This week we’ve got the ass-kicking combo of Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock in Yes, Madam! (1985) also known as In the Line of Duty II: The Super Cops. Don’t be confused by Supercop 2 (1993), which also stars Michelle Yeoh, or Line of Duty 2 (2019), OR The Super Cops (1974), because those are entirely different films. Huh?! Whatever! The name doesn’t matter as long as the movie kicks ass. But does it?
Yes, Madam! aka In the Line of Duty II: The Super Cops follows Inspectors Ng (Michelle Yeoh) and Carrie Morris (Cynthia Rothrock) as they try to find two petty thieves, Aspirin (Hoi Mang) and Strepsil (John Sham), who were at the wrong place at the wrong time. Without realizing it they rob a guy who was just killed by the triad and end up with a very important microfilm that the triad boss, Mr. Tin (James Tien), is looking for. The race is on between the Inspectors and the triad to find the microfilm, the former trying to find it so that they can put Mr. Tin in prison, the latter trying to find it to destroy it and not go to prison. In the middle we have two bumbling petty thieves who have no idea what they have in their possession or any idea that the police and triad are after them.
For a film with actors that possess martial arts talent out the butt, the total action in Yes, Madam! probably amounts to about 15 minutes of its 1 hour and 30 minute run time. The film opens with some great stunts by the stunt professionals. Just one minute and 30 seconds into the film, a dude comes flying out of a second story window and makes an incredible fall onto a van below then falls onto the street. Then, a stunt person jumps up and breaks through the windshield of a vehicle driving towards them and kicks the driver in the chest! It is awesome…and a little worrisome as the stunt person’s knees bend at an angle that seems unnatural and like it would hurt. Huge respect and shoutout to all the stunt professionals out there always putting their bodies on the line for entertainment!
…After that, for the bulk of Yes, Madam!’s runtime we get very little action, just a lot of cheesy, albeit occasionally amusing, slapstick and joking around.
Then we get the last ten minutes of the film, and this is where it finally gets to the reason we’re all watching: Rothrock and Yeoh showing off their fighting skills as they take on an endless stream of baddies whose faces are badly in need of fists. And it is totally worth the wait! All people involved pulled off some huge and phenomenal stunts. Rothrock talks about her experience on the set of Yes, Madam in a Youtube video on her channel. There were some injuries, very little padding, and hardly a pulled punch/kick as they fought. The fights are real with no CGI whatsoever, only some wirework. At one point she does a split up against the wall. She talks about how they had to reset something in between takes and she stayed up on the wall in a split (assisted by a wire to hold her in place) for an HOUR! “I couldn’t walk for three days. My legs were so sore.” I highly recommend her video for an eye-opening look at the world of filming an action movie in Hong Kong in the 1980s.
And now, before I wrap up this review, I wouldn’t leave my action chickadees hungry when it comes to explaining the weirdo title of this film, so I will now defer to Hong Kong film expert Frank Djeng for some explanation:
Royal Warriors (1986), also starring Yeoh, was released in Hong Kong a year later, but once the In the Line of Duty series moniker came into play the order was switched internationally — Royal Warriors became In the Line of Duty, and Yes, Madam became In the Line of Duty II. It gets even more confusing… “in the UK, Yes, Madam was released as Police Assassin on DVD, but Police Assassin 2 on VHS, while Royal Warriors was Police Assassin on VHS and never even got a DVD release.”
Clear as shit. Thanks!
Whether you call it Yes, Madam! In the Line of Duty II: The Super Cops, or Yeoh & Rothrock Rockin’ It, Yo!, this often-overlooked movie has two incredible stars, enough laughs to keep things light, and infrequent, but truly delicious action scenes to satisfy any craving.
Action Rating: 2.5 Wall Splits, out of 5
Disclaimer: Just because I am the Action Flick Chick and love action movies does not mean I condone real life violence in any way. Everyone has their own shit to deal with, be nice to each other.
