|
Cast:
Do
Do Cheng
Anthony
Wong
Alfred
Cheung
Chan
Chung-Yung
Lok
Wai
Action:
Dion
Lam
Producer:
Alfred
Cheung
Director:
Alfred
Cheung
Score:
  
|
HER
FATAL WAYS III
AKA:
Her Fatal Ways 3
Year:
1992 Reviewer: Andrew
Saroch
Inspector
Cheng, ardent supporter of the philosophies of the People's
Republic Of China, is given a new responsibility by her
appreciative superiors. Her task this time is to guard party
chief Mr. Chien as he makes a clandestine visit to Hong Kong
to see his childhood sweetheart. On the plane to Hong Kong,
however, Cheng and her eccentric cousin are shocked to learn
that their flight is to be diverted to Tai Pai, home to the
dissident Chinese/Taiwanese who Cheng abhors. The uptight
inspector discovers that her 'captors' are nothing but
friendly and she even attracts the attention of a bullish
Taiwanese security officer. When Cheng is finally able to
leave Taiwan - suitably contrite after her harsh judgements -
she teams up with a savvy Hong Kong agent who is asked to make
sure the visit of Mr. Chien runs as smoothly as possible.
Do
Do Cheng is the kind of consummate professional who can turn
in splendid comic performances without even flexing her
thespian muscles. Such an ability has made those who lens her
pictures occasionally lazy and far too reliant on letting
their leading ladies expertise paper over the numerous cracks
in the production. The somnolent first sequel to the excellent
'Her Fatal Ways' showed how easily such a trap can be sprung;
even with Alfred Cheung in the director's chair, the follow-up
felt as if all concerned were simply going through the
motions. 'Her Fatal Ways III' is a return to form for the
series and, though it still pales next to the original, it is
a far more satisfying 90 minutes than the second part.
'Her
Fatal Ways III' plays on the same themes and stereotypes of
the original; Inspector Cheng is the proverbial country
bumpkin spouting party rhetoric at the drop of a hat while
Anthony Wong is the typically urbane Hong Kong agent who acts
as an obvious juxtaposition with the backwardness of his new
partner. This is not only the formula for all of the 'Her
Fatal Ways' films, but any 80s/90s piece of Hong Kong cinema
that features a Mainland character. Nevertheless, Alfred
Cheung satirises all of the respective cultures, not just
making this an exercise in mocking the post-1997 yokels,
instead showing that all three regions are essentially from
the same bloodstock. Naturally the idea of Inspector Cheng's
awkwardness around all things capitalist constitutes the
majority of the laughs, though this is much more than just a
parody of a certain culture.
In
terms of a storyline, this 'threequel' is never more than just
a collection of comic set-ups and the manipulating of certain
scenarios to create farcical situations. The fact that a
villain is shoe-horned into the final third of the film says a
great deal for how much interest the makers have in winning
awards or maintaining a tension-filled narrative. 'Her Fatal
Ways III' is never about such aspects though; it is a chance
to see Do Do Cheng, Hong Kong's finest comic actress, breathe
life into an already competent production. The themes may have
dated (to watch a 'backward' China from today's perspective is
intriguing when one considers it's current rejuvenation), but
the opportunity to see Cheng and her three able co-stars play
off each other is not to be passed up.
|
