In the Line of Duty 3 (5 Stars)

How many films have been made in the history of cinema? Excluding short films. There are many different ways to describe what's a film and what isn't, but the general consensus is that there have been about 500,000 films. I've only seen a small percentage of them. I've already put together a list of my favourite films, but how do I know that there isn't a brilliant film that I haven't yet seen?

Recently I stumbled on the "In the Line of Duty" films almost by accident. My jaw dropped. How can there be such brilliant films that I've never heard about for the last 35 years? There were seven films in the series from 1985 to 1991. Supposedly the first four films were the best, but I'll make sure I get my hands on all seven of them.

The continuity between the films is limited. There are different characters in each film, but the third film introduces Cynthia Khan, who continues until the seventh film.

Cynthia plays the rookie police officer Rachel Yeung. The film starts with her first day on the job. She's given wise advice about what to do. If it's a traffic violation, write a ticket; if it's a robbery, she should stay out of the way in case he's armed.

Does she take her colleague's advice? No. When a thief runs past she leaps into action.

She has to rip open her tight police skirt to do her kung fu kicks.

This leads to an immediate promotion. She's assigned to the Special Crime Unit, which is run by her uncle. He's a blatant sexist. He doesn't think that women should be policewomen. He advises her to quit her job so he can hire her as a secretary. He deserves a kung fu kick where it hurts most.

The main story is about two members of the Japanese Red Army. They're stealing jewels to finance the purchase of weapons for their cause. In her new role as a police inspector, Rachel Yeung fights against overwhelming odds.

What an incredible film! I wish I'd seen it years ago.

I just have one piece of advice. Watch it in Chinese with subtitles. The English dubbing is awful.