THE HEROIC TRIO (1993)

 

PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *fair*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *adventure*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTION: *metaphysical, sociological*

Amusing side-point: the writer of the ballyhoo on this American DVD release of THE HEROIC TRIO apparently didn't know that CHARLIE'S ANGELS dated back to the 1970s.

Since Hong Kong began turning out kung-fu films from the late 1960s onward, many of the movies featured characters who had powers just as bizarre as those of superheroes, and also evinced the same knight-like determination to fight evil. Few if any of the chopsockies utilized any sort of true costumes, except for the occasional homage to Bruce Lee's Kato from the American GREEN HORNET show. And to be sure, although all three females in the trio were exotic garb, only one wears a traditional superhero mask.

In the subtitled version I'm reviewing, the three women are given lofty cognomens-- "Wonder Woman" (Anita Mui), "Invisible Girl" (Michelle Yeoh), and "Thief Catcher" (Maggie Cheung) -- but for greater simplicity, I'll use their respective civilian names, Tung and Ching and Chat. Chopsocky-cinema had a long tradition of "female fighters," but TRIO is interesting not only for melding that tradition with that of the American costumed heroine, but also for placing a strong emphasis on "the feminine mystique," showing a greater concern for dramatic intensity.

The biggest such concern is that of a protective feeling toward infants-- a feeling that is challenged by the scheme of an evil mystic known as The Old Monster (Yen Shi-kwan). This weird being dwells beneath the unspecified city where the action takes place, in a catacombs filled with methane gas, and guarded by a mute, super-strong guardian (Anthony Wong). Ching has been his servant for some time, and of late she has two overlapping assignments: she's keeping tabs on a quirky young scientist until he perfects an invisibility robe, while at the same time covertly using the robe to kidnap infants from the local hospitals. The Old Monster nourishes the ambition to conquer China and return it to a feudal nation under an emperor, and he believes that one of several babies born under a certain sign can become emperor.

After several successful invisible kidnappings, Ching is intercepted by the masked Tung, who thwarts one of the baby-thefts. Around the same time, Chat comes to the city, showing off her thief-catching prowess by foiling some robbers. Her real goal is to gain a big commission from one of the kidnapping-victims by recovering a missing infant. To this end she cavalierly kidnaps an infant herself, hoping to smoke out the Invisible Girl. However, both Ching and Tung track down Chat, resulting in a three-way brawl that results in the baby's death. 

I won't follow every twist and turn of this fast-paced story, but much of the melodrama hinges on the fact that all three super-women are tied by the bonds of family and allegiance. It's disclosed that Chat was also once the servant of The Old Monster, but Ching helped her fake her death and escape-- though Chat, by messing in the villain's business, seems determined to court real death this time. Though Ching has been using the young inventor's invisibility robe without his knowledge, she's also fallen in love with the scientist. Tung is married to a young male cop but has concealed her double identity from him; he soon figures things out thanks to an "eyes meeting across the room" moment (though they're not actually in a room at the time). And to top it all off, flashbacks reveal that as children Ching and Tung were both given martial arts tutelage by the same master (their father, according to one source), but Ching failed her test and apparently went on to fall under the evildoer's sway. 

The melodrama is fun, but it wouldn't be half as charming without all the bizarre action: crescent-darts, a flying guillotine, Superstrong Guy getting into a shoving-match with a train and tearing a motorcycle in half, Old Monster grabbing a bandolier of bullets and igniting them with his magic power-- and those are just a few highlights. The three actresses bring just the right tone to each of their wild performances, with Mui as the noble hero who can shed tears for slain infants, Yeoh as the tragic fighter seeking to regain her soul, and Cheung as the quirky character who provides most of the humor.

In terms of sheer fun, this remains one of the best costumed hero films out there. The same cast and crew made a quasi-sequel the same year, but it failed to catch the same spark.