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.
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