The Inspector Wears Skirts series has been uneven, with part three being a series low point. Two years after that misstep, series director Wellson Chin brought the squad back for The Inspector Wears Skirts 4, and this time, he hit a home run (sort of). Missing several of the key cast members from the previous films, most notably Sibelle Hu and Fung Shui-fan, he assembles a cast full of new (to the series) faces and some familiar ones. What he puts together is the most outlandish film in the series but also features some of the best action scenes.
The Banshee Squad is about to become extinct unless they can wrangle up some past members to help keep it alive. Most have moved on to other things, but two are willing to return and help the squad survive. When a group of twisted criminals takes a grade school hostage, the SKIRTS have to spring into action to save the children before they’re blown up after having been forced to swallow explosives.
The opening twenty minutes and the closing twenty minutes comprise the bulk of the story. The rest of the film is padded with questionable and tasteless humor that doesn’t always work, or at least not how it was intended. I found myself laughing quite a bit, but not at how funny a joke or gag was but at its absurdity.
This happens quite often throughout the film, but one gag I found hysterical was the homage to the bus scene in Jackie Chan’s Police Story (1985). For those unfamiliar with that film, Jackie Chan chases a group of criminals by using an umbrella to latch onto a speeding bus, leading him to eventually capture the criminals by getting in front of it and halting the vehicle to a stop. Here, nothing goes as planned, and it’s a really clever parody.
RELATED: ‘The Inspector Wears Skirts 3’ (1990) Blu-Ray Review: A Stellar Disc for a Subpar Film
It’s great to see returning cast members like Sandra Ng and Kara Hui, but Cynthia Khan and Moon Lee really shine. As goofy as the film can be, the end action scene is fantastic, and those two ladies are absolutely at the top of their game.
88 Films gives the same care to The Inspector Wears Skirts 4 as the others by delivering a 2K re-master from the original negative, the original Cantonese Mono with English subtitles, an English dub, commentary by Hong Kong film expert Frank Djeng, trailer, stills gallery, reversible artwork, mini-poster, and slip.
While the film is again uneven, it has a charm and action scenes that put it in a class with the original. After the disappointment of part three, it’s great to see the series go out on a high note.
We’re hardworking geeks who love to geek out, but we can’t do it without you! If you enjoyed this article and want to see more like it, please consider tipping our writers. Also, as an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
