"I'll take the twelve on the left."
Yes, Madam, a.k.a. In the Line of Duty, is a 1985 Hong Kong action and Buddy Cop film starring Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock, notably the debut film for Cynthia Rothrock and the first starring role in a feature film for Michelle Yeoh. Produced by Sammo Hung, it's one of the films responsible for kick-starting the "Girls with Guns" craze in late 80s Hong Kong.
When a foreign dealer is assassinated in Hong Kong and a valuable microfilm is stolen, Inspector Ng (Michelle Yeoh) of the Hong Kong police is sent to investigate, but when her trail went cold thanks to a bunch of bumbling thieves - Panadol, Aspirin and Strepsil - stealing away some important evidence, against her will, Ng is forcefully paired with Scotland Yard detective Inspector Carrie Morris (Cynthia Rothrock), but soon enough the stolen microfilm attracts the attention of mob leader Mr. Tin and his minions.
While Yeoh is already a fan-favourite action star when this movie was made, Rothrock notably becomes a celebrity in Hong Kong, where Caucasian actors are usually reduced to supporting or villainous roles, and would subsequently star in bigger action films in the 90s.
The success of the film spawned the In the Line of Duty series. It was followed by Royal Warriors in 1986.
It received the RiffTrax treatment in 2023.
Yes, Tropers:
- Action Girl: Ng and Carrie, respectively portrayed by Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock.
- Affably Evil: Big Bad Mr. Tin's manners are impeccable throughout.
- All Periods Are PMS: Referenced when Inspector Morris is threatening to beat up Panadol in an interrogation scene, Inspector Ng remarks that Carrie might be exceptionally pissed off because it’s her period
. - Back-to-Back Badasses: Ng and Carrie against Mr. Tin’s mooks.
- Big Bad: Mr. Tin.
- Big Ol' Eyebrows: The Mook Lieutenant nicknamed Big Moustache, who had gigantic eyebrows and matching giant 'staches.
- Bolivian Army Ending: While the bad guys are all dead, unfortunately Mr. Tin manage to flee the scene, and in a case of The Cavalry Arrives Late he leaves just in time to be arrested by the Hong Kong police gathering outside the place. Strepsil, however, is utterly pissed at Mr. Tin being responsible for Panadol's death, where he responds by grabbing a pistol and shoots Mr. Tin right in front of the police. Cue credits.
- Boom, Headshot!: Inspector Ng kills a robber in the opening scene using this method. And later in Dick’s assassination scene on the foreign dealer, he shoves an apple into the dealer’s mouth and puts his gun into the apple before pulling the trigger, using said apple as a silencer.
- Boyish Short Hair: Inspector Ng and Inspector Carrie Morris throughout the film.
- Bring It: Morris does this to two mooks during the final battle.
- Buddy Cop Show
- Celebrity Cameo: Sammo Hung and David Chiang as roommates in a nursing home.
- Co-Dragons: Dick and Big Moustache, the two top enforcers of Mr. Tin who leads the henchmen. Dick, in particular, is so tough it takes Ng and Morris both to get the better of him.
- Creator Cameo: Director Corey Yuen appears briefly in the scene in which the arrested Aspirin and Strepsil are brought into the police station office: he is the man with a moustache and pink shirt who walks past, holding a document folder.
- Death of a Thousand Cuts: Inspector Ng gets to fight Big Moustache in the climax, and defeats him by knocking him off a tall railing into a gigantic glass ornament, which smashes into bits and impales him all over the body to death.
- Groin Attack: Morris and Dick do this to each other in the climatic battle.
- Headbutting Heroes: Ng and Morris don't get along to well through most of the movie, until Tin beats the charges against him and they both turn in their badges in disgust.
- Hey, Wait!: As Dick is leaving the hotel, Inspector Ng runs into the lobby after the thieves. She turns towards towards Dick, and yells out, "Hey!", at which he tenses up. Turns out she was yelling at the bellboy, wanting to know how many people work at the hotel as bellboys.
- The Lancer: Inspector Carrie Morris.
- Left Stuck After Attack: Strepsil in the final battle, frantically waving dual machetes to fend off Mr. Tin’s henchmen, only to accidentally land and embed both machetes into a wooden countertop and leave them stuck.
- Man on Fire: Mr. Tin's number 2 suffers this fate when a tankard of gasoline he's holding gets shot by Inspector Ng. This being an action film, of course it's Made of Explodium...
- Mugging the Monster: During the airport confrontation, Dick tries to grab a passerby as a hostage, which is a Caucasian woman in a dress. That woman turns out to be Inspector Ng’s asskicking counterpart, Inspector Carrie Morris, who quickly executes a high kick into Dick’s face and promptly beats him into a pulp.
- No MacGuffin, No Winner: At the end of the climax, the valuable microfilm that everyone is fighting to obtain and ready to kill each other for ends up getting destroyed.
- Psycho Knife Nut: The violent assassin Big Moustache prefers using a dagger as his weapon, and even tries to attack an unarmed Ng cutting her shoulder in the final battle.
- Railing Kill: Happens to more than one mook in the finale. Carrie notably gets to back-flip a mook off a two-storey tall balcony while dangling from behind herself.
- Robbing the Dead: After the foreign dealer is assassinated by Dick, his body is found by the petty thieves Panadol and Aspirin, who decides to pickpocket his corpse instead of informing the authorities.
- Shout-Out: Inspector Ng’s Action Prologue is a clear reference to Dirty Harry: she stops a bunch of robbers, take them on in a shoot-out, and as the last robber tries reaching for his gun Ng sneaks up on him and shoves her shotgun at the robber’s arm, challenging him to either surrender or retaliate, stating she lost count of how many shells she fired and if he’s willing to take his chance. However in this case the robber is willing, and it turns out Inspector Ng still have one shell remaining in her shotgun, which she use to blast his arm off.
- Smug Snake: Tin is constantly smiling and laughing at the police because he's so sure they have nothing on him. His lawyer is the same way.
- Stay in the Kitchen: Tin's lawyer tells Ng and Morris they should stay in the kitchen.
- Theme Naming: A hapless trio of small-time crooks who come into posession of the microfilm, Aspirin, Strepsil and Panadol are all named for various brands of over-the-counter medication.
- Wimp Fight: Strepsil while attempting to fend off mooks using dual machetes, which can only be described as waving both his weapons frantically as if his arms are on fire, with his eyes closed and blindly trying to hit something.
- Would Hit a Girl: Most of the mooks, especially Dick and Big Moustache. To be fair this is an action film starring Yeoh and Rothrock…
