The Angel Strikes Again (HK 1968)

Rating: **
Review Date: 2/12/12
Director: Lo Wei
Cast: Lily Ho, Tang Ching

Lily Ho is back as Ai Si, also known as Agent 009. Tang Ching is also back, but playing a different character this time. A rash of bombing activity from the infamous "Bomb Gang" forces Ai to cut her vacation short and open a new investigation. While discussing the case with a local contact, she has a chance encounter with the dashing Deng Lei (Tang Ching) and warns him of a poisonous spider that was planted on him by a would-be assassin. Deng's character and motivations are never explained, but he's always around to help out Ai and the police, even though he's seemingly a big-time underworld criminal. What's more baffling is the villainous leader of the Bomb Gang, known as "The Specialist," who also happens to be a singer at a night club and has a twin sister in the police force (this gives her at least four different roles). Not surprisingly, this makes the already confusing story even more difficult to follow. And then to add to the silliness, Ai is inexplicably disguised as a man for the middle third of the film, employing my least favorite Hong Kong film convention. Somehow, Ai and Deng manage to foil the bad guys and destroy their secret underground base, which is another Ken Adams inspired lair highlighted in gold and red.

Much like "Angel With The Iron Fists" (1967), the fight choreography is crude and the execution is sloppy. Lily Ho's karate chops look downright embarrassing, and occasional undercranking makes them look even worse. The spy gadgets are also ridiculous, and low production values make them look especially tacky. The seductively graceful Lily Ho is lovely, even though she suffers from a horrible hairdo for the majority of the film. Reflecting the wacky fashion sensibilities of the time, she has a number of delightful outfits to wear and just as many hideous ones. The music score is another John Barry knock-off, which does a good job of making the film seem much more dramatic and suspenseful than it really is. It's just unfortunate that the film doesn't stick with what it does well, which is probably what ultimately brought the series to an end.