She Shoots Straight - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

She Shoots Straight

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:

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Movie
Back in the early 90s, Corey Yuen could do no wrong, and coming right off of Yes Madam! A few years earlier, She Shoots Straight should have been a slam-dunk hit. It had action, high flying stunts, crazy gun battles (of course, all using Beretta 92’s). But for some reason, the film sort of tanked. Years ago, I remember watching this in my teens on late-night TV, and being enthralled by the likes of Cynthia Rothrock, Michelle Yeoh, Angela Mao, and Karen Shepherd. I was ALLLLL in for She Shoots Straight. The only thing was, I came out of my teenage viewing a bit disappointed and never rewatched the film until recently. Unfortunately, I can’t say that I’ve had a change of heart, but it’s interesting to watch it as a straightforward action movie rather than the action/comedy that I thought I was getting back in the late 90s.

Inspector Mina Kao (Joyce Mina Godenz) gets married to Inspector Huang Tsung-Pao (Tony Leung), who just so happens to be in a family of Hong Kong cops as well. Now they’re all working for her in the new investigation force and sent undercover to protect a local royal princess. As you could probably guess, things go awry when a group of terrorists tries to capture the princess, causing an all-out gun battle in the streets of Hong Kong. To make matters worse, a Vietnamese gang is looking to set up shop here in the city, and their leader will stop at nothing to ensure that his mission goes as planned.

If my description sounds a bit choppy, it’s because this IS a choppy film. She Shoots Straight is a strange film, featuring competing story lines that seem to jump from one section to the next. One moment we’re in a mildly comedic wedding ceremony (with Sammo Hung as the photographer), to a street battle between Mina and the terrorists, then back to a hyper-dramatic interpersonal competition between Mina and Huang’s sisters. Then back again to more action, a few comedic scenes, and then more melodrama.

Yuen’s direction is all over the place, as he can’t seem to really settle on what type of tone he wants for the film. It tries to lean into slapstick comedy for a few moments, then jumps around to high-flying action, and finally struggles with the melodrama of a serious film. Yet none of them ever seem to stick the landing and actually follow through. However, his eye for action is still unparalleled, and despite the tonal shifts, the action sequences are superb. Joyce Mina Godenz is fantastic, especially with her stunt work, and she acts as the single best part of the whole film. Which makes me sort of sad that she retired from the film industry in 1991 after she married (and is still married to) Sammo Hung. She was a rising star, and I personally feel like her career was just starting.

The film has a harder edge than most, trying to ground the flick in a more serious direction, but once more, Sammo Hung’s comedic styling and Tony Leung making sex jokes all the time sort of undermine that direction. But while it is sort of a choppy film, I love She Shoots Straight for its gonzo action and near-constant chaotic feeling to it. Sure, this is not the best film in Yuen’s filmography, and it has some major tonal issues, but as a fun bit of 90s Hong Kong action, it still works well enough for those of us who are satisfied with the action.




Not Rated by the MPAA




Video:

This appears to have used the same master as the 2023 Eureka Disc from all the info I got from my contacts, which means it’s a good-looking image, but slightly processed at times. Colors are vivid and bright, with heavy red pushes and amber undertones. Fine details look good all the way around, but I noticed several times in the film where grain seemed to clump and get frozen on screen (the title cards were the most obvious section), and in others, it looks like it may have been scrubbed away a bit. Blacks are solid enough, but sometimes feature some crush, which, combined with some of the grain swarms, would obscure some details here and there (such as in the disagreement over the gun prices in the basement). But overall, this looks pretty solid for a 90s Hong Kong film. Color balance is good, details are impressive, and image stability is great.








Audio:

Unlike the Eureka disc, the 88 Films release seems to have some expanded audio options, including a newly released Original Cantonese Mono track (but also including the 2.0 mix), the English 5.1 mix AND a 2.0 mix, so we have plenty of options to choose from. Naturally, the English 5.1 dub is the most dynamic, but the purist in me defaults to the Mono mix every time. Personally, I would give the 5.1 mix a 4.5/5, while the mono gets a 3.5/5 due to the more limited nature of a single-channel mix, so I'm going to split the difference and give the overall score a 4/5. But all in all, it’s about options. The Mono track is perfectly fine, with good presence and nice dialog. There’s not a whole lot of LFE or anything, but that’s the nature of the 1.0 beast. The 5.1 dub is way more dynamic, with tons of good surround usage and some moderate LFE as well.










Extras:

• O-RING SLIP CASE WITH NEW ARTWORK BY SEAN LONGMORE
• REMASTERED ORIGINAL CANTONESE MONOAURAL SOUNDTRACK
• NEWLY TRANSLATED ENGLISH SUBTITLES
• English Dub Option
• Audio Commentary with Asian Cinema Expert Frank Djeng
• Alternate English credits
• Image Gallery
• Original Hong Kong Trailer
• Reversible Sleeve

Final Score: ​

She Shoots Straight has garnered a cult following over the years, and while I’m not one of its ardent supporters, I really do appreciate 88 Films bringing this to the U.S. after so many years. It’s got some crazy action and a wild approach to the direction, but sadly suffers a bit too much from a lack of direction. 88 Film’s Blu-ray looks and sounds really nice, and the extras are more than welcome. While I won’t go out of my way to recommend this as I do with a lot of Hong Kong films, fans of the film are going to be very pleased with this presentation.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Joyce Mina Godenz, Carina Lau, Tony Leung, Sammo Hung, Wah Yuen
Directed by: Corey Yuen
Written by: Corey Yuen, Kai-Chi Yuen, Barry Wong
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 AVC
Audio: Cantonese: DTS-HD MA Mono (Original), Cantonese DTS-HD MA 2.0, English DTS-HD MA 5.1 (Original English Dub), English DTS-HD MA 2.0
Subtitles: English
Studio: 88 Films
Rated: NR
Runtime: 93 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: February 24th, 2026

Recommendation: Fans Will Love It