Shen yong fei hu ba wang hua

I wasn't able to track down a copy of the first movie of this series before watching this first sequel - if I had, maybe I would have had some of the same complaints that the previous reviewer had with this movie. I can only judge this movie alone. Anyway, I found this movie to overall be a fun little movie. It never takes itself seriously, and it has a high spirit that is infectious. The action (what there is) is pretty well done.

Any complaints? Well, the biggest complaint I have with this movie is that there's no plot - it's basically a series of vignettes. The shower sequence, which could have provided some welcome gratuitous nudity, shows nothing. And while there's action in the movie, it's mostly in the second half - the first half could have used some action to liven thing up a bit more. But despite these things, I think most viewers will enjoy themselves.

This is the first of three sequels to the "Ba wang hua" ("The Inspector Wears Skirts") movie series. Sibelle Hu reprises her role as Madam Wu, as do Shui-Fan Fung as Inspector Kan.

The plot devices used in this movie are pretty much the same as its prequel - training courses in the beginning of the movie, the dragged out male and female squad members dating one another scenes in the middle of the movie, and then the big action fight scene in the end. The story is also similar: female Banshee Squad Members from the Hong Kong Police Academy undergo training supervised by Madame Wu, and then later join the male Tiger Squad Members to take down a band of terrorists. However, what is different is that four new Banshee Squad Members join the group, who were at first ridiculed and teased by their fellow members, resulting in competitive and fight scenes which I thought were pretty amusing to watch. And, Fung's Inspector Kan character was emphasized more than in the previous film, which I think is a plus because he has good screen presence with his comedic, calm and witty style of acting. He tries to woo Madam Wu, attempting to win her over the more athletic and skillful Mr. Lo (Melvin Fong) in a Karate match, providing another different plot device in the previous film that I thought was pretty amusing.

Again, while this movie is similar in story to its prequel, the subplots of the new Banshee Squad Members and Inspector Kan's more emphasized purpose in the movie, coupled with a much more exciting climax, made this film more entertaining and result in what I think is the best in the "Ba wang hua" ("The Inspector Wears Skirts") series.

Grade B-

Much of "The Inspector Wears Skirts II" feels like a retread of the first film, except that it's not as funny or as fresh: girlfights, harsh training, Stanley Fung trying to woo Sibelle Hu, Sandra Ng not finding a guy to woo her and constantly getting into trouble, a boys vs. girls martial arts tournament, etc. The action climax (in the last 10 minutes) does offer some spectacular fighting and stunts, but for most viewers it will probably be a case of "too little, too late". The absence of Ellen Chan is also unfortunate, but at least we have among the newcomers the busty Amy Yip, and a short-haired actress (sorry, I don't know her name, but she plays Joey) who pulls off a couple of impressive moves at the tournament. Anyway, it's not a painful film by any means, but you must be prepared for about 90% comedy - 10% action (while the original was about 70% - 30%) (**)