The title "Avenging Quartet" is a case of false advertising: in truth, Cynthia Khan and Moon Lee dominate about 90% of the running time, Michiko Nishiwaki pops up only periodically, and Yukari Oshima's part is basically an extended cameo. All the women look stunning (IMO the show is stolen by the adorable Moon and the sexy Michiko - there is a sharp contrast between these two types of women), but the story is slow, confusing and uninteresting, and the action is sparse until the explosive climactic "battle royale" inside a burning building. The movie has its moments (including a brief confrontation between Yukari and Michiko before they team up), but in between those moments it can be hard to sit through. And as the previous reviewer noted, the Ground Zero version of this movie, retitled "Tomb Raiders", is of very poor visual quality and should be avoided. (**)
7 Reviews
Deserves A Watch, Preferably In Widescreen & Original Language!!
Movie-Misfit16 May 2020
Warning: Spoilers
The wonderful Cynthia Khan opens the film, as a mainland cop leading a stake-out to stop a deal between two gangs trading in a widely sought-after painting that has been stolen between China and Japan by thieves and governments for centuries. After a snake upsets things and the action kicks-off, Khan finds herself in the sight of the enemies gun, only to be saved by her mysterious lover played by Waise Lee. Jumping to Hong Kong, we meet Moon Lee .Through a brief flashback, we quickly learn that dirty old Waise is dating her also, but that is interrupted as we jump back to Khan, who has arrived in the city to look for him. Some thugs try to pull a fast one on her, but Moon steps in to help leading to our first real bout of femme-fatale action!
Nishiwaki plays her usual gangster-leader character, with connections to Moon Lee's feisty girl, and the Osh gets the best intro as a Japanese fighter. Dressed in a kimino, she takes on a small army of soldiers using a pair of sai before we learn that she is now ready for her mission - to go to Hong Kong and retrieve the painting. The great Chin Kar Lok co-stars as a cop, playing a comedy sidekick to Khan & Lee, while trying to protect them from gangsters, offering a lot of energy both comically and physically as things start to unravel around them and trouble comes light in the shape of the aforementioned love-triangle, and gangster problems.
You can no doubt guess where Avenging Quartet is going after the first 10 minutes, and with such amazing stars already in place, you should be excited! After all, the promotional material and DVD artwork sells it as one of the most exciting Hong Kong action movies ever with stars Khan, Lee, Yukari Oshima and Michiko Nishiwaki donning full leather outfits and machine guns! But alas, this mid nineties flick fails to deliver the wow-factor it so proudly promotes, leaving it as a middle-of-the-road action movie with okay fight scenes and a case of, what-could-have-been. And once you get past that, it actually isn't all bad...
Director Stanley Siu Wing, who started with Shaw Brothers, never really made a big splash with his directed work such as Outlaw Genes, New York Chinatown, and Winner Takes All (to name but a few), even with decent stars, as well as penning the flawed Drunken Master 3 with Andy Lau. The fight action is looked after by Lam Moon Wa; fight director of Kirk Wong's classic film The Club, Yuen Biao's Hero Of Swallow, and Billy Chung's Lady Supercop, made the same year as this. I have to say though, neither Wing or Wa are the strongest of directors, which is probably one of the main reasons for Avenging Quartet's let-downs!
Lee, Khan and Oshima had starred together in the previous years film, Death Triangle (aka Yes Madam '92: A Serious Shock), which was a much better offering. Part of that was because it had a stronger production team behind it - especially in the action direction. The one thing Avenging Quartet holds strong though is the character development of each of the girls (for the most part), with a lot of drama backed by great performances by the main cast - especially Cynthia Khan and Moon Lee, with the scene involving the former and Waise getting captured, coming across quite brutal and dramatic. Its just such a shame this wasn't balanced better with the action, allowing for a tidier, better directed production. The end battle featuring all four girls in a burning building is actually pretty sweet, offering more of brutal and gritty femme-fatale-fight that doesn't end well at all, and while certainly not the best thing they've ever done - is still worth the watch.
Avenging Quartet is far from perfect, and while many believe it should have been so much more due to its infamous promotional material, the film isn't half-bad at all with its silly plot strengthened by some great performances and okay fight scenes. Personally, I would like to see a cleaner, widescreen print in Cantonese as I believe it would make it even better, as this (seemingly only) version (named Tomb Raiders) released in the west, is such a terrible cropped and dubbed print, you can understand why fans are put-off!
Overall: Not amazing, but far from terrible , Avenging Quartet gets better as it moves along and proves to be quite an entertaining martial arts thriller with a great cast!
Nishiwaki plays her usual gangster-leader character, with connections to Moon Lee's feisty girl, and the Osh gets the best intro as a Japanese fighter. Dressed in a kimino, she takes on a small army of soldiers using a pair of sai before we learn that she is now ready for her mission - to go to Hong Kong and retrieve the painting. The great Chin Kar Lok co-stars as a cop, playing a comedy sidekick to Khan & Lee, while trying to protect them from gangsters, offering a lot of energy both comically and physically as things start to unravel around them and trouble comes light in the shape of the aforementioned love-triangle, and gangster problems.
You can no doubt guess where Avenging Quartet is going after the first 10 minutes, and with such amazing stars already in place, you should be excited! After all, the promotional material and DVD artwork sells it as one of the most exciting Hong Kong action movies ever with stars Khan, Lee, Yukari Oshima and Michiko Nishiwaki donning full leather outfits and machine guns! But alas, this mid nineties flick fails to deliver the wow-factor it so proudly promotes, leaving it as a middle-of-the-road action movie with okay fight scenes and a case of, what-could-have-been. And once you get past that, it actually isn't all bad...
Director Stanley Siu Wing, who started with Shaw Brothers, never really made a big splash with his directed work such as Outlaw Genes, New York Chinatown, and Winner Takes All (to name but a few), even with decent stars, as well as penning the flawed Drunken Master 3 with Andy Lau. The fight action is looked after by Lam Moon Wa; fight director of Kirk Wong's classic film The Club, Yuen Biao's Hero Of Swallow, and Billy Chung's Lady Supercop, made the same year as this. I have to say though, neither Wing or Wa are the strongest of directors, which is probably one of the main reasons for Avenging Quartet's let-downs!
Lee, Khan and Oshima had starred together in the previous years film, Death Triangle (aka Yes Madam '92: A Serious Shock), which was a much better offering. Part of that was because it had a stronger production team behind it - especially in the action direction. The one thing Avenging Quartet holds strong though is the character development of each of the girls (for the most part), with a lot of drama backed by great performances by the main cast - especially Cynthia Khan and Moon Lee, with the scene involving the former and Waise getting captured, coming across quite brutal and dramatic. Its just such a shame this wasn't balanced better with the action, allowing for a tidier, better directed production. The end battle featuring all four girls in a burning building is actually pretty sweet, offering more of brutal and gritty femme-fatale-fight that doesn't end well at all, and while certainly not the best thing they've ever done - is still worth the watch.
Avenging Quartet is far from perfect, and while many believe it should have been so much more due to its infamous promotional material, the film isn't half-bad at all with its silly plot strengthened by some great performances and okay fight scenes. Personally, I would like to see a cleaner, widescreen print in Cantonese as I believe it would make it even better, as this (seemingly only) version (named Tomb Raiders) released in the west, is such a terrible cropped and dubbed print, you can understand why fans are put-off!
Overall: Not amazing, but far from terrible , Avenging Quartet gets better as it moves along and proves to be quite an entertaining martial arts thriller with a great cast!
The avenging Quartet
coltras3525 December 2022
Police Officer, Chin, arrives in Hong Kong from the mainland in search of Hsiong, an old flame who had left China several years before and is now attempting to pass off a forgery of an old Chinese painting which is much coveted by some Japanese collectors.
With a dream ensemble here with Moon Lee, Cynthia Khan, Yukari Oshima, Michiko Nishiwaki, you would have expected a fast-paced concoction of badass action with the babes laying down the law with their brutal skills, however you don't quite get this. What you get is a bit of drama, comedic moments and some more drama. It's slow in places, and a tad confusing but it's not too bad. It's mildly entertaining especially when Moon Lee and Cynthia Khan is in shot. There's some good fights, though, and it ends with a brutal showdown.
With a dream ensemble here with Moon Lee, Cynthia Khan, Yukari Oshima, Michiko Nishiwaki, you would have expected a fast-paced concoction of badass action with the babes laying down the law with their brutal skills, however you don't quite get this. What you get is a bit of drama, comedic moments and some more drama. It's slow in places, and a tad confusing but it's not too bad. It's mildly entertaining especially when Moon Lee and Cynthia Khan is in shot. There's some good fights, though, and it ends with a brutal showdown.
Four great ladies in one movie
unbrokenmetal16 February 2003
Four great ladies in one movie together, now if that's not a good reason to spend 90 minutes on front of your TV? My fave Cynthia Luster hasn't got the biggest role of the four, but the best fight scenes (one in a training room, one in a burning house!). The painting both the Chinese and Japanese agents are looking for is passed on from player to player like a football sometimes, the director doesn't take that too seriously and is focussing his attention on the - dare I say it - character development, including an ill-fated love interest. I voted 7/10.
This movie has been re-released
richgei4 May 2003
A Hong Kong action movie being renamed? This must be a first! If you're interested in getting a copy, I found it as a Black Belt Theatre release on DVD. It's now entitled, "Tomb Raiders." However, there is no tomb and there are no raiders. Who cares! Anytime you put Michiko Nishiwaki, Yukari Oshima, Moon Lee and Cynthia Khan together in the same movie, it's worth seeing. There is a second title on this DVD, "Godfather's Daughter" starring Yukari. The title changed only slightly from the original "Godfather's Daughter, Mafia Blues."
"Avenging Angels"
Uriah4327 March 2016
This movie essentially begins with an ancient painting from the Sung Dynasty which was taken during World War 2 by the occupying Japanese forces. As the war progressed the Japanese army began experimenting with biological weapons and used Chinese citizens to test them on. However, with the war now turning against them--and the possibility of being executed for war crimes--the Japanese military decided to hide certain top secret files inside of this valuable Sung painting with the idea of eventually bringing it back to Japan. Unfortunately for them, the painting was stolen not long afterward--along with the horrific information contained inside. Needless to say, the Chinese government, unaware of the secret files inside, wants the painting because of its historic value. The Japanese government, on the other hand, wants the painting in order to avoid embarrassment concerning their atrocities. As a result, when the painting turns up on the black market, a number of people want this painting at all cost. This brings us to the present with a Chinese policewoman named "Chin" (Cynthia Khan) in the process of busting a secret transaction involving a Chinese Triad from Hong Kong. When a gun fight breaks out between the police and the Triad, Chin is saved at the last minute by one of the criminals--who just happens to be her former boyfriend, "Hsiong" (Waise Lee). Figuring that he might be implicated in the murder of several policemen, Hsiong flees the mainland and makes his way back to Hong Kong. That said, even though it has been seven years since she had last seen him, Chin decides to travel to Hong Kong to find him. What Chin doesn't realize is that Hsiong has changed quite a bit and since he has possession of the painting a lot of other people are also looking for him as well. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that I found this movie to be somewhat unusual in that it incorporates both action and comedy but then changes rather dramatically toward the end. Yet, even though I didn't particularly care for this sudden change, I must admit that the film itself was fairly entertaining all the same. Additionally, having four lovely actresses like Moon Lee (as "Feng"), Michiko Nishiwaki ("Sen"), Yukari Oshima ("Oshima") and the aforementioned Cynthia Khan certainly didn't hurt either. All things considered then, I rate this movie as slightly above average.
Makes me wish I was in Hong Kong (may contain spoilers)
spywatcher45915 May 2005
Warning: Spoilers
I bought this movie from Suncoast which was titled "Tomb Raiders" and it had a double feature which included Godfather's Blues. I was tempted to eject this disc from my PS2 and trade it in to Blockbuster when I saw that the picture was a little too bright and there were times where the picture would fade out for a second and then be normal. My guess was that the company who did the transfer used video transfer from a dust-filled VCR, but I decided to just give it a shot, rather than let a few little glitches stop me. Needless to say, I'm glad I didn't sell it because I was amazed with the stunts, fight scenes and character development used for the characters. I also loved the locations that they used in Hong Kong. A scene with Moon at the movie theater, Cynthia walking alone near the Yin Yang club and the gym-fighting scene between Michiko and Yukari are just some of the great scenes shown in this movie. Seeing this movie just makes me wish I was in Hong Kong.
What I enjoyed most about this movie was the character development and the music used in the movie. The director devoted a lot of time to creating the characters for the actors and actresses to play and you can tell that each one has fun playing who they are. Cynthia was great as Chin, the Beijing military officer who is searching for the man she loves and looks great playing the lonely heroine. Moon does a great job as well, but she adds more flare and spice to the screen with her cute playful portrayal of Feng. Michiko and Yukari definitely prove they're a force to reckoned with as they portray Sen and Oshima, two femme fatales who are after a priceless painting that contains hidden secrets from the war. Waise Lee's character Hsiong, seems emotionless at times, but he kicks into hero mode near the end of the film and Chin Kar Lok adds comedy and action in his portrayal of Paul, a goofy Hong Kong cop with who has a thing for Moon's Feng. Also, the scenes where Cynthia and Moon talk about their boyfriends (not knowing that they're in love with the same man) is also memorable. These two girls chit chat, drink Bacardi together, fight together, play Nintendo together and even share the same bed (as friends). The way these two women acted in this movie, you'd almost think that they were sisters. Very well done indeed. It was good that the director focused more on character development than they did the actual plot of the movie.
The music was great too, had a few romance tunes and some suspenseful fight scene music and that made the movie great too. The action scenes are also superb as everybody goes into throw-down mode and beats down anyone stupid enough to get in their paths. It's a shame that the director, Stanley Wu didn't make more movies now after creating this gem.
Avenging Quartet is definitely a movie for the Guns-N-Girls genre and it shouldn't be passed up. But if you want to buy it, get the subtitled version for you VCD player or VHS. If you want a DVD copy, make sure that it's only the Avenging Quartet and not the double-feature one from ground-zero.net. The picture quality isn't all that good. Other than that, pop it into your DVD player and enjoy. You won't be disappointed.
What I enjoyed most about this movie was the character development and the music used in the movie. The director devoted a lot of time to creating the characters for the actors and actresses to play and you can tell that each one has fun playing who they are. Cynthia was great as Chin, the Beijing military officer who is searching for the man she loves and looks great playing the lonely heroine. Moon does a great job as well, but she adds more flare and spice to the screen with her cute playful portrayal of Feng. Michiko and Yukari definitely prove they're a force to reckoned with as they portray Sen and Oshima, two femme fatales who are after a priceless painting that contains hidden secrets from the war. Waise Lee's character Hsiong, seems emotionless at times, but he kicks into hero mode near the end of the film and Chin Kar Lok adds comedy and action in his portrayal of Paul, a goofy Hong Kong cop with who has a thing for Moon's Feng. Also, the scenes where Cynthia and Moon talk about their boyfriends (not knowing that they're in love with the same man) is also memorable. These two girls chit chat, drink Bacardi together, fight together, play Nintendo together and even share the same bed (as friends). The way these two women acted in this movie, you'd almost think that they were sisters. Very well done indeed. It was good that the director focused more on character development than they did the actual plot of the movie.
The music was great too, had a few romance tunes and some suspenseful fight scene music and that made the movie great too. The action scenes are also superb as everybody goes into throw-down mode and beats down anyone stupid enough to get in their paths. It's a shame that the director, Stanley Wu didn't make more movies now after creating this gem.
Avenging Quartet is definitely a movie for the Guns-N-Girls genre and it shouldn't be passed up. But if you want to buy it, get the subtitled version for you VCD player or VHS. If you want a DVD copy, make sure that it's only the Avenging Quartet and not the double-feature one from ground-zero.net. The picture quality isn't all that good. Other than that, pop it into your DVD player and enjoy. You won't be disappointed.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
