Inspector Wears Skirts 4 (1992)

The blundering Female Commando Unit is in danger of being replaced by a smaller, but better trained and equipped elite unit. The two remaining members attempt to recruit former Commandos in order to save their unit and thwart an attempt to free a crime boss.

Inspector Wears Shirts 4 is the final chapter in a series of comedy actioners along the lines of Police Academy centering on the exploits of a misfit band of all-girl police officers recruited for a Commando Unit. While all of the films suffer from banal slapstick and situational nonsense that heavily dilutes the action, #4 squanders even more of the running time with this drivel. Making matter worse is the missed talents of Sibelle Hu and Cynthia Rothrock, who helped to make the first film more entertaining. But in an effort to keep choice members of the remaining cast from being sold short, Cynthia Yang, Moon Lee, and Kara Hui all offer up some limited, yet excellent action performances.

One trait of this film that I cannot help but enjoy is the wanton disregard for civility or scruples. Early on, an attempt to free a crime boss (James Tien) from a hospital where he is receiving treatment for piles results in his son mowing down staff with twin uzis mounted on either side of a wheel chair. If that’s not enough, the killer declares that a hysterical nurse is beyond help and plugs her full of holes just for the heck of it. Where were our heroes during this slaughter? Madam Lee (Moon Lee), the head of Female Commando Unit is hiding and the rest of her team follows like sheep. Only Madam Yang (Cynthia Yang) with her rocket boots, high-tech gun, and fearless kung fu kicks is up to the challenge and manages to send the baddies packing.

After this explosive entry, the film sadly downshifts into stupidity as Lee and her faithful second-in-command attempt to recruit the aid of their old chums following the willful resignation of the entire team. The only problem is that they are all a bunch of mental misfits. Amy (Sandra Ng) is a single mother who obsessively spoils her son while repeatedly finding excuses to kick a fawning Billy Lau in the groin. Sandra’s comic performance becomes embarrassingly bad on several occasions, to the point where keeping your thumb near the fast-forward button becomes a necessity. Sheila Chan is Billy’s estranged wife who stalks him at every turn and spends most of her time getting beaten, bloodied, and shot. Last, but not least is the former Shaw Brothers kung fu queen Kara Hui who plays a certifiable nutcase just released from the funny farm. She’s the only one in the film who actually gets decent comic mileage out of her role. Plus, she kicks butt on more than one occasion. The film’s actually worth seeing for her antics scattered throughout the film. Highlights include her kung fu exhibition where she’s asked by Cynthia Yang, who is training the new Commando Unit, to spar and instead she breaks into a long series of flowery, yet impressive martial arts forms. Yang finally ignores her and begins sparring with the remaining team while Hui keeps right on kicking and swirling int he background. The other highlight is near the end when the team gathers at a school where the crime lord’s son has taken a classroom hostage. Kara keeps pulling the most ridiculous weapons such as bow and arrows, nunchaku, and a large spear out of her duffle bag to use against the thugs.

Moon Lee fans will be disappointed with her weenie role that keeps her out of the fight for most of the film. But by the last ten minutes, she overcomes her fear of pain and joins Cynthia Yang in an intense fight against the crime boss’s son. This whole assault on the school is not to be missed. The stuntwork, including leaps off of buildings, flamethrowers, and Cynthia’s rocket boot-powered flying is as wild as anything that has come out of Hong Kong. Once it gets down to basic kung fu action, the film really delivers. Unfortunately, there just isn’t enough throughout the rest of the film to justify enduring most of the obnoxious comedy bits unless you count yourself among the diehard fans of ‘girls with guns’ flicks. Like Inspector Wears Skirts 4, most of the films in this genre are not very good overall. But connoisseurs know to either look for a film’s choice action sequences or just look for their favorite femmes fatales. Its safe to declare this film is worth a look on both counts.