Director: Corey Yuen
Screenplay: Barry Wong, Kai-Chi Yuen, Corey Yuen (story)
Starring: Joyce Godenzi, Carina Lau, Tang Pik-Wan, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Sarah Lee, Lai-Yui, Angile Leung, Wan Yui, Sandra Ng, Kwun-Yu, Yuen Wah, Agnes Aurelio, Sammo Hung, David Lau
Country: Hong Kong
Running Time: 92 min
Year: 1990
BBFC Certificate: 15
She Shoots Straight stars the half-Chinese, half-Australian, former Miss Hong Kong Joyce Godenzi, who would become producer Sammo Hung’s wife a few years later in 1995. They’re still together now. The pair first worked together on Sammo’s Eastern Condors in 1987 and some believe they started seeing each other then in secret, despite Sammo’s marriage to Jo Eun-ok at the time. This rumour has made many believe that She Shoots Straight was devised by Sammo as a vanity project to help make Godenzi a star and have them work closely together.
These tabloid rumours have eclipsed the film itself over the years but that’s a shame, as She Shoots Straight is an excellent entry to the small but significant ‘girls with guns’ boom that came in the 80s and early 90s.
Eureka are helping boost the popularity of the film by releasing it on Blu-ray as part of their Eureka Classics range. I hadn’t seen the film before so jumped at a chance to review it.
In She Shoots Straight, Hong Kong police officer Mina Kao (Godenzi) is a rising star in the force. She is dedicated to her work and her dream is to one day become Superintendent. However, her career is put in jeopardy when she marries Huang Tsung-Pao (Tony Leung Ka Fai), the only male in a family of dedicated policewomen. His mother and his many sisters, particularly the eldest, Chia-Ling (Carina Lau), are suspicious of Mina and her motives.
When the police are tipped off about a Vietnamese criminal gang plotting a daring nightclub heist, Mina and her sisters-in-law are called in to investigate. The gang is led by the ruthless Yuen Hua (Yuen Wah), who becomes determined to take revenge on the Huang family after his brother (or right-hand man – I wasn’t sure) is killed during the botched robbery.
Mina and her sisters-in-law, therefore, must overcome their rivalry and work together to bring Yuen Hua and his gang to justice.
I must admit, I’d only vaguely heard of She Shoots Straight prior to watching it, so my expectations weren’t high, believing it to just be a mid-tier ‘girls with guns’ film. However, I totally fell in love with the film and its curious mix of family drama and kick-ass action.
The film was directed by the great Corey Yuen, who also acted as action choreographer alongside Mang Hoi and Yuen Tak. Yuen was one of the Seven Little Fortunes, training at the China Drama Academy alongside Sammo, Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao and others. He has always been a solid pair of hands behind the camera and does a great job here, pushing everything to a higher level whilst expertly balancing the disparate genres being straddled.
In particular, I felt the story and characters here were genuinely compelling. You’re not just waiting for the next action scene. The family dynamics that fuel the film are fairly unique to action cinema too. Yes, the melodrama gets over-egged in the second half but it works to amp up the stakes in the finale, giving it far more impact than if it were just a straight-up cops vs bad guys situation.
The death of a major character prompts the most notably melodramatic sequence. The aftermath is drawn out far too long but, the initial half of the scene is incredibly poignant when two characters who are both aware of the death try to put on a brave face and pretend nothing’s wrong whilst ‘enjoying’ a birthday celebration.
Most viewers will be here for the action though and, in this respect, the film doesn’t disappoint. I’d seen some brief comments online that this was a film with a slow mid-section, with most of the action in the finale, but I thought it was pretty action-packed in comparison to a lot of similar Hong Kong genre movies of the late 80s and early 90s. Yes, time is given to the drama but there are shoot-outs, fights and stunts spread evenly throughout.
In typical Hong Kong fashion though, it’s the final act when things kick into high gear. There’s some intense, close-quarters fighting on board a ship, a bit of motorbike stuntwork and then the film is capped off with one of the best girl-on-girl martial arts duels I’ve ever seen. With effectively developed personal backstories between both fighters, there’s weight behind every punch and kick, making for a wonderfully dramatic showdown.
The cast is strong too. Godenzi and Lau develop their tumultuous central relationship nicely and sell the dramatic beats very effectively. Tony Leung Ka-fai has some lovely scenes with Godenzi that feel fairly natural in terms of portraying a husband and wife (though his pin-pricking of a condom is a frankly horrific act). The legendary Yuen Wah (famously stunt-doubling for Bruce Lee on several occasions) makes for a deliciously evil bad guy too.
Upstaging everyone whenever she appears though is Pik-Wan Tang as the tough matriarch of the Huang family. It was the second-to-last film appearance of the actress, who had begun her career in the 50s and was best known in Hong Kong as the star of the popular ‘Seasons’ TV soap opera. She sadly died only a year after She Shoots Straight was released.
Overall, She Shoots Straight is an action-packed crime melodrama turned up to 11, making for an exceptionally good time at the movies. It took me by surprise and I urge Hong Kong action movie fans to check it out, if you haven’t already.
Film: 
She Shoots Straight is out on 18th September on Blu-Ray in the UK, released by Eureka as part of their Eureka Classics series. The film looks fantastic, with sharp, clear details and pleasingly natural, rich colours. You get a choice of Cantonese or English audio. I opted for the former and, whilst it shows the limitations of Hong Kong soundtracks of the era (those harsh S sounds in particular), it’s otherwise pleasing.
LIMITED EDITION SPECIAL FEATURES
– Limited Edition O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Darren Wheeling [2000 copies]
– 1080p HD presentation on Blu-ray of the original Hong Kong theatrical cut from a brand new 2K restoration
– Original Cantonese mono audio
– Optional English dubbed audio
– Optional English Subtitles, newly translated for this release
– Brand new feature-length audio commentary by Asian film expert Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival)
– Brand new feature-length audio commentary by action cinema experts Mike Leeder & Arne Venema
– Location featurette presented by Arne Venema and Mike Leeder
– Interview with Valerie Soe, professor of Asian-American Studies at San Fransisco State University
– English opening and closing credits
– Trailers
– Reversible sleeve design
– A Limited Edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing by James Oliver [2000 copies]
I’m running out of things to say about Frank Djeng’s commentaries as he’s cropped up so often, but I’ll always recommend giving them a listen. On top of his usual deluge of facts about almost everyone involved in the film and handy explanations of cultural quirks, Djeng has a brief, personal story to tell about meeting Joyce Godenzi.
I’m also running out of ways to praise Mike Leeder and Arne Venema’s commentaries. They always do a great job of mixing background info with personal stories about their experiences in Hong Kong and its film industry. It makes for an entertaining listen, as usual.
Not included in the original press material for the release is a 12-minute ‘Shooting Locations’ featurette made by Arne Venema. Presented by Venema and Mike Leeder, it’s a slick and energetic piece that jumps around Hong Kong now, showing how the locations used in the film have changed, or not, whatever the case may be.
Also not mentioned in the press material is an interview with Valerie Soe, professor of Asian-American Studies at San Fransisco State University. She talks for about 7 minutes about the film from a female perspective. It’s a relatively brief interview, but she makes some interesting points about how women are represented in the film.
The booklet has another excellent essay from James Oliver. He discusses the Joyce Godenzi and Sammo Hung rumours, whilst going on to extol the virtues of the film. His writing informed my review a great deal.
So, it’s another top-notch classic Hong Kong action movie release from Eureka. Very highly recommended.
Disc/Package: 