The success of Bruce Lee's films on the international scene saw several attempts over the years by Golden Harvest to try and recapture the lightning in a bottle. Some saw efforts to launch a new star, others like “A Queen's Ransom” featuring recognizable “talent” from the west. George Lazenby whilst not a big star at the time was still a “name” having appeared as 007 in “On Her Majesty's Secret Service”. So, it feels somehow apt that he was cast as the terrorist out to kill her here. Backed up by Jimmy Wang Yu and Angela Mao it should on the surface have been a bigger deal. With Eureka Entertainment releasing it on Blu Ray we can discover for ourselves whether it deserves to be.
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Morgan (George Lazenby) is hired to head up a team to assassinate the Queen on her royal visit to Hong Kong. A crew is assembled including Shark (Jimmy Wang Yu), Ram (Bolo Yeung), Black Rose (Judith Brown) and Miyamoto (Chan Pei Shan). Upon arrival, they take over a derelict property, an act observed by Duck Egg (Dean Shek) who also encounters a Cambodian soldier (Angela Mao) doing so. Jenny (Tien Lie), a hostess inadvertently becomes involved after contact with the police (Ko Chun-Hsiung and Charles Heung). As both sides circle each other, the true purpose of Morgan's crew is revealed, and an explosive climax awaits.
There is a curiously flat feel to the feature. Despite all the talent on display, there is a recognizable sense that we are going through the motions. It's also not helped in that the balance is heavily tilted in terms of star power in favour of the villains and that both George Lazenby and Jimmy Wang Yu have an air of disinterest about their parts to the point where it is almost a contest as to who is contributing the least. George Lazenby was in the third and final film in his three-picture deal with Golden Harvest. The former James Bond seems miscast as the Irish terrorist and never seems to fully engage. His duel with Angela Mao should in normal circumstances be a highlight but it is ruined with a conclusion that seems designed to protect Lazenby and continue an unwritten theme where Angela Mao despite all her skills appears unable to beat a main bad guy on her own. It's a jarring sequence instead of a show stealer and one of several disappointments on display.
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Like Lazenby, Jimmy Wang Yu was also on the downward slope career-wise. Having been the lead in their previous collaboration “The Man from Hong Kong”, here he is reduced to secondary villain as Shark, and it is evident from his performance that he has no interest in the part. It's only down to the fact that he blinks that we are able to tell he is not fully sleepwalking through it all. He's given some empathy in his relationship with his sister but it is not enough to connect. Even his fight sequences appear lackluster in comparison to his better-known features.
It says something when the best performer on the side of the angels is Dean Shek. Those familiar with his supporting parts in kung fu cinema will still recoil in the over the top, irritating “comedy” villains. They would be enough to make you reach for the mute button if not the eject one. To have him as the more sympathetic character is an indictment of the way the script is set up. He's actually more restrained than usual, is far less annoying and as the narrative plays out actually has a solid reason to be involved. It's the central leads that lack both charisma and anything to really do. Charles Heung (he of “God of Gamblers” fame would alongside his brother Jimmy become key producers in the 1990's) was at the time very much a workmanlike action star. Ko Chun-Hsiung also lacks the oomph that might lift the lazy script as the other detective. Tien Ni as Jenny show's signs of life but again is restricted by poor character development. Angela Mao is quickly sketched as a Cambodian soldier and love interest for Dean Shek but only really gets to shine briefly in the action sequences. As would happen frequently it's almost as if she is scaled back to avoid overshadowing her co-stars and ultimately leaves you wishing for more.
The use of the Queen's tour of Hong Kong is grindhouse cinema exploitation at it's best\worst. Am not sure how much they were ever aware of the footage being used. It is surprising that producers didn't bill her as a special guest star and introduce Prince Phillp as himself! The supporting villains are given little to actually do. Bolo Yeung crops up to fight a bunch of people before losing to a bus in rather inglorious fashion. The final act also largely makes them pointless too.
The script itself is a bit of a mess. Lurching from police procedural to melodrama to action and then back again. This mishmash is familiar to most Hong Kong movie fans used to tonal changes from scene to scene. What doesn't help is that here it's actually boring. The procedural relies more on luck than investigative work and is reduced to several scenes with the police discussing plans. The reveal in the third act is more of a shorthand way of writing their way out of a narrative dead end than an actual twist. Given the real-life basis of the plot it would be incredibly hard to pull off. Also, on the subject of the reveal where did all the extra bad guys come from? It's rather convenient that a mini army just happens to be available at short notice.
Ting Shan-hsi had a varied career as both writer and director winning several awards in the process. Sadly, his directing here is on par with his script. His filmography suggests an understanding on how to helm action sequences yet there is little visual flair on display and the overall package is ultimately a disappointment given the possibilities.
Initial thoughts were this could be a Hong Kong version of “The Day of the Jackal” as it takes a real-life situation and wraps a fictional narrative around it. Alas, the execution is poor, the script dire and the acting largely lifeless. Considering the talent on display it should have been better leaving it as an assassination tale that misses the target by a mile.
