Iron Angels (1987)

Directed by
Schizophrenic but fun
Reviewed by Simon on 2010-11-09

An international drugs syndicate is wiping out international cops in retaliation for a successful raid on their opium farms, so interpol hire David Charlie's-I-mean-Chiang's Angels group to stop them.

It's dumb, it's cheesy, and it seems to bounce around uncertainly between thriller, comedy and exceedingly violent action, but it's quite entertaining. A particular highlight is Yukari Oshima's sadistic and psychopathic villainess, offset by the cool pragmatism of her partner Hwang Jang-Lee. The cast is somewhat international - well, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and Thailand all field some actors, and the presence of 3 directors perhaps explains why the film sometimes doesn't seem sure what it wants to be.

It's not great cinema, but it's fairly entertaining, and the brutal final fight where the girls kick the shit out of each other is a fine example of the way only Hong Kong can get away with treating its actresses.