Bullet Points: In the Line of Duty IV
Even if you’ve never seen a In the Line of Duty movie before, don’t panic. The series seems to be an “In name only” sequel series. What caught my eye was a young Donnie Yen. I was sold, and I found it streaming on Amazon. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get into the English dub, but I easily found an original audio version on YouTube. The funny part: The Cantonese version is still a dub, because a lot of the actors can’t speak the language. Fortunately, this is the type of movie you watch for the action, not the story. With my trusty Bullet Points, I’ll guide you through this incredibly entertaining Hong Kong action flick from the late 80’s.
- The Plot: I love Hong Kong action. However, I’m not the biggest fan of the sappy melodrama I sometimes have to sit through to get to the good parts. Fortunately, In the Line of Duty IV has a very simple plot to follow with very little sappiness. The story starts with a murder suspect in Seattle, and it ends up in Hong Kong. Donnie Yen and Cynthia Khan are the Seattle cops, and Michael Wong plays some other cop in Hong Kong. The main point of the plot you should know: The suspect they are chasing isn’t a cop killing murderer. In fact, he’s actually a witness to the crime. However, we wouldn’t have a film if the cops realized this in the beginning.
- The Action: The action is excellent and it occurs throughout the film. There’s a lot of crazy scenes with people using every single tool they can get their hands on. Cynthia Khan is a good fighter. She has help from a stunt person, but she does at least 75% of her own fighting. There’s a few obvious “Hey that’s a guy in a wig doing that stunt” but she sells her moves very well. The opposite would be Michael Wong. He knows zero Cantonese, and zero fight moves. His limited action scenes are clearly the use of a double. They didn’t even try to hide it. Still, Michael Wong deserves mad props. He’s cast in crazy action movies based only on his look. He has a lot of swagger. Who cares if he can’t fight?
- Donnie Yen Up In Here: This is why I watched the film. I wanted to see Donnie fight. He doesn’t disappoint. He’s such a strong puncher and kicker. Donnie plays the “hot head” cop. He has a temper, and he believes the suspect is the murderer. He’s going crazy chasing the suspect, and he still finds time to dropkick a guy riding a motorcycle, and beat up drug dealers. The previous films in the series focused primarily on the female leads, but this is where Part IV is different. Donnie and Cynthia share the spotlight, and it is Donnie that gets to have one of the coolest final boss battles I’ve seen.
- The Baddest Bad Alive: I learned something very important while watching. I discovered Michael Woods. Think Steve James with even bigger muscles, mixed with the agility of Michael Jai White. This guy is the real deal. I found a tribute video to him on YouTube with a song playing called “The Baddest Bad Alive.” It is very accurate. It seems like he did some movies in Hong Kong with Donnie. If any of the readers out there have seen Tiger Cage 1 & 2 , Crystal Hunt, Ballistic Kiss or Cheetah on Fire you probably recognize him from his fights with Donnie. I watched his fight with Donnie multiple times in Part IV. It is a rooftop battle to the death. Each fighter is at their best. Michael throws Donnie like he’s a feather. If you choose not to watch this movie, at least watch this fight. I can’t say enough how much I enjoyed it.
In the Line of Duty IV was a treasure hiding in plain sight. It was SPL and Flash Point which made me a Donnie fan, but now I want to go back and watch more of his early work. Hit me up with some recommendations on this site or Twitter. For now, I leave you with some Bonus Bullet Points…
- Woo-Ping Yuen: This man directed Jackie Chan in Drunken Master, was a fight coordinator on the Kill Bill films and acted in this crazy film I once watched called The Oily Maniac. He’s the director of In the Line of Duty IV, and he’s had quite the career.
- Farlie Ruth Kokdica: She’s a Karate Champion, and she’s in one of the most action packed scenes in the film. A CQC fight with Cynthia Khan which ends in a long fall. Why she didn’t get a lot of other work, is a mystery to me.
- Hospital Bed Dummy: I love it when the bad guys try to kill someone, but end up killing the hell out of a dummy doll instead. If you enjoy scenes like this, then In the Line of Duty IV might be the movie for you.
