Chiu kup gai wak

This spin-off of "Supercop" is one of my favorite Hong Kong action movies. "Once a Cop" ("Chao ji ji hua") kicks off with a rousing high-energy title sequence and never lets up. The story is meatier than most action yarns: a Chinese policewoman (Michelle Yeoh) tracks a gang of bank robbers to Hong Kong, unaware that their ringleader is her fiancé, an ex-cop (Yu Rong-Guang). This intriguing set-up searches the emotions of the main character as it explores the cultural clash between get-rich-quick Hong Kong and the duty-bound mainland. There's also a sympathetic subplot about a Hong Kong cop who's attracted to Yeoh but feels intimidated by both her and her fiancé. The action sequences are all superbly executed, credibly grounding their martial arts in the actors' own athletic abilities (rather than falling back on wires and special effects). And Yeoh's graceful gymnastic prowess has never been used to better advantage.

Unfortunately, not everything about "Once a Cop" clicks. The relationship between Yeoh and Yu isn't developed as deeply as it could be (though it's still more interesting than most action-movie romances), and it ultimately doesn't make the most of the premise's irony. Jackie Chan's cameo (reprising his "Supercop" role) is awkward and not well integrated into the story. And Alain Guernier as the central villain gives the worst impersonation of an Englishman I've ever seen (even if John Malkovich's Dr. Jekyll in "Mary Reilly" comes pretty darn close). But pound per pound - and punch per punch - "Once a Cop" is as thrilling and exciting as any reality-based martial-arts movie to come out of the Crown Colony. Anyone wowed by Michelle Yeoh's work in "Tomorrow Never Dies" should definitely check out this

After helping thwart a major hostage situation, "Jessica Yang" (Michelle Yeoh) is sent to Hong Kong to assist in a police matter there. As it so happens her fiancé, "David Chang" (Rongguang Yu) has just recently moved there because he supposedly wants to stabilize his financial situation prior to marrying her. While this may be true he also plans on robbing a large bank there with some help from an American criminal named "Roger Davidson" (Alain Guernier). What neither of them realize is that their paths are about to cross again in an unexpected way. Now rather than reveal any more of this movie and risk spoiling it for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this film is an off-shoot of the "Police Story" series (featuring Jackie Chan as "Inspector Chan Ka Kui") and essentially follows "Police Story 3-Supercop". Yet, while Jackie Chan does have a rather brief (and bizarre) scene here it focuses almost exclusively on Michelle Yeoh. That being said it lacks the peculiar mixture of comedy and charisma that only Jackie Chan can give to a film. That's not to say that this film is necessarily bad, it's just that it doesn't have the same degree of excitement as any of the "Police Story" movies. Accordingly, I rate it as just average.

This is a sequel to Supercop, but, Michelle Yeoh in the lead role. Though she is amazing, the film lacks the charm of Jackie Chan and makes this movie odd one out from the Police Story film series. To make things worse, Jackie Chan makes an unpleasant cameo in the untimely comedy, that makes no sense at all. Obviously, there are Thrilling action sequences to watch.