The Lady Dragon takes on an old enemy in this action-packed thriller, which marked her only lead role for PM Entertainment.
Christine McKay is one of the best officers in the Los Angeles Police Department. Her latest assignment involves the use of counterfeit plates that produce money. When an attempt to stop a deal leads to a meeting with a notorious businessman, she gets the break she needs. Her partner in the case is Nick Taylor, who is also her fiancé. When they go undercover, they meet with Nina Lindell, who is one of the two leaders of the ring. When Nina holds Nick hostage after a struggle, McKay watches in horror as she sees Nick die in front of her. Nina is caught by police and is taken into custody.
Having quit the force, Christine decides to run a personal protection services agency. Her first job is to become the bodyguard of a rich playboy named Lawton Hobbs. Hobbs hires Christine because he has learned his ex-girlfriend is targeting him. Christine is at first uninterested until she learns that the ex is none other than Nina, who has escaped from prison and seeks to find the plates to continue her business by offing Hobbs and anyone she was previously involved with. Christine sticks to her guns and learns some shocking truths along the way with the intent to stay with the job but finds the opportunity to stop Nina and avenge Nick’s death as well.
In what would be her only film for L.A. based PM Entertainment, one of the top 90’s B-movie action film companies, Cynthia Rothrock gets a chance to shine not just in her usual kicking major butt shtick, but add a depth of emotion to her character of Christine McKay. That’s one thing many don’t see when it comes to Rothrock. She can add some emotion to her characters, making her a viable action actress because it’s more than just kicking serious butt. It is about the acting and as someone who watches her fiancé die in front of her, her scenes where she vents out to her dog while sitting in her trailer may seem funny, but does help bring that emotional content to her role.
Daniel McVicar provides a bit of comic relief as the playboy who hires McKay and there is a particular reason why he is targeted. French actress Lydie Denier may have that seductively style in terms of her looks, but they prove to be anything but in her role of villain Nina. From the beginning, she knows what she wants and will kill whoever gets in her way to get it. Ken McLeod appears as Ostendorf, a chauvinistic officer who doesn’t think McKay is fit to be a bodyguard because she is female.
Richard Norton, a longtime collaborator and friend of Rothrock, was in charge of the film’s fight scenes and they are fun to watch. Rothrock gets to use her trademark kicks, including her trademark Scorpion kick during a bar fight, which includes Camacho and others. There is a nice shot of Rothrock kicking into the camera with the next shot of the stuntman falling back into the shot during a fight at the stables. There isn’t exactly a final fight but more of a final chase sequence that ends pretty abruptly with the predictable twists but that’s not a problem for what has transpired.
Guardian Angel is another fun and action-packed film in Cynthia Rothrock’s repertoire and she gets to once again kick serious butt but also show a depth of emotion in her performance.
WFG RATING: B
A PM Entertainment production. Director: Richard W. Munchkin. Producers: Richard Pepin and Joseph Merhi. Writer: Jacobsen Hart. Cinematography: Garett Griffin. Editing: John E. Hensel.
Cast: Cynthia Rothrock, Daniel McVicar, Lydie Denier, Marshall Teague, Ken McLeod, John O’Leary, Anna Dalva, Robert Miano, Brian Brophy, Matthew Walker, Art Camacho, Dale Jacoby, Bela Lehockzy.
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