The Inspector Wears Skirts 2 – 88 Films (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Hong Kong, 1989
Director: Wellson Chin
Writers: Abe Kwong Man-Wai, Lee Man-Choi
Cast: Sibelle Hu, Sandra Ng, Kara Hui, Regina Kent, Stanley Fung, Billy Lau, Amy Yip, Melvin Wong, May Lo, Anthony Carpio

Release Date: March 11th, 2024 (UK), March 26th, 2024 (USA)
Approximate running time: 96 Minutes 36 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: 18 (UK), NR (USA)
Sound: LPCM Mono Cantonese, LPCM Mono English
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A,B
Retail Price: £16.99 (UK), $39.95 (USA)

"Hong Kong’s toughest team of fearless lady cops are back on the beat! These female furies are forced to take on both their male counterparts in a battle of the sexes and a team of foreign mercenaries." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "2K Remaster from the Original Negatives".

The Inspector Wears Skirts 2 comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 41.5 GB

Feature: 28.3 GB

The source used for this transfer is in excellent shape. Flesh tones and colors look correct, image clarity and compression are solid, black levels are strong, and there does not appear to be any digital noise reduction.

Audio: 4.25/5 (LPCM Mono Cantonese), 4/5 (LPCM Mono English)

This release comes with two audio options, a LPCM mono mix in Cantonese and a LPCM mono mix in English. Both audio tracks sound clean, clear, and balanced. Though both of these tracks sound great range-wise, I would give a slight edge to the Cantonese language track. Included are removable English subtitles for the Cantonese language track.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an image gallery with music from the film playing in the background, Hong Kong theatrical trailer (3 minutes 38 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Cantonese with removable English subtitles), an interview with stuntman Go Shut Fung (28 minutes 6 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Cantonese with removable English subtitles), an interview with stuntman Mars (6 minutes 45 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Cantonese with removable English subtitles), an interview with director Wellson Chin titled Leading the Top Squad (12 minutes 33 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Cantonese with removable English subtitles), an audio commentary with Frank Djeng, reversible cover art, a double-sided foldout poster (limited to the first pressing) and a double walled O-ring (limited to the first pressing).

Summary:

Directed by Wellson Chin, who directed four The Inspector Wears Skirts films.

The narrative revolves around an all-female police squad and their four new recruits.

The Inspector Wears Skirts 2 picks up right where its predecessor left off. Content-wise, it is essentially the same premise: women training as a police academy with new scenarios, and this time around four new recruits are thrown into the mix. Also, when it comes to humor, it once again plays a significant role.

And just like its predecessor, The Inspector Wears Skirts 2 is light when it comes to action sequences. The main action set piece is saved for the finale, while the bulk of the narrative before that is interactions between the female and male recruits.

When it comes to the performances, the entire cast is very good in their roles, with most of the cast from The Inspector Wears Skirts returning for this sequel. One performance of note is by Amy Yip (Robotrix) in the role of Susanna, one of the new recruits. Even at this early stage of her career, her more than ample assets are already playing a role in the story at hand. With the funniest moments involving a bulletproof vest and her breasts.

There are a few other moments where humor shines. There are two other standout moments: when a male cadet is caught peeping on female cadets who are showering and the four new female recruits are tricked into stomping out bags of shit that are on fire.

From a production standpoint, The Inspector Wears Skirts 2 is a film that understands its formula. The narrative does a great job of keeping things interesting and moving forward. And though it is a film that is more concerned about the cadets and their interactions with others than actual police work, The result is a fun film, especially if you are a fan of psychical comedy. Ultimately, The Inspector Wears Skirts 2 is a solid sequel that, in many ways, improves upon its predecessor.

The Inspector Wears Skirts 2 is an excellent release from 88 Films that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and informative extras, recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer