A Punch to Revenge (1989)

A Punch to Revenge (1989)
Aka Angel of Kickboxer
Chinese Title: 十面埋伏
Translation: Ambush from All Sides

 

Starring: Bem Lam, Yukari Oshima, Eddie Ko Hung, Stanley Fung, Chan Ging, Rico Chu
Director: Lee Chiu
Action Directors: Ridley Tsui, Ho Wing-Cheung, Bruce Law

 

Yukari Oshima plays Miss Fan, a social worker whose current cases include that of a Mr. Tseng (Eddie Ko Hung). Mr. Tseng is an immigrant from the Mainland who lives in a small apartment with his wife and child, who’s mentally retarded. During this flight across the border, Tseng was stopped by some soldiers, who smashed his leg with poles and now he walks with a limp. That has hindered him from getting a good job—or any job, for that matter—and now his wife turns tricks to make ends meet. Tseng is quickly getting tired of his wife sleeping with strangers to pay the bills, and is getting more and more violent about his disapproval of his wife’s current profession. Fan acts as a mediator between the two, but one violent outburst gets Tseng arrested.

While pleading for his to be let off the hook, Fan meets Peter Lee (Ben Lam), a detective with the CID. The two develop a romantic relationship, but things will quickly get hairy for them. You see, four Mainlanders from Tseng’s village have undoubtedly watched The Long Arm of the Law and think they can succeed where their forebears failed: sneak into Hong Kong, carry off some robbery jobs, and return to the Mainland as rich as kings. A hesitant Tseng hooks them up with Officer Hung (Chan Ging), a former police officer whose legitimate loan shark business is a front for his arms dealing. Hung gives the four men weapons and tells them at that if they can successfully knock off a jewelry store.

Before the heist is pulled off, Peter and Fan see Tseng, Hung and the four Mainlanders at a restaurant, and Peter suspects that something is up. This chance meeting also brings Fan into the conflict, as Hung sicks his goons on her for fear that her relationship with Tseng might come back to bite him in the rear. The Mainlanders successfully rob the jewelry store, only to be double-crossed by Hung afterward. He then tries to play them against Tseng and the police, and from there, things will only spiral further out of control, especially once Miss Fan comes into possession of incriminating evidence against Officer Hung.

What I liked most about this film is how I cared more about the characters and their plights than I did most other Girls n’ Guns films, even the more lauded ones like Blonde Fury and the In the Line of Duty films. Eddie Ko gives an especially sensitive performance as Tseng, who hates how his lot in life has ended up with his wife working as a hooker, and how he feels that only crime—which he’s reluctant to get involved with in the first place—is the only way he’ll be able to make a fresh start. Yukari Oshima also gives a sympathetic performance as Miss Fan, a nice departure from the tomboyish, tough or androgynous characters she frequently plays in her movies. Ben Lam is likable as the main hero and Chan Ging plays a risible villain. Stanley Fung, in an extended cameo as Ben’s superior, plays his role straight (as opposed to, say, Richard Ng in In the Line of Duty III) and is fine.

Yukari Oshima gets three one vs. many fights in this movie. She first takes on a bunch of thugs in a car garage, as the lead thug (played by choreographer Ridley Tsui) trying to run her down with his car (which I assume is where Bruce Law participated the most in the choreography). She pulls off some solid kicks and punches, ending with a jumping spin kick that becomes a falling knee smash against Ridley. Later, she storms Officer Hung’s office in a red sweatsuit and kicks the hell out of his men. She does some nice kick-ups and cartwheels off the desks in the room, and her axe kick is especially powerful. Also, watch for when she does a crescent kick over a guy’s head, only to front kick him in the stomach afterward. Finally, she has a fight with the same goons in her apartment, which is a particularly intense fight. Furniture is used to assist in acrobatic kicks, as bludgeons, and a something for the players to fall into and break. People are thrown into walls and light fixtures and even an aquarium is broken during the course of the brawl. It’s not necessarily Oshima’s best moment, but it’s a good fight.

Sadly, her character is severely injured and exits the story with 15 minutes left, which is where the film gets especially brutal. The last five minutes, where Ben Lam fights the Mainland robbers, gets pretty bloody. All in all, some good fighting from Yukari Oshima (and Ben Lam, for that better), good performances all around, and a strong human element make this one of the better films of its sub-genre. Worth a look!