Perennial favorite Carol "Dodo" Cheng returns as Nan, a dedicated Mainland officer who is tasked with supplying security for a politician, Li (Michael Lee), who wants to make one last trip to Hong Kong to hook up with his first true love. With her trusty assistant, Sheng (Alfred Cheung) in tow, Nan sets out to make Li's journey safe, but runs into obstacles from officers from Taiwan (Chan Chung-Yung) and Hong Kong (Anthony Wong), who are both worried about the potential effect a wandering politician might have on their area's tenouous connections with the Mainland.

As a writer and director, Alfred Cheung often concentrates on the divisions between class and race in the Chinese culture. Sometimes, it can work very well, such as his under-rated 1988 Sammo Hung picture Paper Marriage. But here, everything feels a bit too obviously piled on and forced.

It's pretty obvious that Cheung has a particular point to get across here, and it comes with all the subtlety of a warm shot of Jagermeister. Even discounting the obvious pitfalls a western viewer might encounter in watching this sort of thing and trying to interpret it, it doesn't help matters that there are several jokes (such as Nan acting like a bumpkin on a plane flight) that are recycled wholesale from the previous entry in the series.

Despite its' Her Fatal Ways 3 isn't a total loss. Some of the jokes, particularly a gloriously mangled karaoke sequence, are actually very funny, and there's a solidly-made action sequence thrown in near the end. But these parts are, unfortunately, too small addtions in the overall scheme of things to overcome the barriers present here to native English speakers, not to mention those out there who are not fans of 1980's style "very loud" Cantonese comedy.

Apart from a delightful showdown between Cheng and the assassin, the film is completely devoid of action and focuses almost entirely on Carol Cheng's exhausting rapid fire yelling. Wow, that woman can talk up a storm. Most of the humor is very topical and cultural, making it impenetrable for Western audiences, but there are a couple of physical gags that are surprisingly amusing. An effeminate turn by Anthony Wong is utterly brilliant. Sadly, Ms. Cheng's character has lost a lot of her endearing charm and innocence, and suffers from a very unflattering haircut. The non-stop verbal sparring makes it difficult to recommend this film unless you're a fan of Hong Kong comedy or a Carol Cheng completist.

Do Do Cheng is the kind of consummate professional who can turn in splendid comic performances without even flexing her thespian muscles. Such an ability has made those who lens her pictures occasionally lazy and far too reliant on letting their leading ladies expertise paper over the numerous cracks in the production. The somnolent first sequel to the excellent 'Her Fatal Ways' showed how easily such a trap can be sprung; even with Alfred Cheung in the director's chair, the follow-up felt as if all concerned were simply going through the motions. 'Her Fatal Ways III' is a return to form for the series and, though it still pales next to the original, it is a far more satisfying 90 minutes than the second part.

'Her Fatal Ways III' plays on the same themes and stereotypes of the original; Inspector Cheng is the proverbial country bumpkin spouting party rhetoric at the drop of a hat while Anthony Wong is the typically urbane Hong Kong agent who acts as an obvious juxtaposition with the backwardness of his new partner. This is not only the formula for all of the 'Her Fatal Ways' films, but any 80s/90s piece of Hong Kong cinema that features a Mainland character. Nevertheless, Alfred Cheung satirises all of the respective cultures, not just making this an exercise in mocking the post-1997 yokels, instead showing that all three regions are essentially from the same bloodstock. Naturally the idea of Inspector Cheng's awkwardness around all things capitalist constitutes the majority of the laughs, though this is much more than just a parody of a certain culture.

In terms of a storyline, this 'threequel' is never more than just a collection of comic set-ups and the manipulating of certain scenarios to create farcical situations. The fact that a villain is shoe-horned into the final third of the film says a great deal for how much interest the makers have in winning awards or maintaining a tension-filled narrative. 'Her Fatal Ways III' is never about such aspects though; it is a chance to see Do Do Cheng, Hong Kong's finest comic actress, breathe life into an already competent production. The themes may have dated (to watch a 'backward' China from today's perspective is intriguing when one considers it's current rejuvenation), but the opportunity to see Cheng and her three able co-stars play off each other is not to be passed up.