This is a stunning, epic action film with choreography and direction that is as close to perfection as anything I've ever seen.
It is a hard, mean, brutal work that also features some of the best girl-on-girl fighting ever burned to celluloid.
It's hard to know where to start praising it. Everything works. The basic plot line is a little CHARLIE'S ANGELS-like, but don't be fooled into thinking there's anything frivolous within these film cans.
The opening gun battle in Burma's Golden Triangle sets the grim, nihilistic tone. As heroin poppies burn, we are whisked to Hong Kong where our "angels" and the chief villain, Oshima Yukari, are introduced.
Directors Raymond Leung and Teresa Woo captain this project with great assuredness, style and a freshness in the staging that is staggering. The camera moves, cutting and choreography are of the highest order, as is the terrific synth score and the sharp sound design.
Oshima, a sexy, vicious villain, demonstrates a penchant for torture that contrasts with the more girlish, soft personalities of the "angels". One angel, Moon Lee, is absolutely amazing in her demanding role, coming across as both sexy and totally insane.
More noteworthy scenes: an ultra-violent fight between two "friends" in a parking garage; a raid on a country hideout; Oshima's final duel with an able male opponent.
In the Eighties they spent big bucks on material like this. What a golden age it was.
It is a hard, mean, brutal work that also features some of the best girl-on-girl fighting ever burned to celluloid.
It's hard to know where to start praising it. Everything works. The basic plot line is a little CHARLIE'S ANGELS-like, but don't be fooled into thinking there's anything frivolous within these film cans.
The opening gun battle in Burma's Golden Triangle sets the grim, nihilistic tone. As heroin poppies burn, we are whisked to Hong Kong where our "angels" and the chief villain, Oshima Yukari, are introduced.
Directors Raymond Leung and Teresa Woo captain this project with great assuredness, style and a freshness in the staging that is staggering. The camera moves, cutting and choreography are of the highest order, as is the terrific synth score and the sharp sound design.
Oshima, a sexy, vicious villain, demonstrates a penchant for torture that contrasts with the more girlish, soft personalities of the "angels". One angel, Moon Lee, is absolutely amazing in her demanding role, coming across as both sexy and totally insane.
More noteworthy scenes: an ultra-violent fight between two "friends" in a parking garage; a raid on a country hideout; Oshima's final duel with an able male opponent.
In the Eighties they spent big bucks on material like this. What a golden age it was.