The Inspector Wears Skirts
II
Much of the same cast comes back in this follow
up to the 1988 Golden Harvest film that sort of set the standard for girls
with guns action/comedy. Both films are directed by Wellson Chin (he directed
the recent Era of the Vampires) and produced by Jackie Chan and have much
else in common. There is a little bit in these films for everyone female
bonding, goofy comedy, a little sex appeal and some decently choreographed
action and a bit of choreographed dancing! For those though that prefer
their action straight and unadulterated, these films may be rough going
at times the second one in particular.
While the first had the presence of Cynthia Rothrock
to give it a real shot of adrenaline from time to time, this one really
doesnt get to the action until the very end. There are a few intermittent
punch em ups that cant be taken very seriously, but much of the running
time is filled with the comic shenanigans of Sandra Ng and Billy Lau
not always an easy pill to swallow. Even the final action set piece against
a group of terrorists feels a bit more slapdash than the action in the
first film. There are compensating pluses though that come in the form
of Amy Yip. The Yipster is incorrectly credited with being in the first
installment of this series (four films) in some places, but this is one
of her very first if not her first major role in which her voluptuous
figure takes center stage.
Gone from the female squad are Ann Bridgewater
and Ellen Chan, but returning are Sandra Ng, Kara Hui Ying Hung, Regina
Kent and Sibelle Hu as the stern Madam Hu. Throw in Suki Kwan as well into
the group of veterans. Some new recruits show up Amy, May Lo and Angile
Leung and immediately a rivalry is sparked between the new and the old
feces in the bed, practical jokes and one good roustabout in the cafeteria
that leaves a few bruises and some bloody noses. In the end of course they
have to come together not only to beat the bad guys, but also to compete
against the Flying Tiger Squad.
The Flying Tiger Squad are the male recruits training
in the same facility headed by Stanley Fung and populated by the likes
of Billy Lau, Mars and Ken Lo. Sandra is still chasing romantically after
Billy and still being rejected like an old newspaper. Billy remains his
lecherous self and is at one point caught peeping into the girls shower
and gets his humiliating comeuppance. In many ways the film is really a
weaker carbon copy of the first even having a martial arts match between
the men and the women but while the first film had a terrific display
from Kara this one focuses on comedy and the main event is between Billy
and Sandra. In fact for some odd reason Kara is given very little to do
during the action scenes odd because she is really the only legitimate
action actor among the females.
Melvin Wong shows up as a top policeman to check
on the skills of the women and becomes interested in Sibelle much to
the annoyance of Stanley who has kept his adoration of her to himself.
All of these rivalries are soon forgotten though when a major terrorist
the Golden Haired Lion - breaks away from the police and hides up in
some rough terrain with a large group of his followers. Finally, after
somewhat slogging through all the comedy the viewer is given some solid
action as the men and women team up to go in and get them. Both Bill Tung
and Rickey Hui have cameos in the film.
My rating for this film: 6.0
