Way back in the 1980s and ’90s, martial artist Cynthia Rothrock was one of the queens of late night cable television. Unlike others, such as Shannon Tweed, who were known for their topless contributions to b-movies, Rothrock was an ass kicker. In her flicks, she usually played a tough cop who used her black belt skills to kick ass all over Southern California. Today’s film is a bit of a departure. Not because she didn’t play a cop or didn’t kick any ass, but because she pulled heavy supporting duties in a Hong Kong martial arts flick, something she did only a handful of times in her extensive career.
From 1989 comes City Cops, from director Liu Chia-Yung, who was mostly known for acting and stunt work.
The film follows Hong Kong cops Ching Shing (Michael Kiu Wai Miu) and Tai Kau (Shing Fui-On), as they search for fugitive Kent Tong (played by, and this is not a typo, Kent Tong). Tong fled the United States with an audio tape containing evidence of crimes, or something. The tape matters less as a MacGuffin than Kent Tong. Flying in from the States is Inspector Cindy of the FBI (Rothrock).
City Cops is something of a comedy of errors, as the Hong Kong detectives and their American counterpart have multiple encounters where they could have taken Tong into custody, only they do something stupid and he slips away. This is supposed to be a comedic film, but I find that rather than being humorous, screenwriter Barry Wong crafted a story with the narrative simplicity of a high-energy children’s cartoon, only with adult themes. There is misogyny and AIDS panic, childish dialogue and behavior, and no depth whatsoever. Scenes of romance are strained and played for cringey effect, and, in the print I saw, the dubbing was done quick and on the cheap.
But, since this is a martial arts flick from Hong Kong, there are acrobatic fight scenes, choreographed by Ridley Tsui, packed front to back, and that’s all anyone is really watching for. The heavy lifting in this department was done by Rothrock and an endless stream of stunt fighters. Rothrock did most of the fighting herself, but passed her duties over to a stunt double for the more high-flying and wall-climbing stuff typical of Hong Kong-style movies. The closest the film gets to a named antagonist who can fight is Michiko Nishiwaki playing a character named Michiko (again, not a typo).
Cops get in trouble, ass is kicked, Kent Tong disappears for another scene or two, rinse and repeat until a final, bloody confrontation with some discount bad guys, and there one has a movie. City Cops’ shitty bona fides come from the infantile screenplay, the dubbing straight from the chopped up Asian intellectual property grist mill, and the overall cheapness. The fights, although fun, aren’t notable compared to the hundreds of other Hong Kong flicks one can choose from. Somewhere out there, though, is a Cynthia Rothrock completist, and this movie is for them. City Cops enters the Watchability Index at #293, displacing Escape Plan: The Extractors.