In the Line of Duty IV (Blu-ray Review)
- Review Date: Jan 07, 2025
- Format: Blu-ray Disc
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Director
Woo-Ping YuenRelease Date(s)
1989 (August 13, 2024)Studio(s)
D&B Films (88 Films)- Film/Program Grade: B
- Video Grade: B+
- Audio Grade: B
- Extras Grade: B
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.
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 (played by actor Michael Wong) 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.
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 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.
The 88 Films Blu-ray release of In the Line of Duty IV features a reversible insert with new artwork by Sean Longmore on one side, and the original theatrical poster artwork on the other. The following extras are included:
- 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, the first one featuring programmer and former Tai Seng Entertainment marketing manager Frank Djeng paired with filmmaker and martial artist 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 2002 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. You’ll want to hold onto that disc if you already own it, but for those who aren’t multi-region capable, this 88 Films version offers a good Region A-friendly alternative for one of the best films from the entire In the Line of Duty franchise.
- Stephen Bjork
(You can follow Stephen on social media at these links: Twitter, Facebook, BlueSky, and Letterboxd).