (1997)

Wonderful Movie

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

While its international title is ROYAL WARRIORS, originally this film was IN THE LINE OF DUTY, the second of a long-running series about hard-hitting kung-fu-fighting female cops in Hong Kong. Inevitably these are excellent action movies for their era which mix car chases and martial arts fights, along with detective stuff and a little comedy. They feel a lot like Jackie Chan's POLICE STORY films, albeit with a little less humour and a more ensemble team. The first four in the series are particularly excellent and helped inspire a decade of similar films from the region.ROYAL WARRIORS is a must for kung fu fans thanks to the presence of not one but two genre luminaries in the title roles. First up we get a young, agile and athletic Michelle Yeoh as the heroine; while her acting isn't as assured here as later on in her career, she certainly livens up the screen in her many fight scenes. She's given excellent support by imported Japanese star Hiroyuki Sanada (ROARING FIRE) in one of his detours into Chinese cinema. It's a worthy follow-up for him to NINJA IN THE DRAGON'S DEN, and he once again plays the same honourable, hard-assed character.A lot of people give Michael Wong (IN THE LINE OF DUTY 4) a hard time, but I don't have a problem with the actor and he does well with his annoying-but-likable character in this movie. And the action is very good indeed, as is the suspenseful plot which forever moves forward with very few slow moments; a massacre in a nightclub is the dramatic highlight. Chan Wai-Man always makes for a decent villain too. While I would have liked a few more bad guys for our heroes to go up against - that's where the later sequels have the edge - this is still above average for the genre and a thoroughly entertaining movie.

Within this HK genre of hard-hitting crime thrillers, "In The Line Of Duty" stands out for its gritty storytelling and brutal presentation of martial arts. A group of psychotic war veterans carry out a terrorist attempt which ends up being foiled by policewoman Michelle Yeoh. After their failed attempt the few remaining terrorists target Yeoh and her comrades in order to enact revenge for the death of their fellow war- hardened brothers. In a messy blood feud Michelle Yeoh struggles to stay alive while simultaneously trying to capture her terrorist foe. Things get out of hand quickly as the stakes are raised and the death toll manages to roll even higher. The side plot involving Yeoh begins to wander but luckily it's not long before you are quickly revived by another action sequence. One apparent detractor is that unlike the sequel cutesy moments don't fit within the story being told, and the comic relief serves as a distraction rather than an aid. The fast-paced flick that In The Line Of Duty tries to be is weighed down by just a bit too much filler. Regardless of this flaw the terrorist plans while ridiculous keep you genuinely interested, and you'll be curious to see where the plot goes. An action packed finale is the highlight of the movie, as the tension remains strong and the Kung-Fu is fierce. Personally this is my favorite out of the series. The entertainment value is very high if nothing else, and Yeoh fans will surely be pleased. -7/10

This cops vs. terrorists chase flick featured a pretty familiar plot line - Yeoh stops a terrorist on board a plane, and the terrorist chief targets her and two male confederates for a rub-out. But this is a must-see for Yeoh fans. The former (1983) Miss Malaysia first introduced her unsmiling, no-nonsense cop persona here and comes off as a kick-boxing female Charles Bronson. Yeoh's fabulous fight scenes (which, typically for any Hong Kong action star, she performed herself) and on-screen charisma made her a star in this role and it needs to be seen by her fans. It helps that the movie had a decent budget, with good looking production design and elaborate stunts to go with the martial arts. This is a first rate movie of its type.

For those who are familiar with the action side of Michelle Yeoh only from her later blockbusters like "Tomorrow Never Dies" or "Police Story 3", prepare for an eye-opening experience. She has rarely fought (or looked) better than she does in "Royal Warriors", a film made early (1986) into her career. Several of her moves will have you going "WOW!". Unfortunately, there are some problems that keep this film from being as good as it could have been. For one thing, there is too much gratuitous violence: I'm referring especially to the nightclub scene, which has at least a dozen innocent bystanders mercilessly gunned down. The nastiness of the villains comes through clearly enough through their other acts - that scene was overkill (pun not intended). For another thing, Michelle Yeoh has surprisingly few fight scenes: after her 2 in the first 10 minutes, there are no more than 3 in the rest of the film. And then there's Michael Wong, who's a pretty poorly written character: he acts as if he's in a romantic comedy, always flirting with Michelle and making jokes, when in reality he's in a grim drama, where almost no lives are spared. In fact, Michelle tells him straight to his face what is wrong with his character, which suggests that the writers knew it as well - so why did they write him to be this way? I'm still giving "Royal Warriors" a relatively high rating because of the action scenes - I just wish the rest of the movie had lived up to them. *** out of 4.