[Fight Scene Friday] Shawn v Alex: Shawn of Justice

 It's Fight Scene Friday™, and this week we have another reunion between The Stunt People forum members. This one has a lot of inside jokes, plus the action is really good! Check it out! Shawn Bernal is still a beast!

 

[Fight Scene Friday] Team Internet Presents: Surprise Visit

 It's Fight Scene Friday™, and this time Jay meets up with some friends in Las Vegas! It is good to see these guys doing a fight scene together again! I used to watch their videos (that they did together and separately) on the Stunt People message board, YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion, and anywhere else they were posted. I miss those days! It is good to see most everyone from the Stunt People message board have some success in the movie/video game making industry! Check this scene out, it's short but sweet!

 

In The Line Of Duty 3 (1988) - A Review

 

Cynthia Khan busts onto the Hong Kong movie scene with In The Line Of Duty 3.

In The Line Of Duty 3 (also known as Yes Madam 2, Force Of The Dragon, and  In the Line of Duty - Part 3) is a martial arts crime comedy movie released in Hong Kong in 1988 and stars Cynthia Khan, Fujioka Hiroshi, Nishiwaki Michiko, Stuart Ong, Paul Chun Pui, Dick Wei, Sandra Ng Kwun-Yu, Benny Law Ching-Ho, and Yueh Hua. Brandy Yuen and Arthur Wong directed the movie, with martial arts directed by Chris Lee Kin-Sang, Tony Leung Siu-Hung, Brandy Yuen, Yuen Cheung-Yan, and Yuen Yat-Choh. In The Line Of Duty 3 was Cynthia Khan's debut film.

Fujioka Hiroshi (left) as Hiroshi Fujioka and Cynthia Khan as Madam Yeung, our two heroes.

In In The Line Of Duty 3, Cynthia Khan plays Yeung Lai-Ching, a young cop who has been promoted to her uncle Insp. Cameron Chuen's (played by Paul Chun Pui) squad in the Hong Kong police force. Being her uncle, Insp. Chuen doesn't want Madam Yeung to get involved in dangerous police cases. Eventually, a major case comes in, and Madam Yeung gets thrust into the action.

The case they are working on involves two Red Army terrorists (played by Nishiwaki Michiko and Stuart Ong) who steal jewels at a fashion show in Japan, and brutally kill people in the process. Interpol agent Hiroshi Fujioka (played by Fujioka Hiroshi, yes, the first Kamen Rider) and his young partner are there and chase the terrorists. Unfortunately, the terrorists kill Fujioka's partner and get away. Fujioka vows to find the terrorists and kill them in revenge for his partner. The terrorists go to Hong Kong to sell the jewels to get money for a cache of weapons. After finding out the jewels are fake, the terrorists go on a search for the fashion designer they stole the jewels from to kill him. Fujioka follows them to Hong Kong, and Madam Yeung is assigned to keep him out of trouble. As you can imagine, Fujioka cannot be stopped in his quest for vengeance, and Madam Yeung gets thrust into the middle of this conflict. Things go from bad to worse, and Madam Yeung has to deal with the terrorists on her own terms...

Nishiwaki Michiko (left) and Stuart Ong as the Red Army terrorists. Yes, things get kinky during this scene...

After Michelle Khan (Michelle Yeoh) got married and retired from acting, D&B films wanted to continue the successful In The Line Of Duty franchise with a new actress. They chose Cynthia Khan (real name Yang Li-tsing, her name is a combination of Cynthia Rothrock and Michelle Khan's, two of the most successful female action stars at that time) to star in In The Line Of Duty 3, and they really did everything they could to make her a credible action star. Their efforts were successful, as Cynthia Khan showed she can live up to her namesakes, and bring something all her own to the role.

As Madam Yeung, Cynthia is shown as being very smart, strong, brave, and physically capable and skilled to take on any violent crime. Throughout the movie, the stakes are raised higher and higher, and Cynthia rises to the occasion every time. She is determined to catch the bad guys no matter what. On the other hand, Nishiwaki Michiko (you may remember her as the muscular woman in My Lucky Stars, 1985) who plays one of the terrorists, is absolutely ruthless! She is relentless in her vengeance, and is a very tough foe for Cynthia. Her character is very... sensual in a way (you have to see the movie to see what I'm talking about). Similarly,  Fujioka Hiroshi, the Japanese Interpol agent, is driven by revenge as well. His role is actually similar to Hiroyuki Sanada's role in Royal Warriors (1986). He does everything he can to avenge the death of his partner, but it causes more problems for Cynthia and the Hong Kong police force.

The tone of the movie is mixed; it is mostly a comedy, but things get violent and gritty as well. On the comedy side, we have a few cameos from the My Lucky Stars cast. Richard Ng and Eric Tsang seem  straight up to be playing their characters from My Lucky Stars. The relationship between Madam Yeung, her uncle the Inspector, and his squad is comical. On the other hand, the terrorists are violent and vicious. There are violent shoot-outs, massive explosions, and gritty fights. There is nothing funny going on involving them. Hey, it's an 80s Hong Kong action movie! This is to be expected, and I would not have it any other way!

Cynthia Khan kicks major butt in this movie!

The action in In The Line Of Duty 3 is hard-hitting. Cynthia Khan shows off her fighting skills well in this, and she gets put through the wringer. Not only does she have to fight Nishiwaki Michiko, but she has to fight the ferocious Dick Wei at the same time! This is a great fight, and shows Madam Yeung's intelligence as well. She has to use her wits as well as her brawn to defeat them and survive. Fujioka Hiroshi and Stuart Ong have a gritty fight to the death that isn't so much about martial arts skill, but about doing any thing they can to maim and kill each other. It's an amazing fight that will have you on the edge of you seat! The choreography is very good; it's fast, fluid, and impactful. 

In conclusion, I highly recommend watching In The Line Of Duty 3! It may not be as good as its predecessors, Yes, Madam! or Royal Warriors, but it is good in its own way. It has comedy, cameos, emotion, and awesome action. Really, the action is the main reason to watch this, as is Cynthia Khan, who makes her film debut in smashing fashion. Cynthia has gone on to star in more action classics through the years, and she should get the respect she deserves as an action star.

Here is the original export trailer:

Reviewed by David Williams

[Fight Scene Friday] Agent Red 2

 On this Fight Scene Friday™, we have the sequel to last week's Agent Red. If you thought Agent Red was good, you haven't seen anything yet! This short film goes hard! Great choreography, awesome martial artists in the role, and a cool story. What else could you ask for? Check it out, it gets brutal!

 

[Fight Scene Friday] AGENT RED

 It's Fight Scene Friday™, and this week's scene shows (presumably) a spy having to escape from her captor. This has some nice choreography and editing. The two actors are excellent as well. Hopefully these two can make it big and bring their action and stories to the big screen some day! Check it out!

 

Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (2024?) - Teaser Trailer

 Check out the teaser trailer for Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled In. It stars Sammo Hung, Louis Koo, Phillip Ng, Richie Jen, and Raymond Lam. It is directed by Soi Cheang Pou Soi, with Kenji Tanigaki in charge of the action. Here is the synopsis, according to Variety:

Cheang’s film features troubled youth Chan, who accidentally enters the Walled City, discovers the order amidst its chaos, and learns important life lessons along the way. He becomes close friends with Shin, Twelfth Master and AV. Under the leadership of Tornado, they resist against the invasion of villain Mr. Big in a series of fierce battles. Together, they vow to protect the city, which they have come to regard as their safe haven.

This movie has been in the works for years, with Donnie Yen being involved at one point. Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled In is finally coming out some time this year (2024), and I personally can't wait for this one! It looks so good!

 

[Fight Scene Friday] Bounty

 This week's Fight Scene Friday™ scene comes from Jay Kwon and his crew, and is about bounty hunters dealing with their bounty and each other! This scene features Caitlin Hutson (the bounty hunter in red), and she kicks butt in this! This short film has some great choreography, with awesome martial arts performers executing it. Check it out: