Madam Wu (Hu) is the Training Officer in charge of taking young female recruits and whipping them into fighting shape. Through constant training, the goal is to create a female commando unit that is highly capable of executing dangerous missions, with no one expecting this cadre of beauties to be such a powerful fighting force. In between climbing the monkey bars and attempting to get over walls, romance and misadventure are in the air, as an all-male unit is training nearby. Their squad is led by Mr. Kan (Stanley Fung), who naturally is attracted to the hard-to-get Madam Wu. All manner of comedic and romantic situations ensue, until the final fight. Also Cynthia Rothrock is on hand somewhat as Madam Lo, an agent fighting the bad guys. Will our squad of spunky cadets graduate and beat the baddies, not to mention fall in love? Find out today! The Inspector Wears Skirts opens with a bang, and also closes with one, with a bookending pair of killer fight sequences. The meat in the middle of this explosive bread mainly consists of inoffensive and silly romance/comedy. It must have been just the right formula, because the IWS series spawned three further sequels after this initial offering. While the first two films in the series are directed by Wellson Chin, there have been rumors for years that they were actually directed by Jackie Chan. While Chan did indeed produce the first two films, his level of involvement in, around or near the directors chair remains unknown. But it makes sense that Chan was involved one way or another, because the audience-pleasing mix of action, romance and comedy is right in his wheelhouse. This should give you the feeling of the overall tenor of what's going on here.

While the movie could have used at least one more big action setpiece in the middle, the cast is hugely appealing and it kind of makes you forget about the actionless lull in the center. Rothrock's prowess is fully on display in the scenes that she's in, and all the other ladies get to show off as well. And not just in the realm of Martial Arts - check out Ann Bridgewater's amazing dance moves in the time-honored disco sequence. We would have been happy with just this, as we always watch out for the disco scene in any movie, but the movie tops itself with a show-stopping sequence in a roller rink. We won't give anything away, but it's hard to put into words just how much we loved this scene.

So there's a ton of training, minimal but high-quality Rothrock, and a nice cast, but the movie could have used a strong, central villain to pull everything together. But it's filled with that Hong Kong 80's style we all know and love. Fans of said style should enjoy this, unless they are cynical and lame. For the rest of us, The Inspector Wears Skirts remains a fun outing.

THE INSPECTOR WEARS SKIRTS is a typically knockabout Hong Kong comedy with a bit of action at the beginning and end to bookend it. It was produced by Jackie Chan and stars a wealth of female talent, mixed between female action stars and comediennes. I should note that this is primarily a comedy based around the female members of a training school; there are the usual set-piece hijinks at bars and parties and at a roller disco too. The comedy is very localised and Chinese in tone, but I found much of it fitfully amusing and cameos from the likes of Ricky Hui help immensely. Stanley Fung is also on top form and has a good repartee with Sibelle Hu. The action makes good use of Cynthia Rothrock and the ending is particularly frenetic, with Kara Hui and Jeff Falcon going at it and all manner of crazed antics for viewers to enjoy.

Following pretty much the same structure as the highly popular at the time "Lucky Stars" films, "The Inspector Wears Skirts" has action mostly in the first and last 10 minutes, and comedy, romance and a bit of drama in the middle. This causes the film to lag at times, but still, the action sequences are awesome and there ARE some legitimately funny moments as well, courtesy mostly of Sandra Ng. The cast offers a mind-boggling collection of beautiful women, but if I had to pick just one as my favorite, it would probably be the STUNNINGLY GORGEOUS Ellen Chan. However, it should be noted that the girls weren't picked just for their looks, but for their skills as well: they don't seem to be intimidated at all by any physicality required, they throw themselves into their roles with abandon and take quite a few "ouch" bumps (the action was choreographed by Jackie Chan's Stunt Team; IMDb says that Jackie also directed the film, but I'm not so sure this info is accurate). Overall, "The Inspector Wears Skirts" is uneven, but a definite must-see for Girls With Guns fans. (**1/2)