Huang jia shi jie

So here it is -- Yes, Madam -- Michelle Yeoh's first starring role, back in 1985. I'd been wanting to see this one for a few years. I was a bit worried because the DVD appeared to be a bootleg once it arrived, but it worked fine, so I won't complain. But wow, Yeoh was so amazing in the film. She had won the title of Miss Malaysia just a couple years earlier, for damn good reason, but she took her start in the action genre seriously and trained hard for a few months before shooting began. Sammo Hung himself was the producer (and has a cameo, along with half the industry), and he was looking for two female leads, to make something different from the typical male buddy-cop films. For a co-star they got Cynthia Rothrock, who was making her start in the genre as well. Though she was the real deal as far as martial arts skill. I was interested in the film more for Yeoh but Rothrock certainly held her own. Well, with the action, not the acting, ha ha.

Now then, the average American audience might not think much of the movie. It's full of the kind of very odd and stupid HK humor that I've gotten used to. But Yeoh shines in every moment she's on screen, and the action scenes are incredible. In particular the final fights near the end of the film had me as excited as being at a Bulls game. I couldn't believe some of the stuff they were pulling off. My heart goes out to those stunt men!! The actual final minute of the film caught me off guard, though it was realistic. But damn... that ten minutes or so of fighting was among the best I've ever seen.

A revolutionary a film for kick starting and defining the Battling Babes genre, in the same way 'Zu' was for the fantasy swordplay movies, 'Yes, Madam!' combined the best of Hong Kong action cinema with a fresh, sexy and exciting look. Rarely ever had women played such dominant roles and kicked as much butt as they do here, while still being allowed to show a coy, feminine side.

Both Yeoh and Rothrock made their action debuts in this film, and they couldn't have been picked at a better time. The action choreography in HK was entering a new, fast and brutal phase while both girls were at the peak of their physical fitness. The end result is not only the definitive femme-fatale flick, but also one of the finest actioners to leap on to the screen in the mid 80's. The final fight scene alone is more than worth the cost of the DVD and puts Hollywood to shame with its raw power and inventiveness. The best offered in the West at the time was a macho Sigourney Weaver in 'Aliens', but even she wouldn't have been able to touch these girls! Also known as 'In the line of Duty 2' following the later produced 'Royal Warriors' aka 'In the line of Duty' (1986) 'Yes, Madam!' set a new trend in the later 80's whereby attractive women such as Cynthia Khan, Moon Lee, Yukari Oshima and many more were given free reign to dish out the pain, being made to look like the greatest screen fighters ever courtesy of rigorous training from the likes of Dick Wei, Yuen Kwai and Yuen Woo Ping. Even today we are reaping the rewards as female faces, new and old, do battle on the screen in modern classics like 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'.

Entertaining cameos from Sammo Hung and Richard Ng as well as great fighting performances from the likes of Chung Fa and Dick Wei makes this a testosterone junkies dream! Ultimately lacking in great cinematography or even much of a plot, the name of the game is to excite the audience in as many ways possible, whether it's with lingering shots of a luscious, young Michelle Yeoh or an animated, head and arm cracking La Rothrock - this movie should not be missed by anyone interested in action - "Hong Kong style".

Moments of slapstick comedy are nothing but expected when Sammmo Hung makes an appearance, however it may be a touch overdone here in this sub-genre defining "femme-fatale" flick. Two female officers of the law present themselves as hard-hitting women which should be shown absolute respect, but another group of protagonists weighs them down and the overall result is more comedic than dramatic. There simply wasn't enough Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock on-screen to provide sufficient character development, but even at a basic level it works to support the crime investigation story (which is also very simple). A reel of film ends up being passed around Hong Kong as a triad corporation tries to obtain and destroy it in order to avoid the legal consequences attached. Meanwhile, a group of idiotic underdogs inadvertently become mixed up with the triad affair, as well as our two female hero cops Yeoh and Rothrock. The adventure is goofy yet fun, and the finale will take your breath away in terms of martial arts prowess. This is an iconic movie of both Hong Kong action cinema and the femme- fatale sub genre, and if your mildly interested in either you'll have a great time with this one. - 7/10

Hong Kong Cinema has on many occasions either broken the mould of action movies or set a new high in action movies. This movie does the first. By pitting two of the world's major female fighters in the same kick-ass movie they break the mould of a majorly male lead industry.

Whilst this is comendable and indeed fantastic, the result is of kick-ass action female heros shows even females can kick ass and look damn good doing it.

Unfortuently although this film is fun, it isn't up to scratch on the plot, writing or characters. It still plays like the old cliched action movies of the past. It still has one-dimensional people, over the top bad guys and a story that doesn't make sense the more it is explained.

You shouldn't concern yourself with the plot in this movie, although it really does pull this movie down slowly but surely. Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock team up to track down the murderer of a British Diplomat. Rothrock is from Scotland Yard and immediatley makes an impression with her almost upskirt camera angles and her long skirt waving about on screen as she kicks and beats an escaping convict.

But Rothrock's character is muddled. Why is she constantly beating up prisoners? Why is she angry all the time? Was the diplomat Rothrock's father? Nope. Does Scotland Yard's way of questioning come from a POW camp? Who knows. Fortuently her character is muted along the film so we don't have to think about it. Rothrock's fiery character is played against the sure and measured response of the beautiful Michelle Yeoh.

The film is rather dated. The film quality isn't all that good. The one dimensional characters do not make it feel as good as it could have been. Dick Wei in his usual bad guy routine plays a damn good bodyguard to the drug dealing bad guy but during the end sequences he is left as the only man to stop these two girls. Their two on one fight is very, very short...It should have been five times as long.

Also I have a problem with the character of "Mad Dog". Who is he? Why is he there? What's wrong with his 'tache? Why has he got a US army uniform on? His character is perhaps the worst of the one dimensional characters in the film, and that's not even including the ravenousily cackling drugs baron bad guy. I kept shouting "stop laughing for goodness sake".

The end fight sequence is amazing as Rothrock and Yeoh gatecrash the drugs baron's mansion - and the ending is pretty good with the bad guy getting away with his crimes *well, almost*. But it isn't as good as the DVD seems to think it is.

The DVD version has no audio commentary, the interview has no questions just answers and when questioned the interviewees don't even talk about the movie, which seems strange considering this is what I paid for.

As police action movies goes Yes Madam or Police Assassins is a dated but still fun attempt to break the mould of action movies. And whilst it does do this, it doesn't do it in the same way as say Jackie Chan's prolific and far superior "Police Story". I'd buy that instead. But if your into female fighting films, this is probably a good a start as any.

Overall: 4/10.

Hong Kong Cinema has to be the best to happen to action film history. Well, I'll say Asian Cinema has had a tremendous impact period. Hollywood just can't stop duplicating their style (Matrix for example). Hong Kong action films in the 80's should be given a lot of praise because of what has been accomplished. I'm very happy to say that I'm a martial arts FANATIC!!!

Yes Madam! (A.K.A. Police Assassins) kicked A**!!! I loved the way Michelle and Cynthia connected with each other. I have a lot of respect for those 2 ladies along with Cynthia Khan (another female heroine). The last fight says enough, it doesn't need to be explained. When I saw this movie for the first time, I rewinded that same scene at least 12 times to get that rush again. This is the type of action that action films are missing today. There are too many digital effects and wire work in today's line of work. I wish Hong Kong action films would repeat this formula again along with other movies.

About the content of the movie: Well, the movie is kind of on and off with action scenes. At times, I think the movie didn't know whether to be serious or be comedic. The scene with Sammo Hung, David Chiang, and Richard Ng should've been omitted. I liked the fact that Tsui Hark was in this movie. This is the only movie where I've seen him acting. He did a good job though. He interaction between aspirin and strepsil was funny enough. The first 5 minutes of the movie was off da hook!! Michelle shows off her bad a** cop skills. Cynthia shows off some moves at the airport. And then..... THE FINAL SCENE!!!! To tell the truth, I bought the movie because of the final scene. Those 2 ladies were so graceful with the fight scenes at the end. I enjoyed every punch and kick.

Its amazing how Michelle's dancing skills helped so much with her martial arts training. IMPRESSIVE!!!

My Overall Judegement: 3.5/4 stars