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Sliding in between the fall of old school kung fu and the enthusiasm for wire-work in the 90's In The Line of Duty (or In The Line of Duty 4 or a variety of other names) is one of the greatest of all kung fu actioners made outside of a traditional setting and one that marvellously bucks the trend for keeping action mostly to a few impressive set pieces rather than spreading it evenly throughout. Here the action comes thick and fast, and as directed and choreographed by Yuen Woo Ping it looks great on screen. Wirework and editing trickery is kept to a minimum and the only impediment to following all the action is its speed and virtuosity that ensures every second of each fight offers up excitement, blink and you're sure to miss a good move and powerful blow. Performances in the fight scenes are at a high from all involved, a young Donnie Yen unleashes a dazzling storm of leg fighting fury, Cynthia Khan melds agility and elegance with her talents in ass whuppery, even in a sad sack role Chor Yuen gets to show off some good moves. There's a fine array of baddies as well, the towering Michael Woods gets a ferocious roof top fight scene whilst John Salvitti excels in an alley confrontation. What plot there is concerns an immigrant (Chor Yuen) who gets accidentally involved with drug dealers and corruption when he is suspected of having a vital tape recording. Fortunately help is at hand from Cynthia Khan's Yeung Lai Ching and Donnie Yen playing the imaginatively named Donny. Further smarts in this line come from Michael Wong playing, yep, you guessed it, Michael Wong. Plot and characters simply aren't an issue in the film though, this is mindless stuff and the sort of film where the plot vanishes into the ether of memory as soon as the film is over but the fighting remains. Occasionally the film makes bizarre feeling forays into comedy, sentiment and police ethics, such interludes are somewhat jarring but never take too long and are approached with such a heart and commitment from the players that its hard to grudge them. There's little more to say since there isn't much to the film, but it is certainly a must see for fans of the genre. The only notable criticism I can make is that the fighting is generally too clean for the amount and force of the blows being exchanged. It means that the fights can go on for a decent quantity of time, allowing maximum showcase of the talents involved, but on the other hand it's somewhat unrealistic as all involved would have been more or less demolished by most of the show-downs. Still, this is only a minor caveat to a wondrously entertaining film. If you like martial arts action and haven't seen this film yet, do yourself a favour and find a copy. You can thank me later

Great addition to the series.

The film opens in Seattle where, after meeting Cynthia in the obligatory opening kung fu scene, an innocent dockworker, Luk, accidentally runs across some corrupt CIA agents making a double-cross for a secret film negative. In a Hitchcockian twist, the negative is thought to be in the Luk's hands, when it actually has rolled into the water. Of course, no one believes the unlucky Luk doesn't have the film negative- not the CIA and not Donnie Yen, Michael Wong, or Cynthia, the cops on the case, who export Luk back to China. It is early on that Donnie is established as the hot tempered one, Cynthia is just Cynthia, and after playing a good guy in Royal Warriors (In the line of Duty 1) Michael Wong clearly is playing the good looking, but underhanded bad cop in league with the corrupt CIA. Despite trying to wine and dine Cynthia, she suspects Michael is a turncoat, and it takes awhile, and a lot of action for her to convince Donnie that Michael, his friend, is bad. All the while, they have to deal with protecting poor Luk from the renegade CIA agents at every corner.

The action (thanks to the great Yuen Woo Ping) is typical of the series, inventive and brutal, but what sets this one apart is the sheer number of action scenes. There are three kung fu fights and a shoot-out in the first fifteen minutes. In total (Yes, I counted) there are fourteen kung fu battles, three shoot-outs, a brief ice locker torture scene, a car bomb, two scenes involving hitmen on motorcycles, and two interrogation room beatings. Cynthia's highlights are a great fight on a moving ambulance in witch she is shoved though the window, her head dangling above the pavement, fighting on top of it, hanging off the front grill, and another fight with a fugly gwailo woman in a warehouse that involves some precarious scaffolding and elevator shaft fu. Donnie, however, has a the majority of the good fights, like a motorcycle chase and joust, as well as his fantastic final fight with a beefcake Ike Turner lookalike. If you are looking for action every three minutes, look no further.

The In the line of Duty series is mainly known for showcasing the talents of female action stars, Michelle Khan (Yeoh) and Cynthia Khan, however this entry is mainly Donnie Yen's chance to shine and one of the first films to gain him any notoriety as a lead. Before this films success, he was essentially going to give up hope for a movie career. Donnie actually saves Cynthia in most of her scenes. When she is drugged and fighting a knife wielding assassin, its Donnie to the rescue! When they are attacked by a motorcycle psycho hitman, its Donnie who takes him on. When Cynthia is fighting Michael Wong in the finale, it's only with Donnie's help that they finish him. So, its rather clear that Woo Ping favored Donnie, and, no disrespect to Cynthia, but kung fu fans are all the better for it.

I think this fourth installment to the In The Line Of Duty series is the first that I have seen. If you like cop action movies In The Line Of Duty 4 is truly first rate. This was made in the prime Golden Era of Hong Kong cinema, which means you are getting some of the best action, fights and stunts on Planet Earth. It's directed and choreographed by Yuen Woo Ping( who is one of the best of the best action chreographers in HK and the world). Yuen Woo Ping adapted well from period martial arts films to modern action pictures like this. Cynthia Khan is the leading lady and Donnie Yen teams up for a early performance. This fits into the "girls with guns" subgenre that was popular in HK, but also has lots of great fight sequences. The stunts are insane and as a whole this stands up to pretty much any action movies coming out of the east or the west. I definitely need to check out the rest of the series as I really enjoyed this fourth installment.

"In The Line Of Duty 4" is one of the best kung fu movies ever made. I will simply list the reasons:

1) An astounding Cynthia Khan. She looks great, she fights great, and when she's required to, she can also act!

2) An incredible, young, full of I-want-to-show-the-world-what-I-can-do energy Donnie Yen.

3) Fight choreography that cannot be topped (and virtually wire-free, too).

4) Great, skillful, ruthless villains. Guys (and one woman) that make you wonder: can they be defeated?

5) Awesome, death-defying stunts.

6) A take-no-prisoners, anything-goes attitude that is unique to Hong Kong action cinema.

7) A simple and functional plot, that still manages to touch such subjects as friendship, betrayal and the emotional involvement of law enforcers.

Don't miss this film. Rating it within its genre, I give it a full **** out of 4 stars.

It's non-stop fight action all the way in director Yuen Woo-ping's amazing martial arts classic 'In The Line Of Duty'.

Sporting a great line in blouson jackets (leather AND tassled suede) and tight snow-washed jeans, feisty female fight star Cynthia Khan, aided by high-kicker Donnie Yen, battles nasty gangsters and corrupt cops in this prime slice of 80s kung fu cinema.

OK, the story might not be anything special—a witness to a crime is hunted by both the police and the gangsters—but with blistering chop-socky and dangerous stunts from the opening frames to the end credits, those who enjoy Hong Kong mayhem will be in heaven when they watch this.

Using virtually none of his trademark wire-work (that, in my opinion, ruins many of his films), Woo-ping presents the viewer with a roller-coaster ride of top action set-pieces and amazing acrobatic mêlées that show off his stars' skills to great effect. Khan is easy on the eye, but deadly in a fight, and gives her all in several brutal battles, one of which sees her performing an amazing routine with a couple of spanners standing in for a pair of nunchakus, and another which has her fighting atop a moving ambulance. Yen is also on fine form, performing more than his fair share of life-threatening action, but his best moment is undoubtedly the final rooftop punch-up with the massive Michael Woods—David and Goliath, kung fu style!

Throw in some great motorcycle-fu, loads of energetic gun fights, a sword fight or two, and good support from both Yat Chor Yuen (as the unlucky witness Luk) and Michael Wong (as a traitorous CIA agent), and the result is a hugely enjoyable masterpiece of the genre.