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Former Miss Malaysia and current butt-kicking Hong Kong action star Michelle Yeoh leaped to international attention costarring alongside Jackie Chan in
Supercop. The film was actually the third installment of Chan's successful
Police Story series, but that didn't stop cagey producers from turning out
Supercop 2 as a solo vehicle for the lean, lithe Yeoh. She travels from mainland China to Hong Kong to "advise" local cops on a Chinese drug lord and discovers Rong Guang Yu (from
Iron Monkey and
Rock and Roll Cop), her former lover and now the leader of a militia-style gang in partnership with her quarry. Yeoh is in fine form, kicking off the picture with a thrilling close-quarters battle in a high-rise hotel, but the complicated plot of high tech crime, double crosses, and conflicted loyalties strangles the action and slows the film despite such action highlights as an impressive three-man raid on a well-armed criminal den. (Jackie Chan's jokey cameo as a cop in drag doesn't really help matters.) The film finally regains its energy in an explosive free-for-all bank heist climax, in which the painful English dubbing becomes all but unnoticeable as bullets fly, bodies crunch, and balletic Michelle Yeoh moves like a dynamo.
--Sean Axmaker
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This popular and beloved film, produced by Tsui Hark and directed by Ching Siu Tung, is a standout in the Hong Kong supernatural-action genre and spawned many sequels and copycats.
A Chinese Ghost Story stars Leslie Cheung as Ning Tsei-Shen, a timid and likable tax collector. Looking for a place to stay the night, he comes upon a spooky abandoned temple occupied by a tough Taoist swordsman (Ma Wu). Despite his warnings, Tsei-Shen stays anyway. Later he encounters a beautiful maiden (Joey Wang) who he quickly falls in love with. Unfortunately, she is a ghost who is being forced to trap men for an evil spirit who feeds on their souls.
A Chinese Ghost Story has been widely praised for infusing the genre with humor, action, romance, and inventive special effects. Memorable images include an attacking mile-long tongue and a cloak opening to dozens of ghastly decapitated heads. The final battle in hell is said to have inspired scenes in Sam Raimi's
Army of Darkness. And the film has its share of homage: A group of crusty zombies are reminiscent of the skeletons in special-effects guru Ray Harryhausen's
7th Voyage of Sinbad--and they are eliminated by Tsei-Shen in comedic slapstick fashion, not unlike the style of Charlie Chaplin. Cheung and Wang are a likeable romantic pair, and Ma Wu creates a hilarious character who breaks out into song and a martial arts dance when drunk. The DVD transfer is topnotch\ , with the film's misty mood lighting and fluttering gowns appearing layered and crisp. It's a must-see for Hong Kong action film fans.
--Shannon Gee
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