Queen of Underworld (1991)

Title: Queen of Underworld
Release: 1991
Synopsis:
he busty one, Amy Yip, stars in this Triad potboiler where she plays Ha, a young woman who moves up from being a waitress to becoming Hong Kong's top madam. There's a good amount of Category III-level sex and violence, but Wong Jing's cliched script and Sherman Wong's lackluster direction assure that this film never rises above the realm of the average.

1991 was a prodigious year for Wong Jing, even by his blitzkrieg standards. He was involved in over a dozen productions. A few of them, like Fight Back to School and God of Gamblers III weren't mind-blowing examples of cinema at its' finest, but were fun enough movies. However, most of them were like this picture, cheaply-made and rushed to production in order to make a quick buck.

Everyone else involved with Queen of Underworld seems to have been in the same mode, most notably Amy Yip. She looks at times bored, and at others disgusted, neither of which add up to creating a compelling character. And even though the supporting cast is stacked with several actors who normally deliver solid work, the only one who looks like they're actually trying is Shing Fui-On, who seems to enjoy playing against type as a kind-hearted Triad that becomes Ha's protector.

Like many Wong Jing productions, there's a lot of boobs and blood thrown at the viewer. But it's nothing up to the level of something like Naked Killer, and the naughty bits just come off as hollow attempts to create some sort of interest in the pedestrian story. Even a scene featuring a gang rape of Gigi Lai (who plays Ha's daughter) doesn't come of as salacious or shocking, just a bit dull and a little insulting to the viewer.

Unless you're a huge fan of Amy Yip and her cleavage, and feel the need to see each and every movie she's been in, don't hurt yourself trying to see Queen of Underworld. When things boil down to their core, this certainly isn't a bad movie. But in the crowded world of Hong Kong gangster pictures, a film has to do something really special to stand out from the pack. Queen of Underworld's decidedly average workmanship isn't going to propel it to the head of the class anytime soon.