This movie is available for purchase at www.sensasian.com

Rating:

6

AKA: Long Arm of the Law 3, Long Arm of the Law Part 3, Long Arm of the Law Part III, Long Arm of the Law (Part III), Long Arm of the Law: Escape from Hong Kong

Year of release: 1989

Genre: action/drama

Director: Michael Mak

Action director: Tony Leung Siu-Hung

Writers: Stephen Shiu, Johnny Mak

Producer: Stephen Shiu

Music: Chan Wing Leung

Cinematography: Derek Wan

Editor: Poon Hung

Stars: Andy Lau, Elizabeth Lee, Max Mok, Elvis Tsui, Kirk Wong, John Ladalski, Ken Boyle, Hon Yee Sang, Mai Kei, Alex Ng, Stephen Chan, Lam Kai Wing, Wai Ching, Wan Doh Ming, Cheung Chi Gin, Kan Sek Ming, Sin Wing, Chung Gam Gwai

Rated II for violence, language and brief sexuality

DVD Information

Company: Joy Sales

Format: widescreen

Languages: Cantonese, Mandarin

Subtitles: Chinese, English

Extras: trailer, lobby cards

Notes: Not too much in the way of extras, and the subtitles are poorly translated (every curse word in both English and Chinese is translated to "darn"), but this isn't too bad of a DVD overall.

Related links:

Andy Lau biography
Elvis Tsui biography
Kirk Wong biography
Movie Review index
Main Page

Long Arm of the Law III

Long Arm of the Law III (which is a sequel to the previous films in name only) has Andy Lau as a Mainlander who is falsely accused of robbery and sentenced to death. He manages to escape the firing squad and is smuggled into Hong Kong, where he is employed by a Triad leader (Kirk Wong), who uses Andy's girlfriend (Elizabeth Lee) as bait to keep him on the hook. While being pursued by a hot-headed cop (Elvis Tsui), Andy tries to pull off a double-cross so he and Elizabeth can escape to Panama.

These types of Triad action/dramas came out by the boatload in Hong Kong during this time period, and there isn't too much to seperate Long Arm of the Law III from the pack. There is some solid stuntwork and bloody gunfights helmed by action director Tony Leung Siu-Hung, but things are hampered in this department by Poon Hung's editing, which comes off as a bit choppy. The acting is average at best, with only Elvis Tsui turning in a noteworthy performance (though it was fun seeing Kirk Wong, who is much better known as a director, playing a really nasty character). There are also some big plot holes in the script; in particular, the movie's resolution had me scratching my head. Not only are things left unexplained, the sappy ending seemed out of place, given the ultra-violent scenes which proceeded it. Despite these flaws, Long Arm of the Law III isn't all that bad of a movie; it's just that there are so many other HK films out there that do this kind of thing better and are probably more worthy of your time.