After the success of 1985’s Yes, Madame!, Hong Kong production company D & B Films spent the next decade releasing of series of thematically-linked features. Known by the series name In The Line of Duty, director David Chung reteamed with Michelle Yeoh for another entry into the girls-with-guns genre with Royal Warriors.
When a hijacking occurs onboard a plane, the event is stopped by the combined efforts of Hong Kong officer Yip (Yeoh), Japanese Interpol agent Yamamoto (Hiroyuki Sanada), and security guard Wong (Michael Wong). The team incurs the wrath of Vietnam veterans, out to avenge the deceased hijackers.
Central to the film are the three leads, each brought alive by the performers’ fantastic physicality. Yip is the mild-mannered officer following what’s right, who finds herself tested as she experiences more of the villains’ brutality. Interested in her is Wong, an excitable and arrogant character who speaks before thinking. His pest-like actions may test viewers’ patience, although it plays into the story as he understands the need to mature. Rounding off the group is Yamamoto, a quiet soul that wishes to leave his role to spend more time with his wife and daughter.
As the villains take extravagant lengths to enact their revenge, the story can feel by the numbers as it focuses on enacting vengeance as opposed to the effects of such an undertaking. What surrounds the story makes the film burst alive, as the breathless action sequences never fail to astound. The fight choreography moves with such brutal fluidity, regardless of whether it occurs in close quarters within a digger, or during unfolding carnage within a nightclub.
The high point within the 96-minute runtime is a destructive car chase, where vehicles are thrown around with the force of a child vigorously discarding their toys. It’s all part of this fast-paced action gem with little regard for human life, unfolding so fantastically. From the opener with a brawling gang to the all-out finale where furious vengeance takes over, this is a Hong Kong action gem which deserves to be seen by more Western viewers.
Royal Warriors is out now on EUREKA CLASSICS Blu-Ray
James’ Archive: Royal Warriors (1986)
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