In the Line of Duty I-IV (Blu-ray Review)

Reviewed by: Stephen Bjork
Review Date: Jan 10, 2025
Format: Blu-ray Disc

Director

Various

Release Date(s)

1985-1989 (May 16, 2023)

Studio(s)

D&B Films (88 Films)

Film/Program Grade: See Below
Video Grade: See Below
Audio Grade: See Below
Extras Grade: B
Overall Grade: B+

https://www.ebay.com/

Review

Some franchises are born; others are made. Still others are... well, made up out of whole cloth. That’s especially true of international productions, where dubbing, new titles, and creative editing can connect dots that were never intended to be connected in the first place. The most notorious example of that might be the American Robotech saga, which awkwardly stitched together three completely unrelated Japanese series: Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross, and Genesis Climber MOSPEADA. The same thing has happened in the world of Hong Kong filmmaking, where dubbed export versions have been tied together retroactively. Further complicating matters, the feedback loop of the import/export process has resulted in that kind of revisionism working its way back to Hong Kong, resulting in plenty of entertainment value for fans, but confusion for anyone who tries to create a straightforward catalogue of all the films. Such is the case with the In the Line of Duty franchise.

Turning In the Line of Duty into a series was an afterthought from the original production company D&B Films, so the confusion is exacerbated by the fact that the franchise doesn’t actually start at the beginning. The first film in the series, Royal Warriors (aka Wong ga jin si), had been moderately successful when it was exported as In the Line of Duty. D&B wanted to cash in on that success quickly, so they took a completely different film that had been released the previous year, Yes, Madam! (aka Huang jia shi jie), and retitled it In the Line of Duty II (or some variant thereof) for other markets. That was followed by two films that openly used the same naming system in Hong Kong as well: In the Line of Duty III (aka Huang jia shi jie zhi III: Ci xiong da dao) and In the Line of Duty IV (aka Wong ga si je IV: Jik gik jing yan). Yet even that moderate level of consistency was quickly discarded, with the next three films once again carrying their own titles in Hong Kong while still being exported as In the Line of Duty films in some other markets.

However confusing all of that may be, one thing is perfectly clear: most of these films have little or nothing to do with each other. Royal Warriors and Yes, Madam! both star Michelle Yeoh, but playing completely different characters. Cynthia Khan did end up playing the same character for the rest of the franchise, but that’s the only real connection between any of the films. The true unifying factor is that they’re all “girls with guns” cop thrillers, most of them on a slightly more serious level than rival studio Golden Harvest’s The Inspector Wears Skirts franchise. These women kick major ass regardless of the titles, and that’s all that really matters in the end.

Speaking of ass-kicking, there’s Michelle Yeoh. Royal Warriors stars Yeoh (credited here as Michelle Khan) as inspector Michelle Yip of the Royal Hong Kong Police, who ends up drawn into an inadvertent triangle when she teams up with air marshal Michael Wong (played by actor Michael Wong) and Japanese police detective Peter Yamamoto (Sanada Hiroyuki) to thwart an in-flight hijacking. Yip is all business, Wong is devil-may-care, and Yamamoto is a tortured soul, but together they manage to prevent further innocent loss of life. Unfortunately, the hijacking was actually an attempt to free the Chinese mob boss Tiger (Michael Chan Wai-man) from legal prosecution, and when Tiger and his attempted rescuer end up dead, that draws the ire of Tiger’s associate Raging Bull (Lam Wai). Raging Bull wants revenge, and his actions spark a cycle of vengeance that quickly spirals out of control for everyone concerned.

Royal Warriors may be considered as the first In the Line of Duty film, but it was originally a follow-up to the next film in the series Yes, Madam!, and the differences between the two are stark. While Yes, Madam! had its fair share of violence, it also leaned heavily into comedy, but everyone in Royal Warriors is playing for keeps. Michael Wong’s insouciance does offer a bit of comic relief, but even he ends up drawn into the endless cycle of vengeance that leaves a trail of bodies in its wake. Despite the presence of an armored car that looks like a reject from Megaforce and a car chase with John Landis levels of collateral damage, the action in Royal Warriors is generally taken just as seriously. Director David Chung, second unit director Johnnie To, and a legion of Hong Kong stunt performers staged some genuinely impressive action scenes for the film, and while there’s the occasional breather, the action never lets up. Regardless of whether you consider Royal Warriors as the first In the Line of Duty film or as a follow-up to Yes, Madam! (or even if you just give up and enjoy it for what it is), it’s a fine example of Hong Kong filmmaking at its best.

Yes, Madam! also stars Yeoh (once again credited as Michelle Khan), this time as Senior Inspector Ng of the Royal Hong Kong Police. When an international agent is assassinated and robbed, Ng teams up with Scotland Yard investigator Carrie Morris (Cynthia Rothrock) to recover a piece of microfilm that was in his possession. The microfilm contains evidence against the crime boss Mr. Tin (James Tien), who desperately wants to take it out of circulation. Yet while Mr. Tin may have been behind the assassination, the microfilm inadvertently ends up in the possession of a pair of bumbling thieves, Strepsil (John Shum) and Aspirin (Mang Hoi), who take it to the fence/forger Panadol (Tsui Hark). That puts a target on all three of their heads, with Ng and Morris racing to recover it before Mr. Tin and his cohorts do whatever they can to wipe it out. Yes, Madam! also stars Richard Ng, Billy Lau, Sammo Hung, and Cory Yuen.

Hung was a producer on Yes, Madam! while Yuen served as director, aided by Hoi as one of the fight coordinators, but there’s no escaping the fact that the film’s biggest claim to fame is that it thrust both Yeoh and Rothrock into the Hong Kong spotlight. It was Rothrock’s first feature film, and while Yeoh had a couple of small roles prior to Yes, Madam!, this was her first time as the lead. While they both acquit themselves admirably, the comic antics of Hoi, Shum, and Hark tend to overshadow them (it’s easy to forget sometimes that Hark is a talented performer as well as a visionary director). Yet Hong Kong cinema has never been afraid to veer sharply from comedy to tragedy, and Yes, Madam! is no exception. The slapstick shenanigans are offset by moments of particularly bloody violence, leading to an unexpectedly dark ending. Justice may still be served, but not necessarily at the hands of the law—which ends up further backgrounding Yeoh and Rothrock in what should have been their own story. Yes, Madam! may fall second with the In the Line of Duty numbering scheme, but as far as “girls with guns” films go, it really acts as an introduction for what follows, so it’s arguably the best starting place for the whole series.

In the Line of Duty III, on the other hand, might come as something of a surprise to anyone who starts with either of the two previous installments, no matter what order that you choose to watch them in. It opens with a particularly bloody heist staged by Genji Nakamura (Stuart Ong) and Michiko Nishiwaki (played by actor Michiko Nishiwaki, continuing the trend of eponymous character names). Genji and Michiko are a pair of thieves working for the Red Army terrorist group, and they’re partners both personally and professionally. Their ensuing escape leads to the death of a Japanese police detective, and worse, the whole heist ends up having been a double-cross. The carnage results in Inspector Rachel Yeung (Cynthia Khan) from the Serious Crimes Section of the Royal Hong Kong Police being assigned to the case, against the wishes of her superior office Cameron Cheun (Paul Chun), who happens to be her uncle and he just wants to keep her safe. Yet when Yeung ends up being partnered with the Japanese detective Hiroshi Fujioka (played by Hiroshi Fujioka, naturally), Fujioka’s personal connections to the case and the ruthlessness of their intended quarry means that pretty much no on in Hong Kong will be safe for long.

That’s not much of an exaggeration, either. If Yes, Madam! is the comic odd man out in the In the Line of Duty franchise, then In the Line of Duty III serves as its polar opposite. Collateral damage is the rule of the day, with a massive body count that easily trumps anything else in the entire series. The opening heist is an open bloodbath, with Genji and Michiko displaying a complete lack of regard for anyone or anything that gets in their path. As with Royal Warriors, that sparks a cycle of revenge that in this case results in the digging of countless graves. Directors Arthur Wong and Brandy Yuen stage the carnage competently enough, and they really lean into showing the aftermath of the action, including the gruesome results of a car colliding with one of the villains (in a moment that would have made Paul Verhoeven proud). Between all of that and a fairly graphic sex scene that comes out of left field (no pun intended), In the Line of Duty III skirts the edge of a Category III classification, and the fact that the Triads aren’t involved may have been the only thing that prevented it from being given the more restrictive rating. The whole thing might seem tonally inconsistent with the rest of the franchise, but since it never really was a franchise in the first place, that’s probably a feature, not a bug.

As In the Line of Duty IV opens, Inspector Yeung (Cynthia Khan) is on assignment in Seattle, working with FBI agent Donnie Yan (Donnie Yen) in order to break up an international drug smuggling ring. Yet there’s more to this apparent cartel than meets the eye, and when innocent dockworker Luk Wan-Ting (Yuen Yat-Chor, brother of director Yuen Woo-Ping) accidentally witnesses who’s really behind it, he flees to Hong Kong with a target on his head. Donnie is brash and impulsive, while Yeung is more methodical, but the two of them manage to work through their differences as they head back to Hong Kong in pursuit. There, they end up assigned to work with Inspector Michael Wong (Michael Wong, of course) while seeking extradition for Wan-Ting. Yet when the cartel keeps staying one step ahead of them, it seems that there may be a mole in their midst, a fact that threatens to tear apart their tenuous partnership before they can save Wan-Ting from himself—and pretty much from everyone else in the process.

While In the Line of Duty IV has more than its fair share of gunplay, befitting a proper Yuen Woo-Ping film, the real emphasis this time is on old school ass-kicking and acrobatic stunt work, including some particularly impressive parkour-style chases (with none of Woo-Ping’s trademarked wire work to keep the stuntpeople safe). While Khan and Yen are doubled for some of the most gravity-defying martial arts moves, they’re both front and center for the bulk of the fights, and they really do kick ass. Yet Khan was game to handle some of her own stunt work during the action scenes, and that’s really her hanging off the runaway ambulance and over precipitous drops. The overcooked narrative for In the Line of Duty IV may be a bit too convoluted for its own good, but any time that a plot twist threatens to stall the momentum, Woo-Ping drops a memorable action set piece and all is forgiven. He even gifts Donnie Yen with a slow-motion finishing move closeup borrowed straight from Enter the Dragon. The In the Line of Duty franchise may have helped to popularize the “girls with guns” genre in Hong Kong, but it was always smart enough to remember the foundations on which it was built.

Still with us? Good. Now, on to the audio and video:

Cinematographers Ma Chun Wah and Derek Wan shot Royal Warriors on 35mm film using spherical lenses, framed at 1.85:1 for its theatrical release. 88 Films describes this version as a “2K remaster from the original camera negative,” with no other information available. There’s little damage visible, and everything is reasonably detailed, with the grain still intact, and few compression issues (although there does appear to have been a little noise reduction applied). The contrast range is good, with decent black levels, and the colors look natural. It’s a solid if unremarkable master.

Primary audio for Royal Warriors is offered in three different flavors of 2.0 mono DTS-HD Master Audio: the original theatrical Cantonese mix; an alternate Cantonese mix, and the original English Dub. There’s also an English remix in 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, and optional English subtitles are available. It’s not really clear what the differences are between the two Cantonese tracks, as both sound very similar if not identical. Aside from some excessive sibilance in the dialogue, both of them are relatively clean tracks without significant noise or distortion. The synthesized score by Romeo Díaz sounds a little thin, but it’s otherwise serviceable.

Cinematographer Bill Wong shot Yes, Madam! on 35mm film using spherical lenses, framed at 1.85:1 for its theatrical release. 88 Films describes this version as a “2K remaster from the original camera negative,” with no other information available. The results look clean, although there’s a slightly processed, “digital” look to the proceedings at times, and the darkest scenes can appear a little noisy. The detail levels are otherwise adequate, with decent contrast and a relatively natural-looking color balance. Actually, “adequate” is a good description of the transfer as a whole. It’s not bad, but there’s still plenty of room for improvement.

Primary audio for Yes, Madam! is offered in two different flavors of 2.0 mono DTS-HD Master Audio: the original Cantonese theatrical mix and an alternate Cantonese “home video” mix. There’s also an English remix in 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, and optional English subtitles are available. In this case, the differences between the two Cantonese tracks are striking. The sound effects seem identical, but the dialogue is drastically different. It’s compressed and muddy in the theatrical mix, but it’s cleaner and less distorted in the home video version, making the latter the easy winner between the two. The synthesized Romeo Díaz score sound the same either way, right down to his blatant lifts from John Carpenter’s Halloween soundtrack. Still, the improvements in the dialogue alone make the home video mix the only viable option.

Cinematographers Kam-Hung Au and Bo-Man Wong shot In the Line of Duty III on 35mm film using spherical lenses, framed at 1.85:1 for its theatrical release. 88 Films describes this version as a “2K remaster from the original camera negative,” with no other information available. The results are sharp, detailed, and clear, with the encode doing a fine job of handling not just the film grain, but also abundant steam and smoke during the final fight. (Although as an aside, just where the hell did that dynamite come from?) The colors look natural if a bit brownish, but that’s consistent with the rest of the series, and the contrast range is quite good. Overall, compared to Royal Warriors and Yes, Madam!, this master is a definite step up in terms of image quality.

Audio for In the Line of Duty III is offered in Cantonese and English dubbed 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio, with optional English subtitles. The Cantonese dialogue has an unpleasantly harsh edge to it, almost cutting at times, and there’s some nasty distortion in the score by Fei-Lit Chan. It almost sounds like a blown speaker driver, with actual buzzing at peak levels. The video may have taken one step forward, but the audio took a giant leap backwards in this case.

Cinematographers Kam-Hung Au and Kuan-Hua Ma shot In the Line of Duty IV on 35mm film using spherical lenses, framed at 1.85:1 for its theatrical release. 88 Films describes this version as a “stunning new 2K restoration of the Hong Kong cut,” with no other information available. The results are very similar to the master for In the Line of Duty III, with plenty of fine detail and very little damage remaining. The contrast range and black levels are both strong, and while the colors do look relatively natural, they still carry that slight brownish tint (as well as a more prominent teal push that affects the blues of the skies, among other things). Those are minor quibbles, though, as on the whole this is a solid presentation that’s on a par with In the Line of Duty III.

Audio for In the Line of Duty IV is offered in Cantonese and English 2.0 mono DTS-HD Master Audio, with optional English subtitles. The dialogue sounds clean, if still a bit compressed. While the dialogue was always post-synced for all of these films, even for the Cantonese versions, it really stands out this time as being poorly integrated in the soundstage. The score by Siu-Lam Tang and Richard Yuen sounds fine, although there’s not much depth to it.

ROYAL WARRIORS (FILM/VIDEO/AUDIO): B/B/B
YES, MADAM! (FILM/VIDEO/AUDIO): B-/B-/B
IN THE LINE OF DUTY III (FILM/VIDEO/AUDIO): B-/B+/C
IN THE LINE OF DUTY IV (FILM/VIDEO/AUDIO): B/B+/B

The 88 Films Deluxe Collector’s Set for In the Line of Duty I-IV is a four-disc set that houses all four of their individual In the Line of Duty releases in one oversized rigid box. It also includes a 100-page booklet and two double-sided foldout posters, with all of the new artwork designed by Sean Longmore. Unfortunately, this set is out of print at this point, although it’s still available from some resellers at inflated prices. The good news is the that the individual releases are still in print (Royal Warriors, Yes, Madam!, In the Line of Duty III, In the Line of Duty IVE), so if you can do without the box, booklet, and posters, you can collect the films individually. In any event, the following extras are included:

DISC ONE: ROYAL WARRIORS

Audio Commentary by Frank Djeng
Missing Aeroplane Inserts (HD & Upscaled SD – :29)
Cantonese Trailer (Upscaled SD – 4:38)
English Trailer (Upscaled SD – 3:49)
English In the Line of Duty Title Sequence (HD – 2:57)

The commentary features programmer and former Tai Seng Entertainment marketing manager Frank Djeng, who as usual wastes no time diving into myriad different details about Royal Warriors. He opens with a rundown of the complicated history of the franchise, and then breaks down the production itself including biographies of all the cast and crew—even pointing out who actually dubbed the dialogue in the Cantonese version (the actors were all speaking their own native languages on set). He also helpfully notes some cultural differences for western viewers. (Note that this is a completely different track than the one he recorded for the 2023 Region B Blu-ray release from Eureka! in the U.K.)

The rest of the extras are pretty thin: just a couple of trailers; some insert exterior shots of the airplane in the hijacking sequence that were eliminated from the final cut; and the English language opening title sequence and closing title card from the Atlas International export version. Missing from the Eureka! version is the alternate Djeng commentary; a second commentary with Mike Leeder and Arne Venema; an interview with producer John Sham; and a locations featurette with Leeder and Venema.

DISC TWO: YES, MADAM!

Introduction by Cynthia Rothrock (HD – :09)
Audio Commentary by Frank Djeng
Export Version (HD – 87:36)
A Team Player – Cynthia Rothrock on Yes, Madam! (HD – 17:50)
Select Scene Commentary by Cynthia Rothrock and Frank Djeng:
- Airport Scene (HD – 4:30)
- Final Fight (HD – 8:27)
Ladies First – Mang Hoi on Yes, Madam! (HD – 13:46)
Interview with Michelle Yeoh (Upscaled SD – 15:05)
Battling Babes (Upscaled SD – 10:23)
Hong Kong Trailer (Upscaled SD – 4:22)

The commentary once again features Frank Djeng. He opens with a rundown of the complicated history of the franchise, and then breaks down the production itself including biographies of all the cast and crew, with a natural emphasis on Cynthia Rothrock and Michelle Yeoh (who he helpfully describes as “the only Bond girl who never shagged with James Bond”). He notes all of the locations and offers plenty of stories about the making of the film. He also spends some time breaking down the evolution of the “girls with guns” genre in Hong Kong and the role that Yes, Madam! played in that processes. (Note that this is a completely different track than the one he recorded for the 2022 Region B Blu-ray release from Eureka! in the U.K.)

The rest of the extras include the full export version, offering similar video quality with English 2.0 mono Dolby Digital audio. (There are significant editorial differences between the two cuts, with this one running a bit shorter overall.) There’s a new interview with Cynthia Rothrock, who provides an overview of her career and describes her experiences making Yes, Madam!, plus two different select scene commentaries pairing her with Djeng. (Once again, these appear to be different than the ones that were on the Eureka! version.) There’s also a new interview with Mang Hoi. The rest of the extras were originally recorded for the 2002 Region 2 DVD release from Hong Kong Legends: an interview with the luminous Michelle Yeoh reminiscing about her own career, and Battling Babes, which includes interviews with Sophie Crawford, Michiho Nishikawa, Yukari Oshima, Kathy Long, Moon Lee, and Rothrock. (Note that the brief introduction with Rothrock plays automatically when the disc is inserted, and it can’t be selected from the menus.)

Missing from the Eureka! version is the alternate Djeng commentary, where he was paired with Michael Worth; a second commentary with Mike Leeder and Arne Venema; the alternate selected scenes commentaries with Rothrock; a different interview with Mang Hoi; and a different interview with Rothrock.

DISC THREE: IN THE LINE OF DUTY III

Audio Commentary by Frank Djeng and Michael Worth
Interview with John Sham (HD – 25:41)
Hong Kong Trailer (HD – 3:12)
English Trailer One (HD – 3:10)
English Trailer Two (Upscaled SD – 3:37)
English Credits (HD – 2:20)

The commentary pairs Frank Djeng with filmmaker and martial artist Michael Worth. Djeng always gonna Djeng, so he naturally dominates the proceedings, offering a wealth of information about the production and release of In the Line of Duty III. (Worth clearly knows his stuff, but no one can keep up with the rapid-fire Djeng.) They offer the usual breakdown of the cast, crew, and locations, and they don’t shy away from extreme levels of violence and sexuality in the film. (Note that this is a completely different track than the solo commentary that Djeng recorded for the 2023 Region B Blu-ray release from Eureka! in the U.K.)

The rest of the extras are pretty thin: aside from a collection of trailers, there’s just the English-language title sequence and an interview with actor/producer John Sham, who describes himself as “an old timer” before offering an overview of his four-decade long career, including his role in founding D&B Films. Missing from the Eureka! version is the alternate solo Djeng commentary and a second commentary with Mike Leeder and Arne Venema.

DISC FOUR: IN THE LINE OF DUTY IV

Audio Commentary by Frank Djeng and Michael Worth
Audio Commentary by Stefan Hammond and Michael Wong
Export Version (HD – 95:38)
Interview with Donnie Yen (Upscaled SD – 20:29)
Hong Kong Trailer (HD – 4:26)
English Trailer (Upscaled SD – 5:30)

There are two different commentaries this time. The first one once again pairs Frank Djeng with Michael Worth. They apparently recorded this track at the same time as the one that they did for In the Line of Duty III, with only a sushi break in the middle. They waste no time picking up the pace with this one (Djeng only pauses occasionally to catch his breath), covering a variety of different details about the production of In the Line of Duty IV. (Note that this is a completely different track than the solo commentary that Djeng recorded for the 2023 Region B Blu-ray release from Eureka!) The second commentary featuring film historian Stefan Hammond and actor Michael Wong was originally recorded for the 2001 Region 2 DVD release of In the Line of Duty IV from Hong Kong Legends. While it duplicates some of the same information from the Djeng and Worth commentary (they probably listened to this one before recording their own), it offers some different angles since it’s from an insider’s perspective. They do spend a bit too much time reacting to what’s happening onscreen, but there’s still enough good information here to make it worth a listen.

The rest of the extras include the full export version, offering similar video quality with English 2.0 mono Dolby Digital audio. (There are some noteworthy editorial differences between the two cuts, with the English export version including a brief opening that isn’t in the Hong Kong cut.) Aside from a collection of trailers, the only other extra is an archival interview with Donnie Yen that was also recorded for the 2001 Hong Kong Legends DVD. Yen discusses his career up to that point, noting the differences between working in Hong Kong and Hollywood. Missing from the Eureka! version is the alternate solo Djeng commentary; another commentary with Mike Leeder and Arne Venema; and the archival featurette Donnie Yen: Style of Action.

While the depth of the extras does vary a bit from film to film, taken as a whole, there’s plenty here to keep fans of the In the Line of Duty franchise busy for many hours. You’ll still want to hold onto any of the Eureka! versions if you already own them, but for those who aren’t multi-region capable, this 88 Films In the Line of Duty collection offers a good Region A-friendly alternative. Fans of the franchise are going to want to own all of the films one way or the other, and if you can’t score this Deluxe Collector’s Set, then the individual releases are still an option, so don’t hesitate to pick them up. We can all use a good ass-kicking sometimes.

- Stephen Bjork

(You can follow Stephen on social media at these links: Twitter, Facebook, BlueSky, and Letterboxd).