Michelle Yeoh in
Police Story 3: Supercop
(Stanley Tong, 1992)
Directed by: Stanley Tong
Screenplay by: Edward Tang, Ma Fibe, Yee Lee Wai
Starring: Michelle Yeoh, Jackie Chan, Maggie Cheung, Bill Tung, Philip Chan, Yuen Wah, Kenneth Tsang, Josephine Koo
Martial arts action comedy, 95m
This challenge seemed like a great way to remedy an alarming Michelle Yeoh deficiency in my film education; of which, I have been gradually attending to ever since I saw her give the performance of the multiverse as Evelyn Wang in the mind-blowing Everything Everywhere All at Once (The Daniels, 2022). Nominated for her first Academy Award this year for her performance, it may have taken the Academy 95 years to acknowledge Asian talent, but Michelle Yeoh has been kicking ass and taking names since day dot. As such, there is a goldmine of her early films to tap into. My first choice was Magnificent Warriors (David Chung, 1987) but that turned out to be a little difficult to source (sad face), so I settled for renting Police Story 3: Super Cop (Stanley Tong, 1992), featuring Yeoh in her fifth starring role – her first film following a four-year screen retirement and one that could have proven deadly.
The Police Story franchise shadows the action-packed life of “supercop”, Ka-Kui, beguilingly played by Jackie Chan. In its third instalment, he is recommended for a highly dangerous mission to apprehend Hong Kong drug lord, Chaibat (Kenneth Zhang). The competent yet bumbling supercop, Ka-Kui is briefed by the experienced Inspector Jessica Lang (Yeoh), before going undercover to free one of Chaibat’s henchman, Panther (Yeun Wah) from a labour camp. Furtively aided by the Chinese police in their escape, Ka-Kai’s rescue mission gains the trust of Panther, who offers to introduce his newfound martial arts specialist to Chaibat in the hopes of him joining their organisation.
The opening ten seconds are enough to capture your attention with talk of drug smugglers being killed by exploding condoms and refuses release as it seamlessly amalgamates goofy comedy with high-octane thrills. It is likely redundant of me to mention such thrills were performed gung-ho by Chan and Yeoh, resulting in both of them suffering multiple injuries and, in the case of Yeoh, a near death experience. The closing credits simply relish in the casts’ willingness to execute such feats; like hanging onto a speeding lorry weaving through traffic, perform elaborate fight choreography on top of a moving train (with a helicopter thrown in for good measure) and landing on that same train upon an airborne motorbike. It also features the stunt that almost ended Yeoh’s career right there and then, as she was thrown from a moving lorry onto the windscreen of Chan’s convertible beneath her; the window did not smash as it should have done so sent Yeoh onto the road, into oncoming traffic. Honestly … Western cinema could never. Worn like a badge of honour at the film’s conclusion, it is both a health and safety nightmare and insane showcase of talent and panache in equal measure. Even without the background knowledge of these stunts, the scene’s themselves are riveting enough!
Not only is Yeoh’s physicality incredibly impressive, her performance throughout the film illustrates just how talented this magnificent woman is, executing the comedy and drama of the film to perfection. Having mentioned comedy, Police Story 3 offers it in spades. The very start had me barking with its “managers are the worst” gag and Chan and Yeoh together were comedic dynamite throughout (“didn’t you hear me say ‘pretend’?!”). The camaraderie those two have, it really is a shame that they haven’t starred together since (Police Story 5 anyone? I’m not saying no). The predominantly goofy comedy of Police Story 3 toes the line of outright silly at times, but never threatens to take away from the genuinely thrilling joyride of the film’s entirety. Even when the dramas of Ka-Kui’s relationship with his girlfriend, May (Maggie Cheung), teeter on the edge of sitcom territory, the film segues it into one of the best action sequences ever created in cinema. It is a perfect concoction of all the elements.
Everyone in this film sets the bar, but as the chosen subject of my fifth challenge it is no surprise that Michelle Yeoh eclipsed all. An absolute force to be reckoned with, she really showgrounds her talents and near godlike abilities in this film, as she does in everything (everywhere) she does. Forget Bond, Bourne and Wick, forget Mission: Impossible – Police Story 3 is the absolute ultimate and Michelle Yeoh reigns over all. I really hope that by the time she’s astounding us yet again in her next project that her name will be prefixed with “Academy Award Winner” – it is long overdue.
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