Forbidden Arsenal

cover

AKA: In the Line of Duty VI, In the Line of Duty 6

Year of release: 1991

Genre: action

Directors: Cheng Siu-Keung, Yuen Jun-Man

Action directors: Paul Wong, Phillip Kwok, Lam Yuk-Yim

Producer: Stephen Shin

Writers: Tony Leung Hung-Wah, Patrick Yuen

Cinematographer: Ko Chiu-Lam

Editor: D&B Film Editor Group

Composer: Jonathon Wong

Stars: Cynthia Khan, Waise Lee, Do Siu-Chun, Robin Shou, Garry Chow, Loletta Lee, Hui Siu-Hung

Rated II for violence and language

DVD available for purchase at www.hkflix.com

HKFlix

Movie Review Index / Main Page

Forbidden Arsenal  Forbidden Arsenal

Forbidden Arsenal  Forbidden Arsenal

Do you like to watch cute women kicking ass? Of course you do. Do you have a high tolerance for really stupid attempts at comedy? Well, maybe not. But even so, Forbidden Arsenal (aka In the Line of Duty 6) offers enough solid fisticuffs to make up for the lack of belly laughs generated by what for some ungodly reason passes for comedy here.

The basic plot has Hong Kong policewoman Yeung (Cynthia Khan) being teamed up with Taiwanese (Waise Lee) and Mainland (Do Siu-Chun) officers to take down a gunrunning ring led by Robin Shou. There are a few attempts at seriousness, mostly dealing with the (then pending) handover of Hong Kong to China, and how the three territories will be able to co-exist with each other. But, like many Hong Kong action films from this period, any sort of gravity in the story is ditched in favor of flippant comedy, none of which really works.

Ranging from the usual lame stereotypes (the Mainland officer is a bumpkin that can't even operate a microwave) to downright head-slapping brain-insulting stuff (the treatment of gay characters will probably make may people cringe) the comedic scenes are the sort of stuff that give Hong Kong movies a bad name among some viewers. Thankfully, the action sequences redeem the proceedings, even though there's nothing extraordinarily good about the brawls and gunfights showcased here, especially compared to the myriad of classics produced in Hong Kong during the time.

But seeing the ultra-cute Cynthia Khan delivering spinning kicks to the melon of some poor schmoe while wearing a fabulously short and tight skirt is one of those small joys of cinema that Hong Kong film-makers seem to be the kings of, and they deliver that sort of stuff in spades here. Maybe it's because I've been feeling wistful about the seeming death of the whole female-oriented action genre after witnessing recent cinematic holes of suck like The Legend of Chun Li and my standards have gone down, but I ended up having a pretty damn good time with Forbidden Arsenal, and I suspect most of you regular readers of this site out there -- all twelve of you -- will too.

RATING: 7

Due to the dubbing, re-editing and re-titling of the movies for international release, there is some confusion as to exactly what movies fall in the In the Line of Duty series. There are several theories about the time line, but this is the one I subscribe to:

  • ITLOD1 = Royal Warriors (1986)
  • ITLOD2 = Yes Madam (1985) -- this is sometimes called ITLOD 1 because it came out first chronologically.
  • ITLOD3 = Force of the Dragon (1988) -- called Yes Madam 2 in some territories; this was the first film to come out in Hong Kong with the ITLOD name. It was also the first movie featuring Cynthia Khan; some international prints and their related promotions had her as Michelle Yeoh's sister (Yeoh was going under the name Michelle Khan at the time) and so Royal Warriors and Yes Madam were released as ITLOD1 and 2 in Europe -- subsequent pressings of HK media (VHS/DVD) also incorporate the name.
  • ITLOD4 = Witness (1989) -- this also goes by the name of Survival or Key Witness; in the UK, this is packaged on DVD as ITLOD1. It's easy to spot the difference because Donnie Yen (who does not appear in any of the other movies in the series) stars in it.
  • ITLOD5 = Middle Man (1990) -- this was released on video as ITLOD2 in some countries.
  • ITLOD6 = Forbidden Arensal (1991)
  • ITLOD7 = Sea Wolves (1991)
  • The movie Queens High is sometimes marketed as ITLOD5 as a prequel to the series, but it really has nothing to do with it (Cynthia Khan actually plays a villain, not a cop in the movie).
  • Yes Madam! A Serious Shock (aka Death Triangle) has nothing to do with the series, despite the title and having Cynthia Khan as one of the stars.