Killer Angels (1989) Review

“Killer Angels” Theatrical Poster

Director: Tony Liu Chun-ku
Cast: Moon Lee, Gordon Liu, Lau Siu Kwan, Leung Kar Yan, Fujimi Nadeki, Kingdom Yuen King Tan, Shing Fui On, Ng Man Tat, Tony Liu Jun Guk, Mark Houghton
Running Time: 91 min.

By Paul Bramhall

Like most fans of Hong Kong action, I have a soft spot for the Girls with Guns genre. Sure it was short lived (almost every entry that falls under the category was made between 1987 – 1993), and the sheer volume in which they were cranked out meant that there quickly became more bad than good, but there’s something about even the worst ones which means they’re never entirely unforgivable. There were essentially two Girls with Guns series, of which all of the other knock-offs and copy-cats looked to replicate. First was the Yes, Madam!/In the Line of Duty flicks, which were kicked off by Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock in the 1985 original, however would subsequently be carried by Cynthia Khan in the following 5 entries (some of which are considered unofficial). Then there was 1987’s Iron Angels, which introduced us to the talents of Moon Lee, spawned 2 official sequels, and a plethora of other loose Angel tie-ins.

Killer Angels was one such production, made during the same year as Angel III, and gives us Moon Lee as one of the Blue Angels trio, a kind of mercenaries for hire service that the police sometimes enlist the services of. When a member of a mysterious triad group called the Shadow Gangsters returns from America, claiming to have a list of all of the HK members of the group, the angels are called in to provide him with protection in return for exchanging the list. Said protection takes the form of fending off the HK based sect of the Shadow Gangsters, led by the legendary Leung Kar Yan and his faithful subordinate, the equally legendary Gordon Liu. Cue the tropes we all come to these flicks for – gratuitous machine gun fire, explosions, hard hitting fights, and a general level of energy that belies the obviously low budget.

Helmed by Tony Liu Chun-ku, much of the reason why Killer Angels proves to be a superlative slice of Girls with Guns entertainment, is likely thanks to his involvement. A director who’d been active since the mid-70’s, after helming Hwang Jang Lee classics like Hell’s Windstaff and Tiger Over Wall, he moved onto directing some of the most well regarded 80’s era Shaw Brothers productions, such as Bastard Swordsman and Secret Service of the Imperial Court. By the end of the decade he’d become somewhat of a Girls with Guns aficionado, usually with Moon Lee as his leading lady, with the pair also working on Devil Hunters the same year as Killer Angels (in which he turns up in a minor role).

Almost as if Chun-ku’s mission statement was to create the archetypal template for any Girls with Guns flick (or late 80’s/early 90’s Hong Kong action movie for that matter), the opening of Killer Angels acts like a check list of required scenarios – assassination in a basement car park. Check. Businessman kidnapped by assailants wearing sunglasses, even though it’s at night. Check. Action scene in a container yard. Check. It may feel overly familiar, but there’s a welcome energy to the briskness of the pacing, and the action on display is crisp. Moon Lee is joined by fellow angel Kingdom Yuen (a name more epic than anything in the movie itself), who plays a geeky but equally capable member of the trio, and eventually a lawyer, played by Yuen Hung, who’s proves to be more lethal with her fists than her legal skills.

Much like the Iron Angels series which it riffs on, while the title indicates the plural, the real star of the show here is Moon Lee. Where Killer Angels sets itself apart from the series that inspired it though, is that Lee’s co-stars are just as proficient in screen fighting as she is. No offence to Elaine Lui of course, however she could never have been argued to been cast expecting to deliver top drawer fights (and notably she was missing in action from Angel III all together). Both Kingdom Yuen and Yuen Hung have the moves, and thankfully get a handful of opportunities to show them off. Both ladies get their licks in against Lau Siu Kwan, who plays the triad they’re protecting, and whose unwanted advances lead to him being kicked and thrown around like a ragdoll.

Such scenes are a reminder of just how much talent the Hong Kong stunt community had in the industries prime. Whereas today, being attached to a wire for the purpose of being launched across a room and thrown face first into a wall would (and rightly so) be considered a high impact money shot, back then it was filmed as if it was no more important that the dialogue scene that just preceded it. Killer Angels is one of those movies were people get punched and kicked around on a regular basis, absorbing some painful looking falls and impacts, the type which as fans we perhaps once took for granted. As the expression goes, you don’t know what you got ’till it’s gone, but thankfully there’s an almost never ending catalogue of HK action flicks that’ll always be there to enjoy.

The other standout of Killer Angels is Moon Lee’s performance itself. She gets a little bit more to do here than just look cute and kick ass, as she finds herself going undercover in a triad run hostess bar. Hired as a singer, this results in her being given a full length musical number, in which she belts out a surprisingly catchy slice of Canto-pop complete with choreographed dance moves and backup dancers. Ridiculously, this scene was completely cut from Tai Seng’s US VHS release, which should be considered a crime considering it’s such a highlight. She also finds herself involved in a rather bizarre love triangle with Gordon Liu, who plays a triad enforcer armed with an enormous revolver, and an affinity for wearing black leather (even his cap is leather!).

Much like the audience, Liu finds himself falling for the charms of Lee’s understated sexiness, and even when he finds out she’s undercover, can’t quite bring himself to pull the trigger. This doesn’t go down well with Liu’s floozy, played by Japanese femme fatale Takajo Fujimi, which leads to a nicely choreographed fight between her and Lee. Killer Angels was Fujimi’s debut, and her career never really took off the same way it did for her fellow countryman Yukari Oshima, possibly because she always seemed to be cast in roles similar to those that Oshima was known for. Despite having screen presence and the moves to back it up, she’d only clock up 13 credits in the 10 years she was active in the industry, with her final appearance in 1999’s forgettable The Kingdom of Mob. As a debut though, in Killer Angels she leaves an impression.

Be warned, if you’re a fan of the Master Killer, this is not the movie for you. Much like many of the movies Liu was making at the time (see also A Bloody Fight and My Heart is That Eternal Rose), he doesn’t throw a single punch or kick, although he does get to shoot a lot. Liu was an actor who always seemed a little lost without his mentor Lau Kar Leung, and he never was able to catch the same magic of his work at Shaw Brothers once the studio moved away from film production. Liu isn’t the only student of Kar Leung in Killer Angels, with Mark Houghton also making an appearance as a Middle Eastern(!?) human trafficker. Houghton had started training under Kar Leung the year prior, and made his debut in film the same year as Killer Angels with the Kar Leung directed Aces Go Places V: The Terracotta Hit.

The blonde gweilo does get his licks in against Moon Lee (in a room graffitied with ‘Jesus ♡ You’ of all places), with fellow Brit Wayne Archer facing off against Kingdom Yuen. The action, which strikes a nice balance between gun play and fist fights, is choreographed by Chui Fat (who also worked with Chun-ku and Moon Lee on Devil Hunters the same year). It marked the first time for the Shaw Brothers stalwart to go solo (unless you count Fearless Hyena 2, which I’m not sure he’d want), and he does an amicable job of putting together a number of brief but high impact exchanges. The final fight between Lee and Leung Kar Yan, who appears to be channelling the Yuen Wah look from Dragons Forever, crams in some painful falls and intense exchanges. It would have been nice if it’d lasted a little longer, but it’s still great a great match-up of two talented screen fighters.

Despite the genre being a minefield to navigate, Killer Angels is one Girls with Guns flick that’s definitely worth your time. The glorious illogic of it – I personally loved the fact that the ladies always seemed to have a grenade somewhere on their person to throw at people, regardless of the scenario – only adds to the charm, and it ticks all of the required boxes. Even the obscure ones that you didn’t realise you needed, like an action scene taking place in an abandoned old building full of breakable wooden furniture and tyres. For a throwback to when even the lesser budgeted Hong Kong movies delivered the goods, Killer Angels fits the bill perfectly. Did I mention Moon Lee sings?

Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 7/10