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| Project S is a spin-off of Police Story 3: Supercop. |
Project S: Once A Cop (also known as Supercop 2) is an action/martial arts movie released in Hong Kong in 1993, and is a spin-off movie featuring Michelle Yeoh's character from Police Story 3: Supercop. This movie stars Michelle Yeoh, Yu Rongguang,
Emil Chow Wah-Kin, Fan Siu-Wong, Athena Chu, Dick Wei, and Bill Tung. Project S was directed by Stanley Tong, with martial arts also directed by Tong.
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| Michelle Yeoh plays one tough and determined cop. |
In Project S, Michelle Yeoh plays Jessica Yang Jian Wa, a tough and very heroic cop in mainland China. At the start of the movie, Yang stops a terrorist hostage situation at a hotel with the help of her boyfriend, David Chang Fung (played by Yu Rongguang), a security guard at the hotel. For risking her life, Yang receives a medal, which she is more than satisfied with. Chang thinks it is unfair that she only got a medal for risking her life, he thinks she should've gotten more. He tells her that he's leaving China to make a fortune in Hong Kong with his friend, and that he will come back a rich man to take her away. Yang is surprised by this, and even more surprised with how quickly he leaves.
Months later, a highly organized robbery occurs in Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong police ask for assistance from Chinese Public Security. Yang is sent to Hong Kong to work on the case, with Inspector Lee Ming (played by Emil Chow Wah-Kin) and Kuo Shao Long (played by Fan Siu-Wong) as her partners. Inspector Lee is the one in charge of the other two,is very by the books, and he is romantically interested in Yang. Kuo is the young, somewhat inexperienced cop who is going out with Lee's sister (played by Athena Chu).
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| Our heroes, from left: Emil Chow Wah-Kin as Inspector Lee, Michelle Yeoh as Yang, and Fan Siu-Wong as Kuo Shao Long. |
Things start off kind of rocky for the three cops, but they eventually grow to trust each other. Then, the cops find out the location of the gang's hideout, and this is where things get complicated. The case gets personal for our heroes and the villains, so much so that Yang is taken off the case! The gang is planning a huge heist, and Yang and her colleagues are the only ones who can stop it...
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| Yang and Chang rekindling their relationship... |
Project S is a pretty interesting movie. Michelle Yeoh got to play a cop who was in love, and wasn't afraid to show it. Of course, the relationship between Yang and Chang gets complicated, and some tough choices have to be made between them. Inspector Lee's romantic pursuit of Yang is nice as well (I usually don't like stuff like that, but here it's okay). The movie is very 90s Hong Kong, which is good and bad. The movie moves fast; there is a certain darkness in the tone of the movie as well. The fight scenes, though... Also, Jackie Chan only has a cameo role in this movie, in an unexpected scene!
I first watched this movie in 2000, but it was the American edited Dimension release. As you can imagine, I did not like this movie back then. I thought it was boring, and the soundtrack, dubbing, and sound effects (all the stuff Dimension changed) sucked to me. Eight minutes were cut out as well, which explains why watching Project S a couple days ago felt like I was watching a totally different movie. I watched the Hong Kong version for this review, and I enjoyed it so much more this time. It's really good!
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| Yep, it's Michelle Yeoh kicking butt as only she can! |
The action in this movie is very 90s Hong Kong. The gunplay is very good! The fight scenes are done in that sped up way where everything looks herky-jerky, and almost cartoonish. I am not a fan of these types of fight scenes, but I know others are. Michelle Yeoh kicks butt in this, as you would expect! At the start of the movie, Michelle Yeoh and Yu Rongguang take on terrorists in a hotel, and Yukari Oshima plays one of the terrorists! Unfortunately, Yukari Oshima does not get to show her full skillset in this fight scene (which bothered me when I first watched it in the 90s, and still bothers now). What a waste! Fan Siu-Wong (who I didn't even remember was in this, so it was a nice surprise seeing him in this) also has some nice fight scenes in this. His character lacks experience, but is a great fighter! The final fight scene involves the heroes having to fight a crew of big buff guys (one of them played by the guy with chains at the end of Drunken Master II). Michelle Yeoh is much smaller than them, so she has to use enhanced tactics to take them down. Even though I didn't like the way the fight scenes were presented, the choreography was pretty good!
In conclusion, Project S is a pretty good movie. I think you should see it, just for Michelle Yeoh at the very least. If possible, try to watch the original Hong Kong version, as it is so much better than the American edit. This movie shows how tough it can be to be an honorable cop in a complicated world, especially in a world where love complicates things even further. Michelle Yeoh is the best. That's it.
Reviewed by David Williams
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