Project S (1993) [Film Review]

Project S: or, A Forgotten Spin-off

     If I do manage to clinch this deal, I will take you to America. I gave you my word.

After reviewing the Police Story movies last year, I knew that there was more to the series than the original trilogy, but I simply did not have enough time to get round and check out other instalments. I can be safely said that there were 4 movies which followed after Police Story 3: Super Cop. The first of these, in a chronological order, was Project S which came out only a year after the premiere of part 3. A somewhat underrated and unremembered film which very well deserves to be counted as part of the series.

Release Info

Directed by: Stanley Tong Starring: Michelle Yeoh, Yu Rongguang, Emil Chau, Athena Chu

Language: Cantonese Original Title: 超級計劃 Runtime: 98 min

 

Synopsis

Michelle Yeoh reprises her role as Inspector Yang Chien-Hua. She is a tough and diligent officer who works for the PRC’s law enforcement. What is more, she is in a relationship with a former Vietnam veteran, David Chang Fung (Yu Rongguang), who moves to Hong Kong in order to start a better life. A little while later, Hong Kong is plagued with a series of thefts. Inspector Yang is called in to assist and she begins the investigation. Is her love interest involved in the crimes? Will she be able to stop the gang of robbers and their elaborate bank heist?

 

Once a Cop

I heard about this movie for the first time in the early 2000s when I read some disapprovingly bitter article about the Police Story series on some shady site. Thankfully, I was lucky enough to check out the movie 10 years later. The movie is great and the awesome Michelle Yeoh proves to be a worthy replacement for Jackie Chan as the main lead.

 

Even though the year 1993 marked the decline of Girls with Guns genre’s popularity, Project S still holds up to the standards of a proper action flick. One can vividly see that Golden Harvest poured a lot of money into the film’s budget which was responsibly used by Stanley Tong. The movie starts right off the bat with a fast-paced credits sequence (Yukari Oshima's cameo!) and swiftly moves on to other explosive set pieces and nicely choreographed fights, which are interrupted only by sweet and tender moments between Michelle and Rongguang. All of that is accompanied by a catchy music score by Richard Lo (cue: music video in the middle of the movie).

 

It has to be mentioned that Jackie Chan appears in a brief cameo role as Inspector Ka-Kui in a drag chasing a jewellery thief (Eric Tsang) who is dressed up exactly like him. Nevertheless, Jackie’s appearance was quite exploited by some distributors who shamelessly slapped his face on the front cover of the movie, even though he shows up for three minutes at best. In addition to this, Project S suffered from a whole slew of alternative titles: Once a Cop, Supercop 2, Police Story IV, and (my favourite) Police Story 3 Part 2, Supercop.

 

Regardless of the marketing, Project S is primarily a Michelle Yeoh vehicle. This is her last true Girls with Guns movie and it is a real shame that she was not involved in any more of these little gems from the 1990s. It is a pleasure to see her beating up bad guys in a flash and fire tons of bullets. Her performance is enhanced by the towering presence of Yu Rongguang as the villain-ish lover with a code of honour. In the supporting roles we can also spot Athena Chu and Louis Fan before the days of their fame. Alain Guernier, who plays a sophisticated mastermind behind the heist, is evidently a foreigner taken from a street, but he comes off as a convincing criminal in his one-time performance. Additionally, Bill Tung reprises his role as Uncle Bill Wong from the previous Police Story films.

 

Recommendations

All things considered, I recommend this movie to anyone who is interested in good old Hong Kong action for a Saturday evening. This movie has everything it needs in order to entertain you: shootouts, car chases, rooftop jumps, but most importantly, it has Michelle Yeoh who is the sole reason to check Project S out. I wish that Stanley Tong could keep making more of these back in the day instead of focusing on the American market.

Overall score: 9/10