When a young man is brutally killed during a robbery, his best friend Huang Gao-tung (Wong Chung) enlists in the police force in hopes of bringing the elusive murderer to justice.
A genre that became immensely popular in Hong Kong during the ’80s and one that filled in for the declining kung fu movie boom was the crime drama following the huge success of films like Jackie Chan’s Police Story (1985) and John Woo’s A Better Tomorrow (1986). But in the ’70s where Japan had its yakuza films and Hollywood had the vigilante films of Charles Bronson and Clint Eastwood, Hong Kong was lagging behind. It was once again up to pioneering director Chang Cheh to remedy the situation and he did so with his usual flair in Police Force. With the full support of the Royal Hong Kong police, Chang not only presented a challenging tale of vengeance versus the justice system, but also crafted an exciting actioner full of his trademark gritty martial arts action and gunplay. The film also marks the star-making debut of one of Shaw Brothers’ most popular male leads, Alexander Fu Sheng.
While enjoying a sunny day in the countryside with his girlfriend, karate expert Liang Kuan (Fu Sheng) is attacked and killed by two knife-wielding thieves. Shen Yan (Lily Li) escapes to find the police who are unable to apprehend Kao Tu ( Wong Kwong-yue) the killer. Liang’s fellow karate classmate and best friend Huang Gao-tung (Wong Chung) vows to find and kill Kao by joining the police force. Five years go by as Huang goes through training, builds a sterling record as a dedicated police officer, and is eventually promoted to detective. But in all of this time he is unable to find Kao until a witness in a routine homicide case identifies Liang’s killer. Kao is linked with Sun Zuo-zhong (Wong Hap), a crime boss masquerading as a legitimate businessman. A task force is created and Huang slowly closes in on the organization and draws closer to getting his revenge, something that now conflicts with his moral duties as a police officer. Some tough decisions lead to a frantic nautical chase as Huang and the harbor patrol rush to stop the criminals before they reach international waters in their yacht.
As one of Hong Kong’s first major crime films set in a contemporary setting, Police Force is quite impressive. Getting the cooperation of the real Hong Kong police who provided extras, vehicles, and training helps the film to be reasonably realistic while large-scale scenes of marching police cadets and boat chases with helicopters involved adds tremendously to the production standards.
Because of law enforcement’s official cooperation with Shaw Brothers on this film, it is not surprising that the story goes from Chang Cheh’s typical revenge theme with an anti-hero to a more traditional cop actioner where the hero works within the system. This is actually an improvement over the alternative and provides more dramatic meat to chew on as Wong Chung struggles with his oath to his dead friend and his oath to society. As a drama, the film shows some irksome generalities such as vague intentions of the thug who kills Fu Sheng and Lily Li’s excessive obsession with seeing him killed in return. To keep action choreographers Tong Gaai and Lau Kar-leung busy, Wong Chung is thrust into a series of skirmishes with thugs that are entertaining as action scenes but become more and more improbable as “police action.” Generally alone, Wong rushes into danger to single-handedly tackle countless villains. These unwise heroics may seem impressive in Chang Cheh’s costumed world, but in a contemporary setting they tend to look foolish on the part of the protagonist, especially when he or his partner (Fung Hak-on) get into trouble.
Alexander Fu Sheng may have a small role in the film, but he does shine in every moment he’s onscreen. His lines are few, but he breaks out in two action sequences. The first is during a karate competition where it is established that his martial arts skills exceed those of his friend as played by Wong Chung. Then he’s forced to fend off two thugs while having his hands tied behind his back. After his performance, it’s difficult to let go, only to have him replaced by Wong Chung. (Chang Cheh presented a similarly bittersweet scenario in Vengeance! where Ti Lung was replaced by David Chiang.) Wong doesn’t possess the same charisma, but he performs well in the fight scenes, particularly near the end where he’s forced to contend with a yacht full of thugs who want him dead. He also handles the drama with the same deftness. His co-star, the talented and lovely Lily Li is underused in the film and not given any depth, thus confirming Chang Cheh’s inability to direct women. Luckily, he rarely did direct women in his other films. Here, Li goes through no development and Chang just dumps her. I will say that I particularly enjoyed one scene where Li is viewing slides of facial characteristics in order to create a drawing of the killer. From a technical standpoint, the scene is shot and lit extremely well. It just shows how effective Chang Cheh’s close-ups can be in a non-action scene when he’s not wildly zooming in or out.
Karate, not kung fu is the choice martial art used in the film and was likely a conscious decision by Chang in order to emulate some of the yakuza films in Japan. The style is hard and features more in the way of deflecting or disarming techniques, countered with punishing straight punches and kicks. Most of Chang’s other films set in a contemporary setting feature the same sort of action. These scenes allow his star action choreographers to show off their adaptive abilities in satisfyingly brutal fight scenes. Again, Wong’s extended tussle on the yacht is terrific. He’s forced to dodge bullets and use the ship’s layout to his advantage against superior numbers.
Police Force comes close to being the ultimate Hong Kong police film for its day and probably is comparatively. All of the components are there and Chang makes good use of most of them while still offering fans an opportunity to see lots of martial arts action. The story gets a little sloppy around the edges and improbable which nullifies some of the impact of having real police involved in the production, but the film is definitely entertaining and presents martial arts star Wong Chung with a rare and well-deserved leading role.
by Mark Pollard
