In the Line of Duty 3

An atrocious, repetitive script nearly ruins this kick-ass chick flick. Thankfully, the second half features plenty of brutal action scenes for your entertainment. The sequel, In The Line Of Duty 4, with the incomparable Donnie Yen added to the mix, is a much better film. Of note, the villains in the film are members of the Red Army. This would have meant nothing to me if I hadn't seen United Red Army by Koji Wakamatsu, maybe the most brutal movie ever. ITLOD3 doesn't do them justice.

Cynthia Khan steps up after Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock, and to be honest she works well as a kung fu cop. Just when I thought this series had lost steam, there's a world class action scene to renew the momentum.

The story is nicely unpredictable and the action has a weight and fiercenesses to it one doesn’t often meet, both of which I wholeheartedly applaud. Sadly, the editing especially in the showdown is a lot sloppier than usual for 80s HK which brings the enjoyment down quite a bit.