Famed director Lee Tso Nam, who brought us the brilliant A Life Of Ninja, The Hot, The Cool & The Vicious, and Kung Fu Wonderchild (also starring Oshima) to name but a few, brings us this entry to the Hong Kong femme fatale genre, starring everyone's favourite action heroines, Moon Lee and Yukari Oshima...
The opening 5 minutes of Beauty Investigator is a bit nuts, with an old housekeeper looking in a bin to find some thongs (that she proceeds to try and fit), before seeing a body under the rubbish. The police are called and policewomen Moon Lee and Gam Chi Gei arrive on scene, with Gam throwing-up over the body after peeking in for a look. At the same time, a guy snatches a woman's bag and the girls give chase leading to a fun fight in a parking lot - along with a comical, cranked up display of the thief's kung-fu skills. As they return with the bag to the murder scene, the girls find their commanding officer, played by the great Melvin Wong, on site and themselves in a lot of trouble for leaving the scene unattended!
The following day, the girls get punished by being put on a case that sees them working undercover as hostesses in a high-class nightclub. Their aim is to find a serial killer who seems to be murdering these working girls, with the body in the bin being the third from this particular club. While incognito, they come across a gang who are behind the city's drug trade, and find out about some big plans that could land them a promotion if they can stop it. They say trouble comes in three's, and while juggling the murder case and now, capturing the drug gang, another problem arises in the shape of the amazing Yukari Oshima; a Japanese hit-woman who crosses paths with the wacky, but tough lady cops...
Oh, how I miss the days of Hong Kong's golden age when the girls kicked butt and pulled off some amazing stunt work that even shamed the very best of Hollywood! Beauty Investigator is just one of those examples, packed with plenty of action, daft comedy, and of course, the pairing up of Lee and Oshima which never disappoints. Filling out the cast is the wonderful Sophia Crawford, who has fought with the same stars in a number of projects now, Chui Jing Yat from Super lady Cop, and License To Steal, and the great Billy Chow, who needs no introduction!
As mentioned, there is plenty of great action moments handled by Jackson Ng. Although he hadn't choreographed much before this, the fights and action in Beauty Investigator are still a lot of fun, with the end battle in particular standing out with some great moves, rawness and the girls looking great. Jackson, who has a supporting role in this, co-directed the action on the fantastic Wong Jing film, The Magic Crystal, as well as starring in many Shaw Brothers classics, Iron Angels 2, Police Story 3, and Skinny Tiger Fatty Dragon...
While it may not go down as one of Lee and Oshima's greatest films, Beauty Investigator is still a lot of fun and well worth the watch. Yes it has plenty of flaws, cliches and silly moments, but ultimately, it entertains with some fun comedy, great martial arts action, painful looking stunt work and awesome finale. Great fun!
Overall: Although it's the usual plot nonsense of OTT bad guys and undercover cops, the hard-hitting fight scenes keep you gripped!
