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先發制人 (1989)
Angel's Mission


Reviewed by: CaptainAmerica
Date: 06/05/2002
Summary: For Yukari Oshima fans only!

I'm a devout Yukari Oshima fan, and it's a mixed blessing for me that this was one of the first films I saw her in. Good because we're talking about Yukari; bad because...well, this film could've been a lot better! This is a B-movie, pure and simple, with plenty of exploitation elements to keep the viewer from getting bored.

The film centers on Yukari's character at first, who goes on vacation to HK to see her mom. But suddenly, the film takes a hard turn into a seemingly unrelated plotline and focuses on an ex-triad member (Dick Wei, in a rare good guy role) who goes to HK to find his missing sister. His sister has been kidnapped by a Frick-and-Frack pair clearly influenced by Richard "Jaws" Kiel from the James Bond movies! These two, it turns out, work for a triad leader's second-in-command (Phillip Ko) who not only has ambitions to take over his boss' business, he likes to kidnap his own boss' prostitutes.

But here's where things get interesting...or a little TOO coincidental, depending on your point of view. Yukari's character is in fact an Interpol officer (who really is on vacation), but her vacation is put on hold by her superiors to investigate the prostitution ring and find some missing prostitutes (many of whom are from Japan, and the authorities in Hello Kitty Land are concerned that they may come back to transmit AIDS!). Yukari is partnered with a HK officer (Ha Chi-chun, who also teamed with Yukari in FINAL RUN and after this movie in BRAVE YOUNG GIRLS) who's seen a few too many Dirty Harry movies. Yukari discovers that the owner of the club where her mother manages is the leader of the prostitution ring, the club itself is a front for these ladies, and her mom is a pimp! Meanwhile, Dick Wei's character hooks up with a former brother who - you guessed it - is the club owner, and he's the one Phillip Ko wants to do a MacBeth number on! How coincidental!

Okay, the plot turns run questionable-to-downright-dumb, and the budget is probably lower than a year's minimum wage salary, but seriously. The only reason anyone has to see this film (besides Ha Chi-chun and Dick Wei, and maybe Phillip Ko being more dastardly than usual) is first and foremost Yukari Oshima. Every time she's on the screen she honestly elevates this movie, and you know she's meant for better than this. Watch, but don't take it seriously!

(Note: the English dubbed version available through Tai Seng is half-awful, half-hilarious, especially considering some of the English voice actors also did the dubbed version of HARD BOILED!)


Reviewed by: mrblue
Date: 02/12/2002
Summary: Not bad

Angel's Mission isn't too bad for a Godfrey Ho movie, which really isn't saying much. The plot really isn't much: Dick Wei comes to Hong Kong to search for his missing sister, and discovers that a prositution ring may be to blame for his sister's disappearance. Interpol agent Yukari Oshima is also on the case, and eventually they team up to take on the international gang behind the ring. But at least Angel's Mission appears to be all original footage, instead of Ho's usual cut-and-paste mess. However, Ho's omnipresent low budget is apparent here. The film just looks cheap, has horrible editing, steals music from other movies, and has a supporting cast of no-talent nitwits, including some of the worst gweilo "actors" ever in a Hong Kong movie.

Really, the only reason to watch Angel's Mission is Yukari Oshima. While her acting isn't all that great (mostly due to the poor script), she shines in the action sequences and makes the movie a worthwhile -- if nowhere near mandatory -- viewing for fans of her work. One has to wonder why Yukari wasted so much of her time and talent working for a hack like Godfrey Ho, when it's obvious she is capable of much better. Yukari was married to Philip Ko (who often worked on Ho productions -- in fact, it is rumored that Godfrey Ho is a pseudonym for Philip Ko), and it seems a shame that her personal relationships seem to have so negatively affected what could have been a much bigger career.


Reviewed by: hkcinema
Date: 12/21/1999

A beautiful Japan-based interpol agent is on holiday to visit hermother in Hong Kong - but her vacation is cut short when she is called to investigatea HK-based prostitution ring. The twist is her mother is a key figure in the prostitution ring!

[Reviewed by Tai Seng Catalog]


Reviewed by: jfierro
Date: 12/21/1999

Sibelle and Moon are two HK cops assigned to escort a prisoner to Macau. Of course, the prisoner escapes minutes after she is turned over, so the two HK cops must stay on and track her down with the help of a local. The action scenes are only OK, but the film is still not too bad.


Reviewed by: hokazak
Date: 12/09/1999

What a sleeper! Way above average for a triad/cops/girls with guns flick. The rather complex plot holds together pretty well, and there's lots of good action, with guns and kung fu - well choreographed, edited, etc.. Good performances by just about all of the actors portraying the villains (including Phillip Kao/Ko Fei). Dick Wei is great as the noble brother who joins the triad in order to track down his sister. The HK cop who aids Yukari Oshima (herself playing a Japanese "international cop") is also good.


Reviewed by: hokazak
Date: 12/09/1999

Pretty good. Not "grade A" Moon Lee, but she and Sibelle arecharming, as is "the Dwarf" - an undercover cop w/ whom Sibelle spends a couple of days a little "too close" for comfort, while traveling in search of a witness. Great scene where she pisses on him, on accident.