Rating: *(*)
Review Date: 8/25/02
Written And Directed By: Philip Ko
Cast: Cynthia Khan, Anthony Wong,
Ken Lo, cameos by Philip Ko, Wang Lung (?), Benny Ko
A mix and match disaster from B-movie meister Philip Ko, but god bless him for keeping the genre alive and for giving Cynthia Khan a chance to strut around and point a gun. And where do they come up with the titles for these films?!? I thought "Tiger Angels" (1993) was a stupid title, but this one takes the cake. And does it have anything to do with the film? Of course not. The first half of the film revolves around a South Korean academy for training policewomen, run by a strict and cruel Madam Cheung. Pin (Cynthia Khan), Pai Pin Pin, KK, and Elly are four friends who are trying to get through the program together. All of them graduate with honors except for KK, who disgraces her family by not graduating at all. When her father is brutally murdered by a mystery man with a tiger tattoo, KK vows to make it through the training program and become a real policewoman. This time she passes with flying colors, and the four women are united once again. But wait, there's also a side plot involving Anthony Wong who is investigating a Chinese/Korean counterfeiting operation. After a botched sting operation, he manages to capture one of the bad guys and then is dismissed from the force. Meanwhile, Pin is having relationship problems with her boyfriend, Ted (Ken Lo). After cheating on her, breaking up with her, and faking his own death, the girls decide to investigate him and discover that he's a hitman for the counterfeiters. (oh, the irony...) Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and the girls launch an assault on the bad guys involving jet skis and a helicopter, and then end up at a warehouse where they duke it out in full tae kwon do glory. Laughably, the movie ends with no resolution, other than a pile of bodies. Will KK ever discover her father's killer?
Pretty dreadful stuff, but the action climax is actually rather satisfying. (hence the possible two-star rating) Apart from some nice gun action, Cynthia Khan gets into an extremely brief, but nicely executed fight, although her co-stars clearly outshine her. Madam Cheung puts up a great fight and Pai Pin Pin shows off some great kickboxing. KK is cute, feisty, and utterly adorable, and goes toe-to-toe with Benny Ko for a while, with respectable results. Where Elly was during the final showdown is anyone's guess. (just another victim of the numerous continuity problems) While the film is light on action (and pretty much light on everything), its main charm is just seeing the four women in uniform playing off of each other and taking care of business.