Viewer Comments:She Shoots Straight
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This is really an excellent crime drama, comedy, Lifetime-TV special, action movie, and new-wave Hong Kong martial arts stunt classic rolled up in a weepy shoot-em-up Chick Flick. Now, sometimes in Chinese movies (especially in New Year’s Blockbusters) all these opposing components are mixed in jarring ways (to Western audiences anyway). She Shoots Straight, however, really puts these pieces together in a way that moves the story and characters forward.
As to the leading lady, Joyce Mina Godenzi, I had to make up a new word to describe her combination of solid acting, martial arts performance, and Miss-Hong-Kong looks: that word is badassidy. Mrs. Sammo Hung, or “Mina” as she is called in the film, rules every seen with sheer badassidy. Too bad she's made so few films....
My personal favorie "Girls With Guns" flick, aside from "So Close". While some of the dramatic scenes seem a little drawn out this is a solid action/drama.
A little slow in places, which makes you reach for the skip button, but what fights there are are quality, as you'd come to expect from Corey Yuen.
| Directed by Corey Yuen, "She Shoots Straight" is one Hong Kong action movie that stands above its kind.
Featuring the raw acting talents and athletic performances of Joyce Mina Godenzi, Carina Lau, Agnes Aurelio, Yuen Wah and Sammo Hung, the movie brings audiences a unique type of Hong Kong martial arts action film under the "female kung fu-cop" subgenre. Most films of that nature feature the lead actress simply going through the motions and fighting through the bad guys, all the while fighting resistance from the stubborn police chief who either may or may not be working for the other side. In this case, I saw a film that delivered me to a story that was much more realistic and true to the nature of human behavior, along with really great stuntwork and classic action sequences to help further evoke the suspense and imminent danger in the movie. Corey Yuen Kwai, Yuen Tak and Mang Hoi did a wonderful job in designing the action scenes around the actresses and their capabilities, especially in the final confrontation of the film between Godenzi and Aurelio. All in all, "She Shoots Straight" is a truly definitive Hong Kong movie for all devoted fans of the genre!!! OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS: "Royal Warriors", "Righting Wrongs", "In The Line Of Duty 3", "S.P.L.", "Face/Off" and "New Police Story". |
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This movie was off da-chizane! I loved it! Joyce Godenzi definitely has some of Sammo Hung's moves and a Clint Eastwood attitude to match. The bad guys made the wrong woman very, very angry in this movie and together with her Widow Warriors, they would stop at nothing until they right a definite wrong.
I loved the drama, the tears, the family togetherness and above all, the kick butt action that ensued. The only downfall is that some of the subtitles [on the version I watched] were mispelled, but I enjoyed it either way.
One thing's for sure in this movie: God may have mercy...but don't expect Joyce Godenzi to have any!
By no means a bad film but the action is sparse and for full-blooded fight fans like myself the melodrama and the scenes between the action set-pieces don't travel too well and lend themselves more to 'local' understanding of the film.
Having said that, what there is in terms of action is pretty good and the catfight at the end was great. I wonder whatever happened to Agnes Aurelio?...
Overall it's probably a film you should rent or borrow rather than purchase.
| Yet another Corey Yuen film, and this one is GOOD. One of the better "girls with guns" flicks.
It starts with an excellent kidnapping/chase scene, filled with amazing stunts. Yet to be topped, it will leave you breathless! Then you have a "gun deal gone bad" with a great shootout "a la John Woo", and a few minutes later, an infrared scene--which wasn't that great, but nevertheless. After that, the garden park scene which was a little awkward and, for some reason reminded me of "The Predator". Then the action stops. BUT! Instead of turning into some stupid comedy, it becomes a quite serious and touching (family) drama. It was a little over the top at one point, but overall, it was very consistent with the rest of the film. The final showdown was VERY GOOD (but not great). The same goes to the fight choreography. I thought Joyce Godenzi did a very good job in this movie, both as an actress and a martial artist. Definitely, a delight for action fans, especially for those who are irritated by comedic bits in serious movies. |
| Surprisingly decent Girls With Guns stuff... For the first forty minutes. Then the movie, which was already heavier in emotional content that most movies in the genre, takes a MAJOR turn for the weepy... Literally 15-20 minutes of mourning. I guess they never heard of understatement... Still, despite this serious strike against the movie, it's got enough redeeming features to make it worth watching... Though the action scenes are never quite top-drawer by HK standards, they are generally solid... And unlike most movies, they actually sometimes give the impression that major characters may be seriously hurt or killed rather than simply stomping through endless baddies. Joyce Godenzi's fight scenes are of varying quality, but are generally pretty impressive considering she's reportedly not even flexible. And, as a major bonus, the "down time" scenes are a cut above most of the others entries in the genre. I did, however, find it pretty disheartening when Joyce makes fun of Agnes for being "sunburned like a nigger." The bottom line... Not art, but probably better than anything with "Angel" in the title... |
Very good action-revenge melodrama. Mina and Ling are one great fighting team, and the way they polish off the baddies in the later scenes is some of the best fightin' fem stuff I've ever seen. The acting is totally unrestrained but effective, especially by Carina Lau. Joyce Godenzi is pretty good too, and I can't understand why she hasn't made more of this sort of movie. A young and rather chubby Sandra Ng also features. And the actress who played the feisty mother (possibly Dang Bik Wan ) is a scream. The final battle between Joyce and Anges is, surprisingly, a fizzer, and the film ends in a whimper. But the rest of the film more than makes up for it. Definitely recommended.
-STSH
A pretty good film overall - notable mainly for the outrageous fight scene between main star Godenzi and her muscle-bound nemesis Agnes Aurelio, that has made this film a classic among fans of female brawling.
-hokazak
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