China O’Brien 1 and 2, films that were a mainstay in UK video shops in the 1990s and launched martial artist Cynthia Rothrock’s Hollywood career get a prestige 4k remastering from Eureka. Directed by Enter The Dragon’s Robert Clouse, in a fairly workmanlike manner it has to be said, these two films were at the forefront of a re-invention of the female action star.
Rothrock had worked in Hong Kong for years, showcasing her athleticism in films such as Yes Madam (with Michelle Yeoh) and Righting Wrongs, but production company Golden Harvest saw her as a way of breaking into the American market. Female asskickers were common in Hong Kong action cinema, but the West was yet to fully embrace such heroines – and Rothrock found herself at the forefront of the movement. Whereas her HK action movies would take months to choreograph and film, with weeks spent just on individual fight scenes, both the China O’Brien films were made in six weeks. Yet they are still regarded with enormous affection by nostalgic action fans.
Rothrock’s police officer China O’Brien, a name that blends Hong Kong and Irish American sensibilities, shoots a kid and vows never to take up a gun again, moving back home to Utah where her police sheriff father is dealing with corrupt politicians and dastardly corporate villains. When her father is murdered by the baddies, Rothrock steps up to put a stop to the corruption, but despite possessing literal and figurative action chops, this is the early 90s, so she still needs two male sidekicks (Richard Norton and Keith Cooke) to help her.
The films play like episodes of The A-Team, the action not a patch on Rothrock’s Hong Kong work, but there is a B-movie charm to the simplicity and double denim. Rothrock was a bit of a trailblazer for female action heroes: a riposte to the antics of Van Damme and Seagal, her other direct to video competitors. Cheesy, yes, but nevertheless enjoyable despite by-the-numbers action and acting.
China O’Brien was practical, CGI-free fist- and footicuffs, and set a path for a new – softer, but still hard as nails – action hero for Western audiences. For that, it deserves commendation 30 years on.
Dir: Robert Clouse (18, 86/92 mins)
Available via Eureka Classics as a Special Edition Blu Ray from Mon 29 Apr
words KEIRON SELF
