Wong ga si je ji IV: Jik gik jing yan (1989)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Woo-ping Yuen

Writers:

Chi-Sing Cheung (writer)
Wing-Fai Wong (writer)

Release Date:

21 July 1989 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Action | Crime

Plot:

Two detectives who are up to their necks in trouble and in each other's face, as they try to shut down...

Plot Keywords:

Roman Numeral In Title | Punctuation In Title | Sequel | Number In Title

Cast

Cynthia Khan	...	Madam Rachel Yeung Lai-Ching
Donnie Yen	...	Captain Donnie Yan
Michael Wong	...	Captain Michael Wong
Yat Chor Yuen	...	Luk Wan-Ting
Kai Chi Liu	...	Ming
Chiao Chiao	...	Luk's Mother
Gei Shun Wai	...	HK Police officer
Shun-Yee Yuen	...	Drug dealer
Blaine Lamoureux	...	Officer Peter Woods (as Blaine Camoureux)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Stephen Berwick	...	Fighter in blue T-shirt
Wing Cho	...	Loan Shark's Man 1 / CIA Agent
Farid Dordar	...	Thug at pier
Tom Hyland
Jim James	...	Officer John
Yiu Man Kee	...	Loan Shark's Man 2
Farlie Ruth Kordica	...	Blonde female fighter
Eddie Maher	...	Loan Shark in Seattle
Kwok-kin Ng	...	Policeman
David Petersen
Ray Pichette	...	Violent policeman (as Ray Pachette)
John Salvitti	...	Fighter in alley
Paul Wong	...	Killer at hospital
Michael Woods	...	Black fighter on rooftop / Motorbike
Tin Hung Yee	...	Loan Shark's Thug in Seattle

Also Known As:

In the Line of Duty (UK) (video title)
In the Line of Duty 4 (Hong Kong: English title)
Key Witness (International: English title) (video title)
Survival (International: English title) (video title)
Wong ga si je ji IV: Jik gik jing yan (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence.

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Ireland:18 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:18 | UK:18 | USA:R | Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Company:

D & B Films Co. Ltd.

Goofs:

Continuity: Luk and Officer Yeung are handcuffed to each other in Luk's mother's home, but when they are outside, only Luk is handcuffed.

Quotes:

Donny: [gives madam Yeung a drink] Here, thought it might wake you up.
Madam Yeung: [takes the cup and remembers how Donny saved her and Luk from an attack at the hospital] You're still in Hong Kong?
Donny: It was the way that guy died in questioning. It didn't feel right.
Madam Yeung: [smiles] Who do you think did it?
[Donny doesn't respond]
Madam Yeung: Don't wanna know? Your good friend...Captain Mike Wong.
Donny: Listen up, I was just beginning to like you.
Madam Yeung: You like Michael and that's exactly why you don't wanna consider him. You said it yourself, a cop can't let his emotions get in the way. And while you don't have many, they're conflicting your judgment.
Donny: [angrily gets in her face] Shut up! Despite what you think, I do have feelings, but I also have a job to do and I need to do it! I have a sense of responsibility. How come I came back here?! You think I like listening to you, you stuck up..
Madam Yeung: [cuts him off] 'Stuck up bitch'. That what you wanna call me?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Follows Wong ga jin si (1986)

To say it is action packed is an understatement.

Great addition to the series.

The film opens in Seattle where, after meeting Cynthia in the obligatory opening kung fu scene, an innocent dockworker, Luk, accidentally runs across some corrupt CIA agents making a double-cross for a secret film negative. In a Hitchcockian twist, the negative is thought to be in the Luk's hands, when it actually has rolled into the water. Of course, no one believes the unlucky Luk doesn't have the film negative- not the CIA and not Donnie Yen, Michael Wong, or Cynthia, the cops on the case, who export Luk back to China. It is early on that Donnie is established as the hot tempered one, Cynthia is just Cynthia, and after playing a good guy in Royal Warriors (In the line of Duty 1) Michael Wong clearly is playing the good looking, but underhanded bad cop in league with the corrupt CIA. Despite trying to wine and dine Cynthia, she suspects Michael is a turncoat, and it takes awhile, and a lot of action for her to convince Donnie that Michael, his friend, is bad. All the while, they have to deal with protecting poor Luk from the renegade CIA agents at every corner.

The action (thanks to the great Yuen Woo Ping) is typical of the series, inventive and brutal, but what sets this one apart is the sheer number of action scenes. There are three kung fu fights and a shoot-out in the first fifteen minutes. In total (Yes, I counted) there are fourteen kung fu battles, three shoot-outs, a brief ice locker torture scene, a car bomb, two scenes involving hitmen on motorcycles, and two interrogation room beatings. Cynthia's highlights are a great fight on a moving ambulance in witch she is shoved though the window, her head dangling above the pavement, fighting on top of it, hanging off the front grill, and another fight with a fugly gwailo woman in a warehouse that involves some precarious scaffolding and elevator shaft fu. Donnie, however, has a the majority of the good fights, like a motorcycle chase and joust, as well as his fantastic final fight with a beefcake Ike Turner lookalike. If you are looking for action every three minutes, look no further.

The In the line of Duty series is mainly known for showcasing the talents of female action stars, Michelle Khan (Yeoh) and Cynthia Khan, however this entry is mainly Donnie Yen's chance to shine and one of the first films to gain him any notoriety as a lead. Before this films success, he was essentially going to give up hope for a movie career. Donnie actually saves Cynthia in most of her scenes. When she is drugged and fighting a knife wielding assassin, its Donnie to the rescue! When they are attacked by a motorcycle psycho hitman, its Donnie who takes him on. When Cynthia is fighting Michael Wong in the finale, it's only with Donnie's help that they finish him. So, its rather clear that Woo Ping favored Donnie, and, no disrespect to Cynthia, but kung fu fans are all the better for it.