May 2007 - After Yes, Madam [1985], the girls-with-guns sub-genre of Hong Kong cinema was big business at the local box office. Director Cory Yuen Kwai and writer Barry Wong Ping-Yiu teamed up in 1990 with producer Sammo Hung Kam-Bo and his pretty girlfriend, Joyce Godenzi, to make She Shoots Straight. This is a nice movie that uses the proven template while adding a few twists. The best reason to watch this movie is for the performance of Tang Pik-Wan. The casting of this seasoned pro as the matriarch of the story was sheer genius. With her compelling screen presence, Ms. Tang makes her young female co-stars look like rank amateurs.

Speaking frankly, if Sammo was just a regular guy without fame and fortune, he could never get a woman as good looking as Ms. Godenzi, right? In Hollywood jargon, this is a classic “vanity picture”, a project developed by a movie mogul to feature his latest starlet. Mr. Hung produces and designs a role in a feature film for his girl and hires the best available Action Directors [Yuen Tak and Mang Hoi] to help him make her look capable. He succeeds here quite nicely.