In the Line of Duty 4

After the success of ‘Line of Duty 3’, Taiwanese action star Cynthia Khan returned for IN THE LINE OF DUTY 4 one year later (1989, to be precise). This time, she and colleague Donnie Yen are on the case of a mighty drug trafficking operation but get a lot more than they bargain for when they are forced to protect an innocent dockworker who unwittingly becomes embroiled in the non-stop action. On top of it, they also need to deal with a particularly rotten egg who is a special friend but whose ‘loyalties’ could well lie elsewhere.

Little time is wasted when it comes to yet another cracking opening scene in ‘The Line of Duty’ canon though the story actually kicks off in Seattle, USA: after Inspector Yeung Lai-Ching (Cynthia Khan), her colleague, Officer Donny Yan (Donnie Yen), plus a local American officer try to arrest Chinese drug dealers, things don’t go according to plan (if, indeed, there was a plan). While witnessing the drug/money exchange, the local officer – hiding behind a stack of boxes - attempts to take a photo of a CIA agent who just happens to be one of the baddies. When said CIA agent orders his cronies to take hold of the film, the local officer tries to escape but ends up getting shot though not before handing the negative to an illegal Chinese dock worker who just happens to be passing by. The worker in question is Luk Wan-Ting (Yuen Yat-chor) and now he’s the one being chased by the drug dealers although he has no idea why, as initially he’s oblivious to the iffy content of the negative.

Inspector Yeung follows Luk to his humble abode in the docks (more of a hideout than a ‘home’) in her effort to retrieve the film although at first, she doesn’t reveal to Luke that she’s a cop. This leads to some hilarious misunderstandings as Luke isn’t quite sure what she actually wants – is she perhaps a prostitute on the lookout for potential clients? It’s only after Ming (Kai Chi Liu), his wastrel of a brother, enters the scene – followed by crooks who are after him due to gambling debts – that Yeung shows her true colours. Officer Yeung initially does not know that Luk is no longer in possession of the negative as the film roll accidentally fell into the sea and the drug dealers, who are after Luk, also have no inkling – how could they? Upon the kerfuffle involving his brother, Luk gets arrested but manages to escape and later is laying low in his brother’s pad… but that’s where the real trouble starts… Soon, the drug dealers arrive and in mortal fear for his life Luk escapes again, albeit this time to Hong Kong.

It goes without saying that Inspector Yeung and Officer Yan are dispatched to track him down though of course this is anything but an easy task – not just because the drug dealers are after poor Luk as well but also because Yeung and Yan don’t see eye to eye. To be frank, Donny Yan is a bit of a misogynist and an overall hothead (not to mention an asshole) who is convinced that Luk is guilty and in cahoots with the drug dealers, whereas Yeung is pretty certain that the unfortunate dockworker is innocent. Of course, the fact that he fled to Hong Kong doesn’t do much when it comes to prove his innocence. Things are further complicated with the arrival of Officer Michael Wong (Michael Wong, yes, really) – who works for the CIA and is an old friend of Officer Yan. In fact, Yan really looks up to him and there are certain hints throughout the film that this adoration may be a bit more than just professional…
However, nothing is as it seems and when Luk’s lovable mother (Chiao Chiao) gets dragged into the already sky-high dirt, the stage is set for the usual jaw-dropping martial arts action extravaganza.

IN THE LINE OF DUTY 4 may not sport the same amount of sickening violence as in 3 but make no mistake, the fighting sequences are just as relentless. Both Cynthia Khan and Donnie Yen display their incredible martial arts skills (not to mention ott grimacing) although Khan gets a fair bit of ‘straight’ acting to do as well. That said, the real star of the film is Yuen Yat-chor as the wrongly accused dockworker.

The film is available on Blu-ray in a 2K restoration – the first 2000 copies are presented in a Limited Edition O-card slipcase and Collector’s booklet. Other Bonus Material includes various audio options, audio commentaries, archival interviews, ‘Donnie Yen in Action’ featurette and trailer. In Cantonese with optional English subtitles.