Welcome to Reel Action, where we pay tribute to some of the best action movies and action stars of all-time. And that includes some that a few of you might not have heard of, but definitely should. One of those is my favorite ass-kicking lady ever, the original Atomic Blonde herself, and the first western Hong Kong superstar, Cynthia Rothrock. And if she had a magnum opus it’s definitely 1990’s China O’Brien.
The 5-foot-3 Rothrock was and still is a true badass. In the 1980s, she was an undefeated fighting champion, earning five black belts in more styles than I’ve got toes. But it was in Hong Kong that she decided to try her hand at acting, and became an instant smash when she teamed with the great Michelle Yeoh in cop flick Yes Madam! She worked with all of the greats at the time, from Gordon Liu to influential director Corey Yuen, to Andy Lau, to Sammo Hung, and even Jackie Chan. But it was when her studio Golden Harvest decided to make Rothrock a star in America that things took off.
China O‘Brien, a clever play on Rothrock’s eastern/western backstory, would see her united with writer/director Robert Clouse, famous for directing Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon, Gymkata and Game of Death (which was so bad we made a WTF Happened to this Movie about it). Get the scoop on this underrated and under-seen kung-fu movie classic! And hey, if you like it there’s even a sequel – China O’Brien 2! Get all the scoop here!
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