In the Line of Duty III (Limited Edition) (Blu-ray Review)

Estimated reading time: 12 minutes

In the Line of Duty III stars Cynthia Khan in her first leading role as the highly skilled police cadet Rachel Yeung who is promoted to full status in time to take on a pair of Japanese jewelry thieves. Nakamura Genji (Stuart Ong) and Michiko Nishiwaki (Japanese “pink film” star Michiko Nishiwaki) play the Japanese crime duo working for infamous Japanese terrorist group Red Army. They pull off a jewelry heist in Hong Kong to trade the jewels for weapons for the Red Army. Things go awry when they realize their point man Yamamoto (Yueh Hua) tricked them and handed them fake jewels. They then go on a violent tear in Hong Kong. Rachel Yeung, meanwhile, is joined by Japanese detective Hiroshi Fujioka, who has a vendetta against the criminal duo and is willing to bend all the rules to catch them.

Cynthia Khan replaced Michelle Yeoh in this franchise and those are big shoes to fill. directors Arthur Wong and Brandy Yuen and the film’s producers even give Khan a “boy cut” hairdo similar to Yeoh’s, but never mind all of that, she is her own person. That shines through in the film from the beginning in her very balletic martial arts style and her bubbly personality.

The film also sets itself apart from the previous films with less reliance on comedy and more on action, opening up with a quick-paced foot chase and fight sequence involving Khan, and then slowly builds to more brutal action sequences that take it far beyond where the previous films went. There is a final fight that gets so bloody and even involves a hook.

This is a fantastic action film that is visually appealing and also contains some of the most awesome fight choreography you can find in a Hong Kong film from the 1980s, which is not surprising given there were three action directors working on this one.

The Video

In the Line of Duty III is taken from a brand new 2K restoration that is presented in a 1.85:1 AVC 1080p encodement on Blu-ray Disc from Eureka Classics. The overall image for the film looks very organic, with a natural layer of grain and exceptional detail, depth of field, and nuanced shadows. The contrast is superb even given the often desaturated and dim look given to the film overall. Some of the night scenes present stark contrasts, vivid neon signs of Hong Kong, and clean shadows without a lot of elevated noise or graininess.

The Audio

Eureka provides the original Cantonese mono mix and the original English dub in LPCM 2.0. I used the Cantonese track as my reference and it was a solid track for the most part, but there were some issues when I got to Chapter 5 in the nightclub scene and into the shootout that carries over into the streets. The sound started to distort to the point where I thought there may have even been something wrong with my speakers, but going back to the beginning of the scene it repeated and then the sound went back to normal. I can only assume it is an issue inherent in the source.

The Supplements

This Eureka Classics Limited Edition of In the Line of Duty III features a Limited Edition O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Darren Wheeling [First Print Run of 2000 copies] and a Limited Edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing by James Oliver [First Print Run of 2000 copies]. On disc extras include the marvelous two audio commentaries listed below, my preferred one being the one with Mike Leeder and Arne Venema since their conversational banter makes it very listenable as well as informative, but Frank Djeng also brings his usual wealth of knowledge to the table in his solo commentary.

• Audio Commentary by Frank Djeng
• Audio Commentary by Mike Leeder & Arne Venema
• Trailer (Hong Kong Theatrical) (1080p)
• Trailer (UK Release) (1080p)

The Final Assessment

Cynthia Khan breaks out as a compelling action star taking the reins from Michelle Yeoh in this fast-pace third entry. In the Line of Duty III looks great and is one of the better sequels around. Highly recommended.

In the Line of Duty III (Limited Edition) is out on Blu-ray in the UK 20 March 2023 from Eureka Entertainment.

• Rating Certificate: UK:18
• Studios & Distributors: D & B Films Co. Ltd. | Eureka Entertainment
• Directors: Arthur Wong | Brandy Yuen
• Written By: Chan Kiu-Ying
• Run Time: 84 Mins.
• Street Date: 20 March 2023
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Video Format: AVC 1080p
• Primary Audio: Cantonese LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Secondary Audio: English LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Subtitles: English