Jin pai shi jie

Infamous Cut n' paste martial arts maestro, Godfrey Ho frequently proved that he was a more than capable action director in his own right. Blessed with a resplendent cast of magisterial action mistresses, director Ho is on excellent, plentifully bullet-blasting form in the persistently high octane, Kung Fu crazy HK femme-fighter 'Princess Madam'. The fourth, fabulously fight-packed instalment is given an additionally adrenalized boost by pitting the inimitable HK Icon Moon Lee against the no less stunning, sinew strafing pugilist Michiko Nishiwaki! Fans of intensely squib-slathered, Uzi-blasting heroic bloodshed, bruisingly super-kinetic fight scenes, daredevil stunts, wanton warehouse wrecking and outrageous vehicular carnage will most definitely want to check out 'Princess Madam'. Tasked to protect Pearl, a crucial witness who is due to testify against her ex, the increasingly ruthless gang boss Lung Siu Tin. Very soon, our heroically grenade-dodging super cops find themselves in the midst of a bravura, bullet-shredded barrage of ballistic mayhem! As a more fleshly aside, there's a tantalizingly brief flash of neon-hued T & A, an especially edifying experience for those of us who are easily appeased by brief lashes of neon-hued T & A!

Director and writer Godfrey Ho who also created another classic girls with guns flick, Lethal Panther 1990 and another classic flick, Laboratory of the Devil 1992, has created another gem in Princess Madam.

Starring Moon Lee has has also been in other classic girls with guns flicks, Iron Angels 2 1988, Dreaming the Reality 1991, Iron Angels 1987, Angel Force 1991, Killer Angels 1989 and Iron Angels 3 1989.

Also starring Michiko Nishiwaki.

Also starring Mike Abbott.

Also starring Sharon Yeung who has also been in another classic girls with guns flick, Angel Terminators 1992.

I enjoyed the violence.

If you enjoyed this as much as I did then check out other classic girls with guns flicks, Lethal Lady 1990, Thunder Cops II 1989, Haywire 2011, Everly 2014, Salt 2010, Juncture 2007, Momentum 2015, Naked Killer 1992, Naked Weapon 2002, The Brave One 2007, Atomic Blonde 2017, The Villainess 2017, Unlocked 2017, Maria 2019, Close 2019. Sentinelle 2021, Kate 2021, Coffy 1973, The Shadow Strays 2024 ,The Protege 2021 and Cheetah on Fire 1992.

Mona and Lisa have been given a dangerous assignment: Mr. Lung, the unscrupulous boss of the Hong Kong mafia, is to be hunted down. His ex-lover is ready to unpack. The 72 hours until the court hearing will become the toughest test in the fight against the murderous syndicate...

There's two story strands taking place here; one where Moon Lee is in the receiving end of a revenge plot cooked up by Michiko Nishiwaki, a psycho who wants to revenge the death of her villainous husband whom Moon had killed in an encounter. She targets Moon's husband. The second strand involves Sharon Yeung-Moon's cop partner- who has a dilemma when she learns her father is involved with a triad boss. Unfortunately, this leads to tragedy, but not before plenty of gun play, blood squibs, well-staged kungfu showdowns. A lot of thought is gone into the action. Of course, it can be a bit overkill with so many bullets fired from the guns without ever running out. But the plot is quite involving, the characterisation is above average and there's enough drama.

Two female police officers named Mona and Lisa (got it?) protect a witness against a gangster - until Lisa (Sharon Young) needs to kill the witness herself in order to save her father's honour. Lisa quits the police, but will she really fight her best friend Mona (Moon Lee)? Another violent action flick made in Hong Kong, hundreds of bullets fired, but with a storyline that makes sense. Comparatively. Voted 5/10.

Although Moon Lee and Michiko Nishiwaki are the (relatively) more famous names involved in "Princess Madam", it's their underrated co-star Sharon Yeung who really owns this film. She has more screen time than both, and let's face it, she is a more credible tough chick than the sweet and cuddly Moon Lee. Michiko is effective as a villainess, but she is written off the picture halfway through. The film is rather shoddily made, with at least two instances of laughably poor night-to-day continuity. But the script does take a shocking turn near the end (after teasing us about it first), which makes it more interesting than the typical cops vs. gangsters story. Unfortunately, my VHS version is atrociously subtitled, to the point where about half the dialogue is impossible to read, and the only DVD currently out there seems to be one in Chinese with NO subtitles at all. So, there's no way to see this film in a proper form right now for anyone who doesn't speak Chinese. (**)