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13 reviews in total

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8 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
Battling Babes at their best, 27 May 2005

Author: Tony Ryan (tpr007) from United Kingdom

A revolutionary a film for kick starting and defining the Battling Babes genre, in the same way 'Zu' was for the fantasy swordplay movies, 'Yes, Madam!' combined the best of Hong Kong action cinema with a fresh, sexy and exciting look. Rarely ever had women played such dominant roles and kicked as much butt as they do here, while still being allowed to show a coy, feminine side.

Both Yeoh and Rothrock made their action debuts in this film, and they couldn't have been picked at a better time. The action choreography in HK was entering a new, fast and brutal phase while both girls were at the peak of their physical fitness. The end result is not only the definitive femme-fatale flick, but also one of the finest actioners to leap on to the screen in the mid 80's. The final fight scene alone is more than worth the cost of the DVD and puts Hollywood to shame with its raw power and inventiveness. The best offered in the West at the time was a macho Sigourney Weaver in 'Aliens', but even she wouldn't have been able to touch these girls! Also known as 'In the line of Duty 2' following the later produced 'Royal Warriors' aka 'In the line of Duty' (1986) 'Yes, Madam!' set a new trend in the later 80's whereby attractive women such as Cynthia Khan, Moon Lee, Yukari Oshima and many more were given free reign to dish out the pain, being made to look like the greatest screen fighters ever courtesy of rigorous training from the likes of Dick Wei, Yuen Kwai and Yuen Woo Ping. Even today we are reaping the rewards as female faces, new and old, do battle on the screen in modern classics like 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'.

Entertaining cameos from Sammo Hung and Richard Ng as well as great fighting performances from the likes of Chung Fa and Dick Wei makes this a testosterone junkies dream! Ultimately lacking in great cinematography or even much of a plot, the name of the game is to excite the audience in as many ways possible, whether it's with lingering shots of a luscious, young Michelle Yeoh or an animated, head and arm cracking La Rothrock - this movie should not be missed by anyone interested in action - "Hong Kong style".

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3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Rothrock + Yeoh = Dead Dealing Action!, 2 March 2001
Author: Ersin (ersin1@zonnet.nl) from The Netherlands

The first chapter of this movie (In the Line of Duty 1) was a hit in Asia in the '80 years. So the producer company (D&B: famous producer company of martial arts and Made in Hong Kong movies) decided to make a sequel.

Michelle Yeoh (Khan) is not a real martial arts expert like Cynthia Rothrock. M.Yeoh was a Chinese ballet. Cynthia Rothrock was 5 years undefeated female karate champion of USA.

The story is simple. But the action scenes are perfect. What would you except more than action from these two dangerous-dead dealing women? They are showing us all their martial arts techniques. If you like martial arts movies then this is your `must to see movie'.

If you decide to watch this movie then find a Cantonese version. English translated version is very bad. Check out for Rothrock 's Scottish accent in English version. I would like to know who made this terrible translating in English.

Also recommend for all Cynthia Rothrock fans, like me.Michelle Yeoh is still the best partner of Cynthia Rothrock. .I hope that Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock ever will play in a movie again.

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6 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
Dated but still fun, 5 September 2002
Author: modius from United Kingdom

Hong Kong Cinema has on many occasions either broken the mould of action movies or set a new high in action movies. This movie does the first. By pitting two of the world's major female fighters in the same kick-ass movie they break the mould of a majorly male lead industry.

Whilst this is comendable and indeed fantastic, the result is of kick-ass action female heros shows even females can kick ass and look damn good doing it.

Unfortuently although this film is fun, it isn't up to scratch on the plot, writing or characters. It still plays like the old cliched action movies of the past. It still has one-dimensional people, over the top bad guys and a story that doesn't make sense the more it is explained.

You shouldn't concern yourself with the plot in this movie, although it really does pull this movie down slowly but surely. Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock team up to track down the murderer of a British Diplomat. Rothrock is from Scotland Yard and immediatley makes an impression with her almost upskirt camera angles and her long skirt waving about on screen as she kicks and beats an escaping convict.

But Rothrock's character is muddled. Why is she constantly beating up prisoners? Why is she angry all the time? Was the diplomat Rothrock's father? Nope. Does Scotland Yard's way of questioning come from a POW camp? Who knows. Fortuently her character is muted along the film so we don't have to think about it. Rothrock's fiery character is played against the sure and measured response of the beautiful Michelle Yeoh.

The film is rather dated. The film quality isn't all that good. The one dimensional characters do not make it feel as good as it could have been. Dick Wei in his usual bad guy routine plays a damn good bodyguard to the drug dealing bad guy but during the end sequences he is left as the only man to stop these two girls. Their two on one fight is very, very short...It should have been five times as long.

Also I have a problem with the character of "Mad Dog". Who is he? Why is he there? What's wrong with his 'tache? Why has he got a US army uniform on? His character is perhaps the worst of the one dimensional characters in the film, and that's not even including the ravenousily cackling drugs baron bad guy. I kept shouting "stop laughing for goodness sake".

The end fight sequence is amazing as Rothrock and Yeoh gatecrash the drugs baron's mansion - and the ending is pretty good with the bad guy getting away with his crimes *well, almost*. But it isn't as good as the DVD seems to think it is.

The DVD version has no audio commentary, the interview has no questions just answers and when questioned the interviewees don't even talk about the movie, which seems strange considering this is what I paid for.

As police action movies goes Yes Madam or Police Assassins is a dated but still fun attempt to break the mould of action movies. And whilst it does do this, it doesn't do it in the same way as say Jackie Chan's prolific and far superior "Police Story". I'd buy that instead. But if your into female fighting films, this is probably a good a start as any.

Overall: 4/10.

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2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
Police Assassins On Da Payroll!!! Cynthia and Michelle are just too vicious!!! YES MADAM!!!, 3 February 2004
Author: jrat6200 (jrat6200@yahoo.com) from San Antonio, Texas

Hong Kong Cinema has to be the best to happen to action film history. Well, I'll say Asian Cinema has had a tremendous impact period. Hollywood just can't stop duplicating their style (Matrix for example). Hong Kong action films in the 80's should be given a lot of praise because of what has been accomplished. I'm very happy to say that I'm a martial arts FANATIC!!!

Yes Madam! (A.K.A. Police Assassins) kicked A**!!! I loved the way Michelle and Cynthia connected with each other. I have a lot of respect for those 2 ladies along with Cynthia Khan (another female heroine). The last fight says enough, it doesn't need to be explained. When I saw this movie for the first time, I rewinded that same scene at least 12 times to get that rush again. This is the type of action that action films are missing today. There are too many digital effects and wire work in today's line of work. I wish Hong Kong action films would repeat this formula again along with other movies.

About the content of the movie: Well, the movie is kind of on and off with action scenes. At times, I think the movie didn't know whether to be serious or be comedic. The scene with Sammo Hung, David Chiang, and Richard Ng should've been omitted. I liked the fact that Tsui Hark was in this movie. This is the only movie where I've seen him acting. He did a good job though. He interaction between aspirin and strepsil was funny enough. The first 5 minutes of the movie was off da hook!! Michelle shows off her bad a** cop skills. Cynthia shows off some moves at the airport. And then..... THE FINAL SCENE!!!! To tell the truth, I bought the movie because of the final scene. Those 2 ladies were so graceful with the fight scenes at the end. I enjoyed every punch and kick.

Its amazing how Michelle's dancing skills helped so much with her martial arts training. IMPRESSIVE!!!

My Overall Judegement: 3.5/4 stars

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4 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Amazing action scenes that exceeded my expectations, 25 May 2006

Author: petep from Naperville, IL

So here it is -- Yes, Madam -- Michelle Yeoh's first starring role, back in 1985. I'd been wanting to see this one for a few years. I was a bit worried because the DVD appeared to be a bootleg once it arrived, but it worked fine, so I won't complain. But wow, Yeoh was so amazing in the film. She had won the title of Miss Malaysia just a couple years earlier, for damn good reason, but she took her start in the action genre seriously and trained hard for a few months before shooting began. Sammo Hung himself was the producer (and has a cameo, along with half the industry), and he was looking for two female leads, to make something different from the typical male buddy-cop films. For a co-star they got Cynthia Rothrock, who was making her start in the genre as well. Though she was the real deal as far as martial arts skill. I was interested in the film more for Yeoh but Rothrock certainly held her own. Well, with the action, not the acting, ha ha.

Now then, the average American audience might not think much of the movie. It's full of the kind of very odd and stupid HK humor that I've gotten used to. But Yeoh shines in every moment she's on screen, and the action scenes are incredible. In particular the final fights near the end of the film had me as excited as being at a Bulls game. I couldn't believe some of the stuff they were pulling off. My heart goes out to those stunt men!! The actual final minute of the film caught me off guard, though it was realistic. But damn... that ten minutes or so of fighting was among the best I've ever seen.

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1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Fairly fun but very much flawed Hong Kong action fare, 25 August 2010

Author: Bloodwank from United Kingdom

Ah, this film could have been so great. I tend to like Hong Kong actioners from the 80's so Police Assassins didn't cause me too much irritation for all its flaws, but its sad that the film is the way it is given its potential. Potential that amounts to this: Michelle Yeoh teamed up with Cynthia Rothrock. Two great ass-kicking ladies, Rothrcok with her genuine martial arts talents and Yeoh a graceful mover with some great training behind her (though she wasn't originally a martial artist), they make for a fine team and the film zings whenever they are together. Regrettably their time together is much less than it should have been, as the film inexplicably chooses to focus on a trio of dimwitted petty criminals who get in over their heads in a bit of dirty corporate dealing. John Sham and Hoi Mang are little more than irritating as the oddly named Strepsil and Asprin, while Tsui Hark (best known as a veteran director) does a bit better as the wheeler dealer forgery expert Panadol, perhaps the only one of the three who actually fits into the film. He puts across his sly and shifty, mischievous role pretty nicely and gets a few decent scenes, and isn't cloying in his comedy or emotions like the other two, who overact, mug and generally detract from affairs. Most of the comedy in this film is "off", the mixture of light and seriousness is even less well handled here than it is in other films of the same stripe. The films other problem is that the plot is pretty inconsequential, the device on which events hinge is never well explained, thus the film lacks suspense, and the arch baddies is never quite villainous enough to be an effective force, though his two head hench-people (Dick Wei and Fat Chung) are appropriately menacing and fine fighters. Also, the film is largely inconsequential in events until the halfway mark, there are fights and the pace is fair, but it all feels contrived and hastily put together. For all this the film isn't too bad in the end, mostly due to some great action and the fine style on display from director Cory Yuen. He knows just when to slow up or slow down a fight, plenty of smart angles and fast paced editing that remains coherent whilst keeping the pace rapid, also fitting in a couple of nifty jump cuts. His choreography ranges from solid in earlier stages to excellent in the rip-snorting finale and even with the aforementioned plot contrivances, when the film gets moving it gets pretty exciting. To sum up the good points, they just about balance out the bad and leave the film ultimately moderately satisfying. It surely isn't great (it took me a few viewings to really warm to it), but if 80's style Hong Kong action is your cup of tea, this film is certainly better than a poke in the eye with a wet stick. A low 6/10 then.

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Okay actioner if you don't think too much, 13 April 2012

Author: Dave from Ottawa from Canada

Hong Kong action movies in the 80s were made on such short production schedules that calling them 'quickies' is almost flattery. This one is no exception, a serio-comic cop actioner with a crazy plot that is at once simplistic and yet totally unbelievable. The police procedural plot is so silly and slap-dash it makes Crockett and Tubbs look like Holmes and Watson. Famed director Tsui Hark stars as a two-bit forger who, by a series of coincidences, stumbles across a valuable piece of microfilm, then discovers that a dangerous hit man is after it too. Detectives Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock team up to follow the microfilm up the criminal food chain, hoping it will lead them, by another series of coincidences, I guess, to the hit man. Or something. I swear, Hong Kong is about the only place where a movie maker would attempt to shoot a murder mystery / police procedural story without bothering to fully work out the plot first... Or bothering to check with a police technical adviser to see how many laws the cops broke in 90 minutes. Anyway, Hark is pretty funny in his scenes as a coward adept at dodging and running away and sticking other people with his problems, and Yeoh and Rothrock kick major butt in their action scenes. If you take the movie on its merits and don't compare it to CSI too closely it makes for pretty decent low brow entertainment. Note that (this film having been shot in 1985) Yeoh and Rothrock - and everybody else - did all of their own stunts and that no wire work was used in the fight scenes, just a little slo-mo to stylize the action. As athletes, they were pretty impressive!

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Fun but could've been better, 21 January 2012

Author: henrydeluca from United States

In this '80s Hong Kong action film, Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock team up to find a microfilm containing group of villains' illegal activities after a British diplomat has been killed. Unfortunately three thieves have the microfilm and the police need to find it in order to have evidence to make an arrest.

Although the film stars Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock as kick-ass ladies working as police officers, the story seems to focus more on the three thieves who have the microfilm, which bothered me in a way. The main reason is because I was looking forward to see the chemistry between Yeoh and Rothrock. But instead they are presented as if they are secondary characters. And not only that all of the characters here are one dimensional, which leaves the audience asking themselves questions such as why would Rothrock's character beat up a suspect for answers or why one of the villains is wearing a U.S military- like uniform.

Regardless of the film's plot there are some great action sequences, especially the fight in the finale. The stunts shown will make you say out loud "that's gotta hurt!" Remember, we're talking about no CGI, green screen, or wire work!!!!!!

Overall I think the film could've been better if the filmmakers worked on character development (especially for our two female leads!!) and could've worked on writing a better ending.

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Mostly lives up to its reputation, 5 March 2009

Author: gridoon2012

"Police Assassins" AKA "Yes, Madam!" marked the first action role of the now internationally famous Michelle Yeoh, and established her as one of THE top female stars in her field. When you see the movie, it's easy to understand her success: she moves, shoots, fights and poses with the speed and confidence of a veteran, as well as with the enthusiasm of a rookie. The film also marked the Honk Kong debut of the fierce Cynthia Rothrock, who is generally considered to have done her best work in this part of the world and not later in America. Essentially this is a female buddy-cop film, except that the rivalry between the two women doesn't last as long as in most male examples of the genre, and they soon join forces to get the bad guys. The most notable among those is Dick Wei, the kind of guy who doesn't pull any punches when he fights women (check out his fights with Cynthia Khan in "In The Line Of Duty 3"), which ends up making both him AND the women look good. There are some overextended "slapstick" sequences that don't really fit with the violent style of the movie (particularly those with Tsui Hark), but the action scenes deliver what they promise. *** out of 4.

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A Dizzying But Fun Ride, 14 November 2008

Author: crossbow0106 from United States

Michelle Yeoh plays a fast moving cop in Hong Kong who is exposed to Dirty Harry type situations in this film which is part of the "In The Line Of Duty" film series. The film is mostly at accelerated speed, and it is the action that carries the scene. The constant fighting and attempted escapes make you forget what is a simple plot about microfilm. Cynthia Rothrock is also in this, so you have two butt kicking cops. The movie loses some steam due to the silliness of some of its characters, but you'll still like the action. It plays in high definition on the Kung Fu Channel, so if you have access this is the way to see it. Michelle Yeoh has, of course, done more compelling work after this, but I think you'll enjoy it, even the violent scenes.

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