The SKIRTS are back except there’s been quite a few changes since The Inspector Wears Skirts 2. Inspector Wu (My Lucky Stars‘ Sibelle Hu) has retired after marrying Inspector Kan (The Inspector Wears Skirts‘ Stanley Sui-Fan Fung). Now he’s put in charge of the all-female unit. The unit is down to five members as they’re going to be a crack undercover squad. There’s no more rival all-male squad. There’s more of a focus on physical comedy in this installment than the previous two. While Wellson Chin remains the director, there is a different vibe on the screen. This change is probably because an independent company produced the film and not Golden Harvest. There’s no Jackie Chan stunt team doing the choreography. Chin focuses on the comedic skills of his cast until we need get the burst of rapid-fire action in the finale.
After weapons have been stolen, Inspector Kan is ordered to reunite the SKIRTS in order to have them go undercover. Intelligence believes something will happen on board a luxury liner named Royal Casino Marine (thus the title). Inspector Wu is too happy being a housewife to be a part of the reunion. Although her idea of a happy home with Kan involves a lot of danger. It’s a bit of a spoof of The Pink Panther movies with the couple being like Inspector Clouseau and Cato as they are constantly jumping each other and not just that way. Kan only brings back five women to be part of the SKIRTS including Susanna (The Blue Jean Monster‘s Amy Yip), Amy (Golden Chicken‘s Sandra Kwan Yue Ng) and May (My Young Auntie‘s Kara Wai). The girls are happy to be working together, but Kan wants them able to withstand whatever awaits them on the ship. The training turns into a series of torture sessions including running electric current through the SKIRTS. But the ladies get their revenge on Kan by scaring him in ways that make him question his sanity. Eventually they all board the casino boat and begin the work of looking for the suspects amongst the high rolling passengers. While pretending to gamble, one of the ladies has a hot streak that might end with her owning the boat. Eventually we get back on the case and a familiar face must parachute in to save the day.
As it was pointed out in the previous two films bonus features; The Inspector Wears Skirts was a Police Academy for Hong Kong. This film really gets closer to that goal with the comedy and slapstick dominating the screen time. There’s as much slapping as a Three Stooges film festival. The reducing of the SKIRTS to 5 members helps the comedy. We’re able to focus on the characters and their exploits on gambling ship. This keeps the film entertaining. You’re not just waiting for the big action scene at the end. Although when the fighting kicks in during the final reel, you feel like you get a full experience. The battles around the ship are much better than what Steven Seagal cooked up in Under Siege two years later. While Sibelle Hu is used sparingly, all of her scenes are great. The Inspector Wears Skirts 3 – Raid On Royal Casino Marine changes the formula from the first two entries to create an exciting comedy cruise.
The final film of the series The Inspector Wears Skirts 4 is also being released on July, 9th.
The Video is 1.85:1 anamorphic. The transfer is a 2K remaster from the original camera negative. The resolution brings out the details on the ship location. The Audio is Cantonese LPCM 2.0 in Mono. The movie is subtitled in English.
Audio Commentary by Frank Djeng makes rewatching the film more informative. He explains how the film was set up outside of Golden Harvest after the first two installments. He lets us know that the maid working for Inspector Kan and Madame Wu is Filipino. He also informs us when the subtitles don’t quite match the signage on the screen. He spots Sammo Hung’s younger brother for us. We get a rundown of which actors did their own dubbing. You’ll learn about “stinky fox.”
Deleted Scene (1:55) involves action at the gambling table when someone is on a hot streak.
Hong Kong Trailer (4:08) sets up the SKIRTS being reunited with a new boss. There’s more a focus on wacky humor before we get glimpses of the major fight scenes.
Mini Poster has the original artwork and the new art by Sean Longmore. It’s suitable for framing.
88 Films present The Inspector Wears Skirts 3 – Raid On Royal Casino Marine: Special Edition. Directed by Wellson Chin. Screenplay by Lee Man-Choi. Starring Sandra Kwan Yue Ng, Sibelle Hu, Kara Wai, Stanley Sui-Fan Fung, Billy Lau, Fui-On Shing, San Yip, Wai-Kei Wong, Fung Woo, Amy Yip, Barry Wong, Chun-Kit Lee, Michael Man-Kin Chow and Wang-Tat Foo. Running Time: 97 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: July 9, 2024.
