Robert Clouse (1) (1928–1997)

Cynthia Rothrock is China O'Brien, a tough city cop and kick-ass karate instructor. When a police mission goes wrong and she ends up accidentally shooting a youngster, she hands in her badge and heads home to Beaver Creek, Utah, where her father (David Blackwell) is the local sheriff. Unfortunately Beaver Creek has been taken over by a mob of thugs led by the vicious Sommers (Steven Kerby). When Sheriff O'Brien and his deputy are killed by Sommers, China decides to get back into the policing business and runs for sheriff in order to take on the mob. She looks massively outnumbered, but luckily former boyfriend Matt (Richard Norton) and the mysterious wanderer Dakota (Keith Cooke) are to hand - both of whom, luckily, are Kung Fu masters!

Written and directed by Robert Clouse (from a story by Sandra Weintraub) "China O'Brien" is arrant nonsense, but enjoyable arrant nonsense for all that. The story is silly and full of daft coincidences and there isn't really a dangerous or worthwhile adversary in sight. Sommers and his crew simply offer numbers, which is fine as it gives Rothrock, Norton and Cooke plenty of opportunity to kick seven bells out of them on multiple occasions. The trio are in good form, with some excellent Hong Kong style chop socky on offer (the film was produced by Golden Harvest) including plenty of Rothrock's trademark over her head back kick. The three leads are given plenty of time to showcase their individual fighting styles, but unfortunately in between fights have too much time to show their "acting" talents. Of the three Keith Cooke probably comes of best, but this is a Cynthia Rothrock vehicle and so she's never far from the foreground. Clouse's direction lacks pace and is unadventurous, but that said he's clever enough to showcase Rothrock, Norton and Cooke and to leave them to hammer the bad guys and the film into enjoyable submission.… (meer)