Killer Angels (1989) and Iron Angels (1987)
Updated: 7 days ago
I am journeying deeper into the realm of Girls with Guns movies, beyond the most named and acclaimed. No Michelle Yeoh, Cynthia Rothrock, or even Cynthia Khan in sight here. This is where the less famous but more prolific leading ladies lay their claim, some with dozens of movies made over a few years. One of those ladies was Moon Lee, star of today's double feature.
note: reviewed in the order I watched them in
Killer Angels (1989)
Killer Angels is 1989 Girls with Guns/Chicks with Kicks movie from prolific director Tony Lou Chun-Ku. Moon Lee stars as a member of the Blue Angels, a mercenary/private detective type agency that works with law enforcement. The vague Charlie's Angels-esque organization seems to be a recurring staple of these movies (including the next one I watched!). I always see people make the Charlie's Angels comparison, but I recently read about a Japanese show that ran from 1969-1974 called Playgirl that actually sounds very similar and could actually have been the original that influenced Charlie's Angels? Playgirl (TV Series 1969–1974) - IMDb It sounds a little more spy-movie coded (coming from the late 60s that makes sense), but they even rotate actresses/characters as people left like Charlie's Angels. I can't actually find the damn thing to see how similar they are (just a youtube video with a few clips of the delightful Reiko Oshida, the actress whose IMDB lead me to Playgirl). My inner internet pedant would LOVE to have solid ground to toss that claim around though, "Well ACTUALLY..."
The plot and character beats of Killer Angels are often thin and repetitive, but at least Moon Lee goes undercover to do a musical number in a fabulous outfit! I also appreciated how many ass-kicking ladies there were. In addition to Moon and her partner, they get a client who turns out to be a badass older lady tragically connected to their other client. Takajo Fujimi also makes a strong impression as a beautiful villain (sadly very few credits to her name). There is an endless barrage of gunfights, mostly distinguished by the sheer volume of goons getting got. Plentiful fisticuffs help mix it up, some entertainingly mobile. The Angels fighting up and down and around their safehouse and Moon/Takajo's bout leaping around stairs and poles had a lot of energy.
Watching the English dub, the witness the Angels are supposed to protect is called Jackie Chan (he looks more like a young Ken Jeong). My wife and I were endlessly amused that they talked about "Jackie Chan" (always the full name!) like 800 times in the first half of the movie. We also got a kick out of the fact that the Angels don't put on sexy OR tactical outfits on the job, they just kick ass in cute casual wear. Watching an adorable gal in glasses and a chunky sweater with a single suspender mow down mooks with a machine gun is a good time. This doesn't have a whole lot to distinguish or elevate it compared to other Girls with Guns/Chicks with Kicks (I'm trying to get that one going) movies, but it delivers consistent B-grade entertainment.
Iron Angels (1987)
Iron Angels, aka Angel (on my copy's title screen), aka Fighting Madam (the name my copy was listed under), aka Midnight Angels (but NOT Midnight Angel, that is another Yukari Oshima movie) is a 1987 Girls with Guns/Chicks with Kicks movie directed by Teresa Woo. I don't know if I have seen an HK action flick directed by a woman before, it looks like she did two romance movies and three in this Angels series and that's it for directing. I am glad she made two more of these at least, because this was a good time.
The movie opens with Interpol operatives attacking and burning Thai opium fields and their guards. Bloody squibs abound, and there have to be a few dozen explosions in the first 5 minutes. The criminals in charge of the drug operation are not happy and go to war with law enforcement, killing and kidnapping officers. Bloody executions play out in quick succession, except for one extended beat where two guys on motorcycles ride by another guy slashing the shit out of him with katanas an awesomely gratuitous number of times. Not everyone in the criminal alliance is happy with the people their side are also losing, but Madame Yeung (Yukari Oshima) doesn't want to hear it. I was already digging Yeung's beauty and style as soon as she entered the room/movie. Then she chopped the complainer's fingers off, and when fellow shady criminal board member Chang Lung (Jeong Lee-Hwang) attacks her in response, she deftly defends herself without even messing up her stylish 80s business wear! The fight is stopped, and her pissed off look as she lifts her lethal leg away might be the moment I fell in love.
Later we will see her casually enjoying lunch in the middle of torturing a guy. I love a badass lady in general, but I have a special place in my heart for nasty badass villainesses like this. Those opening bursts of violence and my affection for Yeung helped keep my attention, as it takes a surprisingly long time for the action to pick up again.
This was similar in many ways to Killer Angels. Both star Moon Lee working for a vague mercenary/private detective group that takes jobs from law enforcement (called the Angels here, the Blue Angels in Killer Angels). There are key differences, though. The Blue Angels were an all-lady affair, from Moon to her cute partner to their handler, and eventually one of their clients turned ally. The Angels here consist of Moon, Elaine (Elaine Lui, afflicted with some truly unfortunate 80s hair), and Japanese fighter dude Saijo (Hideki Saijo), with another man as the client turned ally. Also, both movies feature a random musical performance from a leading lady, but Moon Lee's outfit and full revue with back-up dancers in Killer Angels puts Elaine Mui's number here to shame.
They also do a lot more actual investigating in this movie. Pretty much everywhere the Blue Angels went descended into a chaotic flurry of bullets and kicks, whereas the Angels manage to infiltrate a building without it exploding. So, for about 30 minutes there is pretty much no violence as the Angels do spy/detective movie shit. We see them dangerously free-climb an office building to break in and photograph documents (featuring an amazing electronic device that somehow works on analogue window latches), stake out shady work sites and pretend to make out when guards catch them (unfortunately it is not Moon and Elaine kissing), and try to figure out (nonsensical) criminal plans and codes. The story/script are still shallow enough that a 13-year-old could have written it, but a particularly patient 13-year-old that actually enjoys the non-action stuff in cop/spy movies.
Exactly halfway through the movie, the Angels finally stage a big compound raid to try and free the Interpol hostages. A barrage of machine gun fire and explosions ensue (the Angels have seemingly infinite grenades). Highlights include one of the Angels hanging from a helicopter casually machine-gunning dudes below like he is playing a bonus rail-shooter level in a video game, and a near endless parade of explosive defenestrations. The energy, violence, and pyro level are high here, but unfortunately it suffers from a fair amount of over editing and the dreaded choppy slo-mo inserts that plague vintage Hong Kong action. There also isn't that much imagination or style in the shootout staging, so the copious squibs, explosions, and stunt men dangerously flying around have to carry it. If this was all the movie had to offer I would have been a bit disappointed.
Thankfully, the hand-to-hand combat is much more satisfying. This is very much a quality-over-quantity situation. Before the climax, I think there are really only two fights, both between Saijo and Chang Lung. Initially I was disappointed we didn't get an all-female team like in Killer Angels, but Saijo earns his place in the movie with the parking lot bout. The climax of the movie has Yeung take on Moon and Elaine. Like Mad Dog in The Raid, she purposely opens herself up to two attackers at once and still seems to have the advantage. This is a brief but impressively brutal fight, all grace and finesse going out the window as chains, boards with nails, and metal containers come into play. Moon's finishing move in particular feels desperate and nasty, as she grabs Yeung by the ankle and swings her headfirst into hard metal. Ouch!
This was a mixed bag, but an interesting counterpoint to the seemingly identical-on-paper Killer Angels. I think overall I enjoyed the non-stop action (and slightly better shoot outs) of Killer Angels more. Yet I am still scoring them the same, because Fighting Madam deserves bonus points for the fantastic Madame Yeung. I liked the female henchman in Killer Angels, but the Madame gets to be the big bad in the plot scenes AND the badass final opponent, making her more memorable. The short-but-nasty fights here also deserve praise. I will definitely be looking for the rest of this series, and more Yukari Oshima roles.
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