Hisssss!
You might think from the title of this Hong Kong action item that you’d found a new episode in the Jade Leung Black Cat series, but such is not the case.
Almen Wong (aka Wong Pooi Gwong) stars as the sexy and mysterious super assassin Jin Jing, aka Cat. While she’s not out killing folks for her Triad clients, Cat spends her time working out in her warehouse hideout and brooding about her troubled past. That is, until she becomes obsessed with heroic Micheal Wong, the detective assigned to tracking her down. Wong has his own troubles, weeping in front of the VCR over home movies of his wife and daughter, who’ve recently dumped his sorry ass.
Of course, Cat’s obsession goes too far. She kidnaps Mike, handcuffs him, and gives him a lap dance – which helps him forget his wife, but leads him into conflict with hids duty to bring her to justice. But it’s hard to arrest somebody while they’re protecting you. Wong’s harrasment of Cat’s employer has egged him into sending other assassins after him – who just happen to be the man and woman who betrayed Cat in the past.
Many HK action films either have strong fights and stunts and weak characterization, or just the opposite, but this one is just plain goofy in all departments. The love story is laughably sappy, and the action pieces – though energetic – are sloppy and unimpressive. This is one of those movies where a character says something about “this is like a bad movie” and it turns out to be true. It doesn’t help that every time Cat goes into action she’s accompanied by the roar of a panther on the soundtrack.
Director Ford Clarence has a small following due to his early 1990s hits Gun n’ Rose and Naked Killer, but his taste for exploitation has lead him into cheesy territory here. A good example is the love scenes between the leads, which never tease beyond a PG rating. It’s either too over-the-top or too timid – I can’t decide which.