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(1991) Sea Wolves / In The Line of Duty VII: Sea Wolves (In Chinese with English subtitles) ACTION

Called "Sea Wolves" but sometimes linked to "In The Line Of Duty" series since the main character Cynthia Kahn has starred in at least three or four of those, depending on where you live. Anyways, a huge pointless slaughter of Vietnamese refugees occurring at a cargo ship heading straight to Hong Kong and are also smuggling drugs, one of the refugees escapes with the help of his old friend played by Simon Yam, the crew then seeks out to find and execute them since they're a witness of the criminal operations. Actress Cynthia Kahn also returns as a female cop, who gets involved in attempting to locate the two who are on the run. Plot is absolutely nonsense but because I'm a fan of Cynthia Kahn's fighting films, I'm able to tolerate this and overlook plenty of plot holes and the coincidences that happen.

....but it gets better as it goes along, IF you're patient enough. The biggest disappointment here (already hinted at by the DVD cover) is that the star of the previous ITLOD films, Cynthia Khan, has been demoted to an essentially supporting role; the leads this time are Simon Yam and Gary Chow. The film is also excessively cruel, and the fight scenes in the first half are unmemorable. But they get better - as does the film - in the second half, when Cynthia gets more involved with them, and the final set-piece - a 10-minute fight, set aboard a ship, featuring Simon, Gary and Cynthia VS. the villains who are modern-day pirates - almost redeems the entire film. The ship setting is well-used in the fighting, and Cynthia finally lets loose (her best moment: taking on a much bigger Asian guy). In conclusion, "ITLOD 7" does not even come close to the quality of parts 3 and 4, but patient HK action fans will get some minor rewards. (**1/2)