China O'Brien

This film and its sequel remain among the best Western showcases for Cynthia Rothrock's martial ability. Lori 'China' O'Brien (Rothrock) plays a cop who also teaches martial arts. One night, in an attempt to prove to a disbelieving student that martial arts could be applied to the street, she ends up killing a kid to defend a friend. Overcome with remorse, she resigns from the force and visits her parents. Unfortunately, instead of getting away from the trouble, it found her... As martial arts fare goes, this is not bad. You really felt like Rothrock's performance when she sheds tears at a very nasty incident was quite convincing. Another thing that works in the film's favour is the chemistry between Rothrock and co-star Richard Norton (Australian Karate exponent). As you might expect, though, the fights are what this and its sequel are really about, and these are some of the best Western fights ever, I reckon. None of the slowness of later efforts, and Rothrock's blows look very powerful (Hong Kong actor/director Sammo Hung says they ARE powerful). A big hand to Keith Cooke for his lethal boot-work, though. Switch your brain off and enjoy an early slice of real girl power.

China O'Brien; big city police woman; martial arts trainer, is forced to hand in her badge and head home to her father and the small town where she grew up. The peaceful town she knew is now struggling against the clutches of organized crime. When her father, the town sheriff, is killed China decides to run for his position and clean up the town. The poll results spark a series of confrontations that finally decide who runs the town . . .

Cynthia Rothrock displays her martial arts prowess in this enjoyable B-film. The low budget is obvious, the acting is a little amateurish, but there's a strong aura of a sense of right reeking from the three protagonists, especially from Rothrock, and you're rooting for them. Rothrock comes across sincere, sweet and likeable, but of course her main appeal is kicking the bad guys to oblivion and she does that numerous times in some well-choreographed fight scenes. There's enough spinning kicks to send you in a tizzy. And she is ably supported in the kicking the posterior league by Richard Norton and Keith Cooke, both are equally as impressive as Lady Dragon Rothrock. The fight scene in the gym is a standout and inventive. An enjoyable Rothrock vehicle, which I think is her best.

Martial arts supremo Cynthia Rothrock (think: the American equivalent of Michelle Yeoh) heads the cast in this engaging straight-to-video effort that packs more punch than a dozen similar offerings, thanks to the surehand direction of Robert Clouse (down on his luck, but occasionally recalling his ENTER THE DRAGON glory days) and a ton of scintillating action scenes that never let up. The film has an almost Jackie Chan-style atmosphere going on in the various battles, as our three heroes use all manner of scenery and props to battle and bruise the gangs of bad guy henchmen that pop up at every opportunity to do some damage. Fridge doors flip into faces, dumbbells smack the faces of the unwary, bodies smash into mirrors and there's almost as smashing glass as in the finale of POLICE STORY (well, not quite).

After a decent run of Chinese films in the late '80s, Rothrock was billed as the next martial arts sensation a la Jean-Claude Van Damme, Steven Seagal et al. Well, that never happened, and Rothrock has never risen from the straight-to-video genre, but that's the general population's problem, not the B-movie fan's. Because Rothrock kicks ass. She also happens to be lithe, sexy and quite sweet, but the main emphasis is on her ass-kicking prowess and it never lets up. Whether kicking some Chinese guy's head in slow-motion across the room, breaking a bad guy's neck or punching a hulking brute of a man out with one hit, Rothrock lights up the screen with a martial arts energy possessed by only a few. Here, she's equalled by Richard Norton, another crossover from Hong Kong cinema and Jackie Chan's regular sparring partner. Norton is alive, his flame burning with kung fu excellency, and watching him whup ass over and over again is a real treat. The final member of the heroic trio is the unknown Keith Cooke, whose body seems possessed with the spirit of Bruce Lee in his great fights.

The plot is a highly predictable one that reminded me of WALKING TALL. There's a rough town out in the wilderness that needs cleaning up – so step in Rothrock, Norton and Cooke. Most of the other cast members are relatively unskilled, both in acting and in martial arts. None of the opponents really provide the heroes with a real test of their skills, like you'd seen in an '80s Hong Kong film; all are knocked cold after a few moves. Most of the actors were seemingly hired on the street, boasting this sole film on their CV; even the bad guy Sommers, played by Steven Kerby, only ever appeared in this one film. The only other distinguished person in the cast is Patrick Adamson, who makes his corrupt cop loathsome without even really seeming to act much – I guess that means kudos is deserved for this man.

So, in all, CHINA O'BRIEN is a B-movie martial arts flick that covers old ground but covers it in such an exciting, well-directed way that you'll end up loving it. Massive bouts in a school gym and a bar-room brawl are the real highlights of the movie, but it all moves so fast and with such a pace that you'll never resort to checking your watch. The three good guys returned for CHINA O'BRIEN II; and I'll sure as hell be checking that one out as well!

Saw this on TBS the other night, expecting the usual poor substitute for a good action movie. True, I did get a mediocre film overall, but as a form of reimbursement, I received a bunch of quality martial-arts sequences.

Yes, the plot is amazingly uncomplicated - the most unexpected thing (and also the dumbest) is when not just one, but TWO car bombs explode within two days of each other. But besides the improbability of a Utah native growing up with an Australian accent (can we assume he picked that up in the "Special Forces"?), at least it's not too unrealistic.

But this movie was basically created to showcase Rothrock's abilities, and they are readily apparent. Someone mentioned that this film was meant as a vehicle for Jackie Chan; this is also easy to see based on the beautifully choreographed fight scenes that make good use of the available props (the scene in the high school's weight room is particularly fun).

Overall score: With regards to the filmmaking process, this one gets a low rating thanks to bad sound effects, cheap production and minimal writing talent. However, the great fights more than make up for it. Five (5) stars out of a possible 10.

An obviously low-budget effort: the sound is lousy, the editing is sloppy, the writing is cliche. The acting, while not Oscar material, is surprisingly well done. But what really shines are the fight scenes (and that's what you wanted to see the film for, anyway -- right?) They're very well choreographed, and the actors very obviously know what they're doing. And of course, Cynthia Rothrock is a total babe (and that's *really* what you wanted to see the film for -- right? :)