IN THE LINE OF DUTY III: FORCE OF THE DRAGON is the third of an excellent series of Hong Kong action films about female cops kicking ass in the city. The first two had Michelle Yeoh as lead actress, but for this instalment she was replaced by the great Cynthia Khan, who would stay on for the rest of the series. Khan is very much Yeoh's equal in the high-kicking action stakes, and she's a fine actress too.FORCE OF THE DRAGON is a high point in a series packed full of them. In fact, the first four films of this series are simply great, and this one has more intense action scenes than in many a rival Hollywood flick from the time. Khan and her allies (including Hiroshi Fujioka as an imported Sonny Chiba-alike, complete with '70s hair do) go after a couple of Japanese jewel thieves who have nefarious plans to smuggle arms to Japan's Red Army.It's pretty much wall to wall action here from beginning to end, and it's expertly choreographed by Brandy Yuen, one of Yuen Woo-ping's brothers. Although the action is near non-stop, none of it ever feels tiresome or repetitive, and instead it remains electrifying throughout. The fights are incredibly hard-hitting and the use of wirework to show characters being tossed around like rag dolls is very effective.Fans of Hong Kong cinema will spot plenty of familiar faces here, including Melvin Wong and cameos from three of the LUCKY STARS performers, but best of the lot is Dick Wei in another villain performance. Wei is the most intense and violent I've seen him yet in the fighting stakes, leading to an incredible climax that has to be seen to be believed.

There's never enough of Cynthia's fighting or her lovely face. I love watching her fight.I think that she's so beautiful. She would be a great candidate for a long shot of her face. Notice the long shot on Shu Qi in Millennium Mambo, or the shorter long shots of her in So Close. Tarentino used that well with Pam Grier in Pulp Fiction. The 8 minute opening of Natalie Portman's face in Free Zone was pure bliss.The scene at the beginning where she rips her skirt to fight the bad guy, wow.What I couldn't tolerate was the horrible dubbing. I didn't know they spoke Cantonese in Japan.The love scene was so HK. I'm from HK. It wasn't sensuous, it wasn't realistic, it wasn't believably passionate. The love scenes in Tampopo were shockingly erotic and passionate. The sex scenes in Korea's Bad Guy made me feel such genuine disgust, but it was real.Logic, are at least a semi-smooth flow of credible story line, was missing.That leaves nothing but more Cynthia. I don't know, maybe I'm just gushing. For me, never enough Cynthia.

This is the first and only Cynthia Khan movie I have seen so far, and all I have to say is "WOW!". She is amazing - more flexible than rubber. If she ever got in a fight with Jackie Chan, he could conceivably beat her, but I wouldn't bet my money on it! Plus, she is MUCH cuter than Michelle Yeoh. And if she is not enough, there is an extra bonus for action-girl fans: one of the villains is a real tough bi*ch who definitely won't go down without a fight. But the men don't get short-changed, either: there is a Japanese cop and two male villains, and all three are VERY determined and VERY good at fighting - the cop and one of the bad guys engage in one of the most brutal, vicious fights that have ever been committed to film. The rest of the action scenes (car crashes, explosions, shootouts) are also supreme. The film never stops to take a breath - there is little of the comedy that usually bogs down Hong Kong productions (there ARE cameos by some of the "Lucky Stars", but they only last a few seconds). As a result, there is more room for action, action and more action. And if action is what you want, "In The Line Of Duty 3" is as good as it gets. (***1/2)

After the first two "In the Line Of Duty" movies, I was very pleased on how well the series was doing. It keeps getting better!!! Cynthia Khan did a fantastic job taking over for Michelle Yeoh. In my opinion, she's better than Michelle Yeoh, and executes her martial arts skills more aggressively. The casting of Dick Wei and Michiko Nishiwaki as the villains were great. You need baddies like these to give the hero more of a challenge. Look out for cameos by Melvin Wong, Robin Shou, Eric Tsang, and Richard Ng. Some of the cameos were for comedy purposes, and some actually had a purpose for the plot of the movie.The plot of the movie was okay. It wasn't too simple or complicated. Cynthia Khan's training as a police officer justifies her entry into the "In The Line Of Duty" series. There really isn't a strong supporting cast except the Japanese cop that helped her trail the baddies. Great comedy supported the movie and her crazy overprotected uncle was stupid funny.The action scenes for the movie were choreographed by Brandy Yuen, who is Yuen Woo Ping's sister. When I found that out, I was sure that the movie was going to have some hardcore action scenes in them. The warehouse boat fight scene was raw and gritty. The Japanese cop and the Japanese fugitive duked it out like stone cold street fighters. As the movie progresses and gets deeper, the action gets better. Cynthia Khan versus the baddies, a fight to the death!! Watch the movie and find out who inflicts devastating injuries.Overall, great entry for Cynthia Khan into the series. In my opinion, the 2nd best in the series. I wish Cynthia would make more action movies these days, but the industry is saturated with too many fake action stars (Matrix AARGGHH!!).Final Judgement: ****/****