She Shoots Straight

Part action thriller, part family drama, this 1990 Hong Kong vehicle is a savage example of ‘the female of the species is more deadly than the male’ flicks – starring Joyce Godenzi as a no-nonsense, career-focused police inspector whose marriage to her supervisor opens a can of worms… with deadly consequences.

Skillfully directed by Corey Yuen, the film’s female star, former Miss Hong Kong Joyce Godenzi, plays Inspector Mina Kao who gets married to her longstanding sweetheart and supervisor Huang Tsung-Pao (Tony Leung). The wedding then marks the opening scene and right from the outset we learn that Mina’s new sisters-in-law, in particular Chia-Ling (Carina Lau) – all of whom work in the same police department – not only are jealous of Mina because the wedding to their older brother might mean favouritism but in a later scene, Chia denounces Mia as a ‘mongrel’ by referring to her mixed ethnic background (Joyce Godenzi was half Chinese and half Australian). Only Tsung-Pao’s mother, Mrs. Huang (Tang Pik-Wan) welcomes Mina with open arms into her family, not least because Tsung-Pao is her only son and she is looking forward to some grandchildren. This would surely also please her dead husband in the afterlife.

Unfortunately, Mina isn’t quite ready yet to become a mother because first, she wishes to climb the career ladder, much to the chagrin of Tsung-Pao who, unbeknownst to her, pierces his condom on their wedding night. Back on duty the next day, poor Mina not only has to put up with the bitchiness of her sisters-in-law but with the unwanted advances of sex mad Superintendent Lau (David Lau) though thankfully, Supt. Officer Hung (Sammo Hung in one of his few straightforward roles), who also belongs to Mrs. Huang’s extended family, is always close at hand and jumps to the rescue. It’s interesting to note that five years later, Sammo Hung and Joyce Godenzi got married, bless them. Things soon turn incredibly nasty and violent when a gang of ruthless Vietnamese criminals, led by Yuen Hua (Yuen Wah) and assisted by the equally ruthless and feisty Yuen Ying (Agnes Aurelio) plan on emptying the safe of a posh nightclub by any means necessary. So well, Mina, her stepsisters and other members of the police force are either undercover or on standby but of course, nothing goes according to plan and the undercover operation ends up a botched mess.

The following day, Tsung-Pao’s sisters accuse Mina of having undermined them during the stint, so she can look glorious in the face of Superintendent Lau, which of course isn’t true. When Tsung-Pao scolds his sister for being such a troublemaker, her reaction is one that is to alter the life of her family and also of Mina forever…

To give away more plot would be a crime, except that the amazingly choreographed action sequences are, as per usual with this genre, breath-taking and Joyce Godenzi performed a lot of her own stunts. No wonder Sammo Hung (who hardly has any action scenes at all here) fell for her hook, line and sinker. There’s also a particularly fierce fight towards the end between Godenzi and American-born Filipina Agnes Aurelio (who looks like she’s dabbled in a bit of body building). This is fast and furious long before Vin Diesel and Co. raced onto our collective movie screens!

SHE SHOOTS STRAIGHT makes its 2K Blu-ray debut. The first print-run (2000 copies) will feature a Limited Edition O-card slipcase plus Collector’s booklet. Bonus includes audio selections, audio commentaries, trailers and reversible sleeve.