Wong ga si je ji IV: Jik gik jing yan (1989)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Woo-ping Yuen

Writers:

Chi-Sing Cheung (writer)
Wing-Fai Wong (writer)

Release Date:

21 July 1989 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Action | Crime

Plot:

Two detectives who are up to their necks in trouble and in each other's face, as they try to shut down...

Plot Keywords:

Roman Numeral In Title | Punctuation In Title | Sequel | Number In Title

Cast

Cynthia Khan	...	Madam Rachel Yeung Lai-Ching
Donnie Yen	...	Captain Donnie Yan
Michael Wong	...	Captain Michael Wong
Yat Chor Yuen	...	Luk Wan-Ting
Kai Chi Liu	...	Ming
Chiao Chiao	...	Luk's Mother
Gei Shun Wai	...	HK Police officer
Shun-Yee Yuen	...	Drug dealer
Blaine Lamoureux	...	Officer Peter Woods (as Blaine Camoureux)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Stephen Berwick	...	Fighter in blue T-shirt
Wing Cho	...	Loan Shark's Man 1 / CIA Agent
Farid Dordar	...	Thug at pier
Tom Hyland
Jim James	...	Officer John
Yiu Man Kee	...	Loan Shark's Man 2
Farlie Ruth Kordica	...	Blonde female fighter
Eddie Maher	...	Loan Shark in Seattle
Kwok-kin Ng	...	Policeman
David Petersen
Ray Pichette	...	Violent policeman (as Ray Pachette)
John Salvitti	...	Fighter in alley
Paul Wong	...	Killer at hospital
Michael Woods	...	Black fighter on rooftop / Motorbike
Tin Hung Yee	...	Loan Shark's Thug in Seattle

Also Known As:

In the Line of Duty (UK) (video title)
In the Line of Duty 4 (Hong Kong: English title)
Key Witness (International: English title) (video title)
Survival (International: English title) (video title)
Wong ga si je ji IV: Jik gik jing yan (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence.

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Ireland:18 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:18 | UK:18 | USA:R | Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Company:

D & B Films Co. Ltd.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Michael Woods is fighting Donnie Yen on the roof and holding him in an arm lock, Woods head is originally to the right of Donnie's. In the next shot, it has swapped to the other side to be kicked.

Quotes:

Donny: [Luk is in the hospital after being shot at by an assassin] Did you tell his mother?
Madam Yeung: [shakes her head] I didn't want to upset her.
Donny: She's got a right to know what's going on. She gets upset, that's not our problem. You know what, Madam? You're too emotional. He's in here because of you. You made a bad decision. I think you're in the wrong line of work.
Madam Yeung: [skeptically] Could be and you see yourself as a hot shot. I think you're too impulsive though.
[nods to Luk]
Madam Yeung: He's only under suspicion. You didn't have to go and beat him up like that...he didn't do any harm, so you're as responsible as I am. I think you're in the wrong line too.
Donny: Look lady, it's not my job to decide who's guilty. My job is to bring in the suspect.
Madam Yeung: Mine too, but I try to do it with sensitivity. Everyone's innocent until proven guilty, so why couldn't you give him that chance to be innocent? If a guy has a reasonable request, I grant it to him. How come you're so heartless?
Donny: Now you're just taking cheap shots at me.
Madam Yeung: You're paranoid. I just don't wanna work with a machine.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Follows Huang jia shi jie zhi III: Ci xiong da dao (1988)

Hong Kong action, par excellence.

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.