She Shoots Straight - 88 Films

Thanks to 88 Films, my Hong Kong cinema education continues with She Shoots Straight (or Lethal Lady, according to the English credits special feature), available on 2/24/26. This female-driven action film from director Cory Yuen surprised me throughout, not just with great stunt work and action, but also with an insanely tragic dinner scene in the middle of the film. Films like this always deal with loss since a lot of them are revenge-driven, but in On the Run (another recent Hong Kong release from 88 Films) death is dealt with an acceptable coldness. There’s an attempt at that here, but the film instead dwells on the loss for a moment before jumping back into the action.

I imagine most people interested in this film are simply wanting a blu-ray version of a film they’ve enjoyed for years, but if not, here’s your SPOILER warning. Although the plot summary on the back of the case spoiled it for me, so I guess it’s fair game. I was just surprised by how long it takes for the major death to occur in the film. 

She Shoots Straight begins as an in-law drama as Inspector Mina marries Inspector Huang Tsung-Pao, and it’s clear that his sisters, who are also all cops, do not approve. This, of course, causes plenty of awkwardness at work, with the sisters primarily concerned that Mina is overshadowing Tsung-Pao. After his death at the hands of a kill-crazy Vietnamese gang, Mina and her in-laws put aside their differences for revenge. Having a common enemy is always a good way to bring people together.

Normally, a film about getting along with in-laws would bore me, but adding martial arts and gunplay made things much more interesting. The gun violence was okay, though a little light in the squib department for my taste, but the stuntwork is amazing. Most scenes are downright acrobatic. The action alone makes this worth watching.

The family drama provided an emotional depth that I usually find lacking in films like this, however. The standout scene is when Mina and Chai-Ling have to attend Mother Huang’s birthday dinner, and they decide to pretend Tsang-Pao is still alive until after the dinner. This is fucking insane, of course, but it makes for a dramatically-rich sequence in which the sister and sister-in-law struggle to maintain their composure, creating a fever pitch that ends in agony when the death is revealed. 

The fact that the film is female-driven is most likely why this scene is included whereas a male-driven revenge film typically doesn’t dwell too long in misery. But the female aspect is treated more matter-of-fact than a novelty. There is no question of any of the sisters’ ability as police officers, and they seem more capable than Tsung-Pao. Instead, the characters have made peace with the male-driven world they live in. Tsung-Pao is kind of worshipped by all of them since he’s the only son, and the need for Mina to become pregnant is given importance because of this, as well. 

Mina is only pregnant because Tsung-Pao poked holes in a condom, which is fucking wild. But I guess it’s a good thing he did? In any other movie, that act would be seen as a betrayal, not as a “good thing he did that” moment. Although, I don’t know how Mina could still be pregnant by the end of the film. Pregnant women aren’t supposed to ride roller coasters or jump on trampolines; they don’t even warn women about not chasing after gang members on a motorbike or getting into extended martial arts battles because it’s a given that you shouldn’t do those things while pregnant. But I’ll suspend my disbelief and assume the baby is just fine after all that.

Despite that narrative distraction, She Shoots Straight worked for me on every level. I look forward to continuing my journey though Hong Kong cinema, especially if there are more films like this out there.

Special Features and Transfer

As always, I’m no expert on the transfer stuff, but it looked great to me, and I thought the infrared sequences looked especially good. I feel safe claiming this is the best this film has ever looked.

There’s an interview with the screenwriter that provides some insight into Hong Kong cinema in general at the time. 

And this might seem trivial, but 88 Films make the best slipcovers. In the past, I’ve just thrown most slipcovers away. But as I’ve gotten more into collecting, they’ve been a nice addition to a release, but they are usually flimsy and pointless. Their slipcovers are much more sturdy than most, and I would be disappointed without them.

There’s also an audio commentary with Asian cinema expert Frank Djeng.

It has both the original Cantonese and English dub (I only watched the Cantonese version). 

And there’s reversible cover art.

On the Run

As much as I fancy myself a cinephile, I have plenty of blind spots, and Hong Kong cinema is one of them. Sure, I’ve seen a few John Woo films and whatnot, but I mainly know these guys more from when they ventured into Hollywood to work with Van Damme (like Tsui Hark’s Knock Off, which I’ll be writing about soon). So more obscure titles like Alfred Cheung’s On the Run (which just got a new Blu-ray release from 88 Films) definitely flew under my radar, but I’m glad I’m getting a chance to check them out now.

I associate Hong Kong action films with constant action and blood squibs. On the Run has plenty of both, but I was surprised by the brutality of the film, and I don’t just mean the constant head shots. The story is a typical police corruption tale. Hsiang Ming is a miserable cop. He’s separated from his wife, a fellow police officer. Just as he’s asking her to take him with her when she emigrates to Canada with their daughter, she is assassinated. Hsiang tries to solve her murder, uncovering massive police corruption and endangering literally everyone in his life. 

What sets On the Run apart, aside from the shocking severity of it, is the spectre of the 1997 transition of Hong Kong from British to Chinese rule. The film takes place in 1988, but it’s at the forefront of every character’s mind. Hong Kong is viewed in almost apocalyptic terms. The uncertain future of the country has people desperate to leave, and that requires money. This makes the villains of the film, though thoroughly despicable, at least understandable. Greed is fine as a motivation for villains, but when it’s about getting enough money to leave a country before it changes, it makes a little more sense. To be clear, the villains in this movie are absolute inhuman shit sacks, but at least they have a goal. 

Aside from that dark undertone, this is an entertaining kinetic experience. The characters are never given time to sit and grieve, and the film is better for it. Instead, it’s almost like a war movie in which it’s sad that your allies are dead, but if you’re alive all you can do is keep moving. 

I need to get into SPOILERS for my final thoughts.

The brutality I keep referencing above isn’t about the depiction of violence. Yeah, there’s blood and head shots, and what have you, but this film took things to a darker level when Hsiang’s daughter is killed. I’m so used to action movies sparing children that it really shocked me when she died. I suppose I should have expected it, though, because it seemed like everyone was fair game once the grandma was killed. It just solidified that Hong Kong had become a land of death to these characters. And then at the end when it seems like there might be a bittersweet ending with Hsiang and his wife’s killer (it’s complicated) escaping to Thailand, we’re hit with a chyron stating they were captured and are now in jail with no hope for release. Fuck! I went into this expecting some violent fun, and those last fifteen minutes fucked me up. I’m looking forward to checking out more obscure titles from Hong Kong, but I’m hoping for a little more fun.