China O'Brien (4½ Stars)

Cynthia Rothrock spent the first five years of her acting career making films in Hong Kong. Her martial arts skills made her a perfect actress for films such as "Yes Madam". In 1990 she returned to America to make films in her own country, but there was still a Chinese connection. "China O'Brien" is set in America and has western (i.e. non-Chinese) actors, but it was distributed by Golden Harvest.

China O'Brien is a policewoman in the Big City, presumably New York. When breaking up a street fight she shoots someone pointing a gun at her partner. When he's lying dead, China realises it was only a child. She quits the police force and swears never to use a gun again. She returns to her home town, Park City in Utah. It's a sleepy little town, not a city at all, but a criminal boss has set up a drug smuggling ring in the town. He's effectively taken over the town, since he's bribed the judge and other officials to work for him.

China's father is the local sheriff and one of the few in the town who isn't corrupt. He's killed by a bomb planted in his car. China decides to become the next sheriff. She still won't carry a gun, but her martial arts skills are more than enough to do her job. I'm not enough of an expert to recognise what fighting skill she uses in the films. Cynthia has black belts in seven different fighting styles, so it's different to tell. I suspect that she's using primarily karate, with a lot of groin kicks.

It's interesting to see that the film was set in a real town. Usually towns are invented for films. We don't see any Mormons in the town. Maybe it's not such a religious place. What's strange is that her best friend Matt, who she's known since high school, has a strong Australian accent. No explanation is given.

I watched the film on a stunning 4K disc. This is the future of home cinema.