Angel (1987 film)

Angel
Hong Kong theatrical poster
Directed by
Written byTeresa Woo[1][2]
Produced byTeresa Woo[2]
StarringMoon Lee
Yukari Oshima
Elaine Lui
Hideki Saijo
Alex Fong
Hwang Jang Lee
CinematographySander Lee Kar-ko[2]
Music byRichard Lo Sai-kit[2]
Production
company
Molesworth[2]
Release date
  • October 3, 1987 (1987-10-03) (Hong Kong)
[3]
Running time
93 minutes[2]
CountryHong Kong
LanguagesCantonese
Japanese
Thai

Angel (Chinese title: 天使行動, Tin si hang dung, transl. "Angel Operation")[a] is a 1987 Hong Kong action film inspired by Charlie's Angels which stars Moon Lee and Yukari Oshima.[5][6] The film is noted for launching the careers of both Lee and Oshima.[7][8] Angel has also been credited with establishing the girls with guns action film subgenre along with Yes, Madam (1985).[5][9] The film was followed by two sequels: Angel II (1988) and Angel III (1989).[2]

Plot

After Interpol destroys a mass of Thai opium fields, the drug lords strike back by viciously murdering the officers in charge of the drug raid. In response, the cops hire the mercenary Angel Organization whose leader, John (David Chiang), sends crack agents—Angel #01 Saijo (Hideki Saijo), Moon (Moon Lee) and Elaine (Elaine Lui). Their first act is to seize a massive drug shipment with the help of an American secret operative, Commander Alex Fong (Alex Fong). This inevitably invokes the rage of frighteningly fierce Madam Yeung (Yukari Oshima) who recently grabbed the mantle of power after killing her predecessor. After a series of tussles with Madam Yeung, Saijo finds himself buried alive in an armored car while Moon and Elaine settle their score with their nemesis, kung fu style.

Cast

Reception

The film has been considered "disappointing" in retrospective reviews due to fewer action sequences than in later entries in the genre.[10] The Encyclopedia of Martial Arts Movies gave a rating of two and a half out of four and said the editing is "choppy" and there are too many gunfights but what little martial arts the film has was described as "great".[11] The Hong Kong Filmography gave a rating of seven out of ten and wrote: "Angel is a superior girls-with-guns action fest that is almost stolen by its colorful villainess."[2] Cinema magazine gave a rating of three out of five and said the film has weak action and the heroines lack charisma.[4] Blu-ray.com reviewed the Blu-ray version by Vinegar Syndrome and gave it a positive review. They praised action scenes and the score but criticized the characterizations.[12]

The book Reel Knockouts noted the film as an example of a trope when violent women appear as film villains, they are more violent than their male counterparts.[13]

Sequels

Angel II

Angel II (Chinese title: 天使行動II火鳳狂龍, Tin si hang dung II jo foh fung gaau lung, transl. "Angel Operation II: Fire Phoenix Flood Dragon"), also known as Angels (UK) and Iron Angels II, is the first sequel, released in 1988. Teresa Woo directed, wrote, and produced the film. Moon Lee, Elaine Lui, and Alex Fong returned as the Angel trio. The plot involves the trio traveling to Malaysia for a vacation and taking out a leader of a fascist army.[2]

The Hong Kong Filmography gave a rating of six out of ten and wrote: "Not as exciting as its forerunner, and lacking as formidable an antagonist as Yukari Oshima, Angel II still possesses much of the original's appeal."[2] Blu-ray.com said the film "gets a little bogged down in melodrama" but said the film improves in the final act.[14]

Angel III

Angel III (Chinese title: 天使行動III魔女末日, Tin si hang dung III moh lui mut yat, transl. "Angel Operation III: Last Days of an Evil Woman"), also known as Iron Angels III and Return of the Iron Angels, is the second sequel, released in 1989. Teresa Woo directed, wrote, and produced the film. Moon Lee and Alex Fong returned as Angels. Elaine Lui did not return for this entry. The plot involves the Angels stopping a terrorist group in Thailand.[2]

The Hong Kong Filmography gave a rating of five out of ten and said the film is not as good as its predecessors and called it "[...] just too foolish and slapdash for its own good." The film was noted for containing the best fight scene of the series: Moon Lee fighting guards in the terrorist fortress.[2] Blu-ray.com called it a "very entertaining" film due to the action scenes but said the story is "half-baked".[15] /Film said the film includes one of the best fight scenes of Lee's career.[16]

References

  1. ^ Also known as Fighting Madam,[4] Iron Angels, and Midnite Angel,[2]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Ursini, James (March 2006). "Angel (1987)". The Modern Amazons: Warrior Women On-Screen. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 9780879106911.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Charles, John (2000). "27. Angel, 28. Angel II, 29. Angel III". The Hong Kong Filmography, 1977-1997: A Reference Guide to 1,100 Films Produced by British Hong Kong Studios. McFarland & Company. pp. 11–12. ISBN 9781476602622.
  3. ^ a b c "Angel - Details". SensCritique (in French). Archived from the original on 10 August 2025. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Iron Angels". Cinema (in German). Hubert Burda Media. Archived from the original on 10 August 2025. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  5. ^ a b Meyers, Ric (22 March 2011). "Woman Wushu Warriors". Films of Fury: The Kung Fu Movie Book. Emery Books. pp. 182–183. ISBN 9780979998942.
  6. ^ Barrowman, Kyle (5 September 2024). Fighting Stars: Stardom and Reception in Hong Kong Martial Arts Cinema. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781350365766. For a film directly inspired by the Charlie's Angels model, without the Hui Brothers inflections that I see as significant in Rothrock's films, see Teresa Woo's Angel (a.k.a. Iron Angels, 1987), starring Moon Lee and Yukari Oshima.
  7. ^ Hammond, Stefan; Wilkins, Mike (11 June 2020). "Angel, Angel 2". More Sex, Better Zen, Faster Bullets: The Encyclopedia of Hong Kong Film. Headpress. ISBN 9781909394650.
  8. ^ Hammond, Stefan; Wilkins, Mike (1996). Sex and Zen & A Bullet in the Head: The Essential Guide to Hong Kong's Mind-bending Films. Touchstone Books. p. 60. ISBN 9780684803418. But it was her role as the sadistic villainess opposite Moon Lee in Angel that boosted her Hong Kong career.
  9. ^ Funnell, Lisa (2013). "Fighting for a Hong Kong/Chinese Female Identity: Michelle Yeoh, Body Performance, and Globalized Action Cinema". In Lent, John; Fitzsimmons, Lorna (eds.). Asian Popular Culture in Transition. London: Routledge. p. 172. ISBN 9781136300974.
  10. ^ Yang, Jeff; Black, Art (2003). Once Upon a Time in China: A Guide to Hong Kong, Taiwanese, and Mainland Chinese Cinema. Atria Books. p. 158. ISBN 9780743448178.
  11. ^ Palmer, Bill; Palmer, Karen; Meyers, Ric (28 June 1995). The Encyclopedia of Martial Arts Movies. Scarecrow Press. p. 9. ISBN 9781461672753.
  12. ^ Orndorf, Brian (11 July 2025). "Iron Angels Blu-ray Review". Blu-ray.com. Archived from the original on 19 July 2025. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  13. ^ McCaughey, Martha; King, Neal (2001). Reel Knockouts: Violent Women in Film. University of Texas Press. p. 31. ISBN 9780292778375.
  14. ^ Orndorf, Brian (11 July 2025). "Iron Angels II Blu-ray Review". Blu-ray.com. Archived from the original on 15 July 2025. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  15. ^ Orndorf, Brian (11 July 2025). "Iron Angels III Blu-ray Review". Blu-ray.com. Archived from the original on 15 July 2025. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  16. ^ Hunter, Rob (23 November 2022). "12 Movies That Only Die-Hard Martial Arts Fans Have Probably Seen". /Film. Static Media. Archived from the original on 23 November 2022. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
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