It's not that rare to get a crappy kung-fu movie made in China during the last 40 years. It is also not that rare to get one made with American actors trying to be kung-fu stars...and usually failing- I'm looking at you, Gary Daniels. What is rare is getting a kung-fu movie made in China with American actors and Chinese ones. Oh, by the way, the whole movie is also done in English as its native language. So if you ever wanted to see the Indian from Brotherhood of the Wolf battle real kung-fu masters, this is your film. It is...
I have to pause for a moment to comment on how silly this title is. Grammatically, it just makes no sense. Is the whole country a 'strike force?' Silly, silly. Moving on...
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The plot revolves around two young cops who get caught up in a big drug bust and all of the related violence. Wouldn't it be a change of pace to see some young cops caught up in something that is actually on their level? Sure, it would be boring, but it would be something different. Their first big test is an assassination attempt in a big public forum. Why? It has something to do with two criminal drug lords trying to tie up any loose ends before their work gets interrupted. But, you don't really care about that! What you care about is this: action scene! They chase the attacker (dressed as a waiter) into a busy Hong Kong street and fight around the traffic. There is also a motorcycle that gets involved for a couple of stunts. The guy manages to evade capture via death, proving that our heroes are vaguely-ineffectual.
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A good lead comes in the form of a good-looking young woman with ties to the drug dealers. A lot of chasing ensues before she is captured. In the interim, we get some scenes involving our two drug dealers: Mark 'Iron Chef America' Dacascos and Coolio. Why does this guy keep showing up in my movies?!? Incidentally, Coolio's character is in fact named Coolio. That's lazy writing for you! Oh well, at least they are doing business meetings in a hot tub...oh god, they are. This is turning into the gayest pair of drug dealers ever! Back to the female part of the movie, our heroes learn the woman's secret: she is actually part of the Japanese DEA! Dun dun dun! Much like Cradle 2 The Grave, she came overseas to get the guy. This brings up the biggest problem the movie has: the English language. Most of the stars are not exactly from here and not that exactly fluent in the language. This gives us the classic line of the woman explaining that she wants revenge on 'the drug dealer Coorio.'
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In case it was not clear, the movie is just a pretense to string together action scenes. The actors were all hired for their ability to fight, well, except for Coolio. He was hired for his ability to...wait, why did they hire him? Oh right, he contributes in his own way to the musical score. What do we get? A rap song that consists of the lyrics 'Oow-eeh, I like girls, I like girls.' Now picture that for five minutes and you have 'the song.' The finale is pretty much worth the price of admission though. Our main hero (I won't spoil the whole plot for you) shows up to battle Dacascos and Coolio. During the fight, the latter tries to flee in a car that is being towed by a helicopter- of course! The other two get on a fight ensues on the vehicle. About halfway through, they crash it into a building and Dacascos is killed. The fight continues on a giant pane of glass. To review, they kill off the one villain who knows kung-fu in place of Coolio. Yeah, it's not pretty, although Stanley Tong disguises it alright.
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This movie is entertaining, but nothing more. The fact that Stanley Tong was at the helm helped it a lot more than any other factor. The stunt performers do an admirable job and make all the action feel real. Unfortunately, the acting and everything else in the movie is just not up to par. People can make Jackie Chan films for their flimsy plots, but they are least more fluid and logical than this one. I would have liked a stronger plot that was delivered more competently. As it stands, China Strike Force is a fun movie that will keep you entertained for a while, but fail to be all that memorable.
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While we are still in Asia, let's take a walk on the bi-polar side...you filthy bastard. Sorry, I did it again. Stay tuned...
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