Yes, Madam

Despite the numeral two in the title, Red Force 2 represents the origin of the Hong Kong subgenre of action films with women in the lead roles. And it was a grand kick-off, as it brought together two of the most prominent female performers of the day. Michelle Yeoh catapulted the film to stellar status and subsequently cemented her role as a literal and figurative pioneer of women’s emancipation in the testosterone-fuelled action genre with roles in Police Story 3, where she was Jackie Chan’s equal partner, in the first emancipatory Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies and subsequently in the Asian cinematic milestone Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. In her first lead role, she portrayed a tenacious policewoman who is tougher than Dirty Harry and puts all of the bad guys and her sexist colleagues in their proper place (mostly in the ground). Her partner was portrayed Cynthia Rothrock, an icon of VHS productions and a real-life martial arts champion. Under the direction of the brilliant action choreographer Corey Yuen, the film is a frantic mix of goofball Hong Kong comedy provided by guest stars with the film’s producer, Sammo Hung, at the fore and a gritty action thriller with phenomenal fight scenes that remain breathtaking to this day. The sad truth, however, is that the filmmakers evidently didn’t believe in what they were doing. After all, according to Cynthia Rothrock’s testimony, it was originally supposed to be an action project with male protagonists and was changed into an urban action film with women only because of the circumstances of casting, or rather Corey Yuen’s enthusiasm for giving her a showcase. However, the producers ensured the success of the film, which was ground-breaking for its time (though the Hong Kong tradition of female characters in kung fu films dates back to the 1960s), by packing it with popular contemporary comedians, who not only gave the film star appeal, but even took over the moment of destroying the main villain from the female protagonists. This element, which reliably enhances the degree of emancipation of any action film with women in the lead roles, was attributed to Michelle Yeoh, Cynthia Rothrock and their successors only in later films. (14/03/2021)