China O'Brien

China O'Brien was an attempt to bring Cynthia Rothrock as an action star to American audiences.

She had made an impact in Hong Kong action cinema. Robert Clouse who directed Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon, makes this low budget B movie.

It really is Road House redux, the movie released a year earlier.

China O'Brien is a tough city cop who moves back to her hometown in Utah after the death of a young boy.

Her dad is the sheriff of a small town that is being run by a crime gang headed by Edwin Sommers.

Some of the townsfolk including the local judge are in his payroll.

When her father is killed in an explosion. China O'Brien decides to run for sheriff, to challenge a corrupt cop backed by Sommers.

China and her friends decide to fight back each time an obstacle is put in place by the baddies.

The story is hackneyed. Some of the acting is below par. The movie is about martial arts action.

Here Rothrock, Richard Norton and Keith Cooke deliver.

Average story which should be expected out of a martial arts movie. The major reason to watch this movie is to Cynthia Rothrock kick the villains butts. Originally was written as a project for Jackie Chan before the story was changed around as a film the Cynthia Rothrock. The action sequences are well choreographed. The negatives of China O'Brien(1990) are the sloppy editing and the low budget structure.

An obviously low-budget effort: the sound is lousy, the editing is sloppy, the writing is cliche. The acting, while not Oscar material, is surprisingly well done. But what really shines are the fight scenes (and that's what you wanted to see the film for, anyway -- right?) They're very well choreographed, and the actors very obviously know what they're doing. And of course, Cynthia Rothrock is a total babe (and that's *really* what you wanted to see the film for -- right? :)

This film and its sequel remain among the best Western showcases for Cynthia Rothrock's martial ability. Lori 'China' O'Brien (Rothrock) plays a cop who also teaches martial arts. One night, in an attempt to prove to a disbelieving student that martial arts could be applied to the street, she ends up killing a kid to defend a friend. Overcome with remorse, she resigns from the force and visits her parents. Unfortunately, instead of getting away from the trouble, it found her... As martial arts fare goes, this is not bad. You really felt like Rothrock's performance when she sheds tears at a very nasty incident was quite convincing. Another thing that works in the film's favour is the chemistry between Rothrock and co-star Richard Norton (Australian Karate exponent). As you might expect, though, the fights are what this and its sequel are really about, and these are some of the best Western fights ever, I reckon. None of the slowness of later efforts, and Rothrock's blows look very powerful (Hong Kong actor/director Sammo Hung says they ARE powerful). A big hand to Keith Cooke for his lethal boot-work, though. Switch your brain off and enjoy an early slice of real girl power.

Saw this on TBS the other night, expecting the usual poor substitute for a good action movie. True, I did get a mediocre film overall, but as a form of reimbursement, I received a bunch of quality martial-arts sequences.

Yes, the plot is amazingly uncomplicated - the most unexpected thing (and also the dumbest) is when not just one, but TWO car bombs explode within two days of each other. But besides the improbability of a Utah native growing up with an Australian accent (can we assume he picked that up in the "Special Forces"?), at least it's not too unrealistic.

But this movie was basically created to showcase Rothrock's abilities, and they are readily apparent. Someone mentioned that this film was meant as a vehicle for Jackie Chan; this is also easy to see based on the beautifully choreographed fight scenes that make good use of the available props (the scene in the high school's weight room is particularly fun).

Overall score: With regards to the filmmaking process, this one gets a low rating thanks to bad sound effects, cheap production and minimal writing talent. However, the great fights more than make up for it. Five (5) stars out of a possible 10.