Until last year, American audiences never paid much attention to Michelle Yeoh. Everything Everywhere All at Once has propelled her into a new stratosphere, having won the Golden Globe for Best Actress, and now she’s riding high on an Academy Award nomination. She’s the first Asian actress ever to be nominated in the Best Actress category, and the recognition is LONG overdue. She made some waves in 2000 with Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which won several Academy Awards, but her performance was never awarded.
Throughout the ’80s and ’90s, Yeoh starred in a series of martial art action films and was a trailblazer for women working in the genre. Eventually, she would move into more dramatic roles, never saying goodbye to where she began. 88 Films has brought one of her first action films to Blu-ray in a stunning edition that fans could never say no to.
Magnificent Warriors (1987) follows Chinese secret agent Ming-ming Fok (Michelle Yeoh) as she is set to meet with Secret Agent #1 (Derek Yee) to investigate the occupation of the Japanese in the village of Kaa Yi, near Tibet. On their way, they’re joined by a conman (Richard Ng) who soon realizes their mission’s importance. When they try to infiltrate and save the village and its people, all hell breaks loose, and the Japanese call in reinforcements to stop their brave attempt at overthrowing them.
Magnificent Warriors is a banger of a film filled with wall-to-wall martial arts, explosions, and breathtaking stunt work. Richard Ng supplies the humor while Yeoh showcases her martial arts skills in various battles. I’ve always felt her movements were so graceful, and they are, but in this film, they’re a little bit raw, mostly because she had only been in the business maybe five years and was just beginning to come into her own.
The first part of the movie feels a bit more contained when it comes to the action. Then in its final act, it just goes into overdrive. So much is happening all at once that it’s sometimes tough to follow the action. It’s not a bad thing; it’s just more sensory overload than anything. The 2K restoration is crisp and relatively clear, despite a few flaws, but nothing distracting.
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The disc is loaded with bonus features, and the packaging is quite attractive. There’s a limited edition slip, foldout poster, a collector’s booklet, and reversible insert. You can also check out a commentary with Frank Djeng, archival interviews, trailers, and more. You can view it in English dub or Cantonese with English subtitles. I love revisiting this era of Hong Kong cinema. There was nothing like it before, nor will there be anything like it again.
Whether you’re a long-time Yeoh fan or just discovering her body of work, Magnificent Warriors is one you definitely won’t want to miss. Thank you, 88 Films, and please keep them coming.
 Blu-ray from 88 Films, starring Michelle Yeoh as Chinese secret agent Ming-ming Fok.){kind=link}