Madam City Hunter (1993) - A Review

 

Madam City Hunter is a mix of silly comedy and bloody action as only Hong Kong can do!

Madam City Hunter is a comedic action/martial arts movie released in Hong Kong in 1993. It is in the 'Girls With Guns' or 'Bullet Ballet' genre of Hong Kong action movies. It stars Cynthia Khan, Anthony Wong, Sheila Chan, Kara Hui, Bowie Wu Fung, and Tommy Wong Kwong-Leung. Madam City Hunter was directed by  Johnnie Kong Yeuk-Sing, with action directed by Yuen Cheung-Yan.

In Madam City Hunter, Cynthia Khan plays Ching, a tough, no nonsense cop who gets called in to help during a shoot out between the cops and gang members. She sneaks in, blasts the thugs away with her assault rifle, and fights one of the leaders of the Five Fingers gang, killing him in the process. Later on, Charlie Chan (played by Anthony Wong) finds an underage girl with her adult...lover (I guess), and gets into a physical scuffle with him. Ching coincidentally arrives on the scene and beats the pedophile up and arrests him. The next day, Charlie Chan's assistant (played by Sheila Chan) is incredibly rude to him and to the teenage girl's grandmother who comes to their home to thank him.

Ching goes to check on the teenage girl, who is huffing glue with her friends in an apartment. The male druggies attack Ching and plan to rape her, but instead put her in the trunk of a car (yes, there is a car in the apartment). A mysterious man barges in and murders everyone in the room with Ching's gun, with Ching safe in the car trunk. After Ching escapes the car and sees everyone dead, she goes to the police station where she is suspended until the teenage girl recovers (she was the only one who didn't die) and can corroborate Ching's story of what really happened.

While suspended, Ching deals with her father (played by Bowie Wu) and his overly seductive, younger wife Siu-Hung (played by Kara Hui). Ching believes Siu-Hung is planning on murdering her father for his money. Charlie Chan gets hired by Ching's superior officer, Officer Kwong (played by Tommy Wong Kwong-Leung) to keep her safe, but also to investigate the case against Ching. Officer Kwong has a huge crush on Ching, by the way. Charlie Chan's assistant. Blackie (played by Sheila Chan) eventually gets involved in the investigation as well. It is found out that Ching is being targeted by the Five Fingers gang for killing one of their leaders! These two seemingly unconnected plots eventually intertwine, and Ching must take down the leader of the Five Fingers gang, with a little help from her new friends.

Cynthia Khan is really good in this movie. She is an underrated action star.

Madam City Hunter is a silly comedy for the most part. Don't get me wrong, there are some cool fight scenes and gun battles, but the majority of the movie is comedic shenanigans. This movie has nothing to do with the City Hunter manga, anime, or Jackie Chan movie, by the way. The only reason I think it's called Madam City Hunter is because of the zany comedy (like in the Jackie Chan movie) and the fact that there is a private investigator and his young, immature assistant involved in the plot. Nevertheless, this movie is pretty entertaining. Cynthia Khan gets to play a more fully developed character in this. She isn't just a butt-kicking cop; she is dealing with her suspension by getting drunk, dealing with her superior officer's crush on her, and dealing with her father's relationship with his young wife. She's got a lot going on in her life! It is really great seeing Cynthia Khan in a comedy as well (even though she is mostly the straight woman in this).

From left: Kara Hui, Cynthia Khan, Tommy Wong Kwong-Leung, and Sheila Chan.

This movie has a great cast as well! Anthony Wong as the private investigator Charlie Chan is fun to watch. Not going to lie, it was kind of weird for me to see Anthony Wong play such a comedic character, after seeing him play more disturbed characters in other movies. He's cool in this. He even has some fight scenes as well! Another surprising performance is Kara Hui as Siu-Hung, the young wife of Ching's father. I am used to seeing her play strong, elegant martial artists, but in this she plays a seductive minx. We are introduced to her doing a flirtatious dance for her husband (it's not that sexual, it's more funny because of the husband's reactions to it). Kara Hui is mainly dressed in a maid's outfit or in a silk bathrobe through out the movie as well. She does have a fight scene in this, too! Then there is Sheila Chan as Blackie, Charlie's young assistant. She is hilarious in this movie! Sheila is really good at playing greedy, desperate-for-money characters. She has great facial expressions as well. After watching this movie, I've decided she is one of my all-time favorite comedic actors. She is just funny!

Cynthia Khan kicks major butt in Madam City Hunter!

The action is pretty good in this, not the greatest you'll ever see, though. The first action scene, which is Ching's introduction, is nice. She storms the bad guys' hideout, blasts them all way with an assault rifle, then goes after the Five Fingers gang member on the roof. Good fight, Cynthia Khan gets to show off a bit here. There are many smaller fights throughout the movie as well. Kara Hui gets to fight some thugs, and she shows that she is not one to be messed with! Kara Hui is an awesome martial arts actress. The final fight scene is Cynthia Khan fighting the Five Fingers gang leader on bamboo scaffolding on the side of a building! Really acrobatic stuff here, and you see her do two versions of a Liu Kang-like bicycle kick in the final fight scene; one flying across the room, and one going down the scaffolding. What else can I say? Cynthia Khan is awesome! Truthfully, there isn't that much action, but what is there, is good!

Should you watch Madam City Hunter? I say give it a shot. The action is good, not great. The story is really two different plots that connect at the end. It is mainly a comedy, leaning toward more romantic/relationship comedy. It gets pretty violent in places. This is considered one of Cynthia Khan's better movies, but it is average at best. The main reasons to watch this movie are for Cynthia Khan, Anthony Wong, Kara Hui, and especially Sheila Chan. Check it out!

One last shot of the incredible Sheila Chan! *swoons*

 

Reviewed by David Williams