|
|
Angel's Mission
AKA: Angel Mission, Buddha's Justice, Kicking Buddha, The Justice of Buddha
1988
Director: Godfrey Ho
Action director: Phillip Ko
Stars: Yukari Oshima, Ron Van Lee, Dick Wei, Phillip Ko
Angel's Mission isn't too bad for a Godfrey Ho movie, which really isn't saying much. The plot, as you might guess, is slim to say the least: Dick Wei comes to Hong Kong to search for his missing sister, and discovers that a prositution ring may be to blame for his sister's disappearance. Interpol agent Yukari Oshima is also on the case, and eventually they team up to take on the international gang behind the ring. But at least Angel's Mission appears to be all original footage, instead of Ho's usual cut-and-paste mess. However, Ho's omnipresent low budget is apparent here. The film just looks cheap, has horrible editing, steals music from other movies, and has a supporting cast of no-talent nitwits, including some of the worst gweilo "actors" ever in a Hong Kong movie.
Really, the only reason to watch Angel's Mission is Yukari Oshima. While her acting isn't all that great (mostly due to the poor script), she shines in the action sequences and makes the movie a worthwhile -- if nowhere near mandatory -- viewing for fans of her work. One has to wonder why Yukari wasted so much of her time and talent working for a hack like Godfrey Ho, when it's obvious she is capable of much better. Yukari was married to Phillip Ko (who often worked on Ho productions), and it seems a shame that her personal relationships seem to have so negatively affected what could have been a much bigger career.
RATING: 5