Wah (Sylvia Chang) runs a brothel and has a daughter, Yan (Rain Lau), on the loose, born and bred in the same underworld. The two finally go on an ultimate collision course emotionally...

Lawrence Lau provides another snapshot of social realism akin to his amateur acted affair Gangs. However with Sylvia Chang and debuting Rain Lau, Queen Of Temple Street is put into another division, with expectations. Providing up close but not overbearing views of the prostitution surroundings, Lau's drama is agreeable but lacks a final, expert touch. The emotional battles between Wan and Yan are perfect scenarios and the aspects covered are both rife with texture and explicit symbolism. But the latter goes into pretentious overdrive at times and the drama is merely performed, not so much enhanced. It's comforting to know Lau is aiming to disrupt the destructive circles of our characters so the film definitely becomes worthwhile but it doesn't reach out fully and grow into something beyond its setup. Also with Lo Lieh, Ha Ping, Josephine Koo and Kwan Hoi San.

The film did pick up multiple Hong Kong awards though, including Best Supporting Actress for Rain Lau and Best Screenplay.

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You might think from the getgo that Wong Jing (who wrote and produced) would try and provide an insightful glimpse into the life of a hostess over the decades and that busty Amy Yip was going to attempt a respectful performance. Yip tries (she does know how to cry) but Queen Of Under World isn't designed for the classier realms of filmmaking, something Yip clearly knows as well. In fact, Wong Jing honestly wants the excess in the form of nudity, castration and gang rape among other "tasty" ingredients. Continuing on, since everyone in the film is 110% detestable (aside from perhaps Shing Fui On's character), there's little point to the high melodrama that takes place between mother and daughter in the latter stages of the film. The elements of exploitation are diverting for that crowd however and hence the only "merits". The film is also a decent star parade including appearances by Paul Chun, Blackie Ko, Ng Man Tat and Ray Lui, who reprises his Limpy Ho character from To Be Number One.

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An obvious attempt at reuniting the Her Fatal Ways cast & crew for a stab at success but it's via a courtroom drama so cashing in is something no one should blame the production for. While Alfred Cheung's reprises his character dynamic with Carol Cheng (who appears in a supporting role) and plays a rather oddball barrister, he in reality doesn't stray from the serious proceedings. Showcasing a dark side early on, Cheung holds attention and viewer engagement in the multiple courtroom scenes that take up the bulk of the running time. Some events come off as sloppy just for the need of narrative effect but Queen's Bench III becomes solid nonetheless. Also with Carrie Ng, Sunny Fang, Tony Leung Ka-Fai and Carina Lau.

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Chris Lee's structure for the opening of Queen's High bears examination and a little bit of pondering. Opting to give us a glimpse of what's to come as we see Cynthia Khan firing guns in her wedding dress, it certainly grabs you by the balls but is Chris Lee in the debut director position desperately trying to please? It seems strange to want to showcase the absolute top iconic imagery of the film early because very few other genre pieces really cared for reinventing the wheel. If you had your stock plot with the likes of Cynthia Khan and Simon Yam, you could indeed get away with being lazy as long as you delivered the content the genre dictates you should do.

So it's the Cynthia Khan character being one of the few members of her family left, fighting against betrayal but Lee can only give Queen's High a little big of kick ass factor. Aside from the wedding shootout, there's a sense of stiff execution of the various fisticuffs and gunplay but as the blood level is satisfactory, the film creates its tight pace. Warehouse finale amps all this up to the best degree the film has to offer, making Queen's High not a classic but a good time spender in the extensive genre. Kenneth Tsang and Shum Wai also appear.

KENNETH'S REVIEW: The Queen is visiting Hong Kong and the police (headed by O Chun-Hung) has a theory that she is the prime target for assassination. They are right and in comes the gang consisting of, among others, Jimmy Wang Yu, George Lazenby and Bolo Yeung. Having multiple plans and making sure the police stays busy therefore, what the latter camp also has to concentrate on is the increasing problem of refugees from the likes of Mainland China and Cambodia. A detective, played by Charles Heung, also has the mission to protect an informant, a bar girl Chen Chen (Tanny Tien) while a friendly villager (Dean Shek) takes care of a pretty Cambodian refugee (Angela Mao) who is temporarily stationed in the countryside...

Intersecting stories has director Ding Sin-Saai (Whiplash) challenging himself and while A Queen's Ransom is not terribly well-made, got goofs and strange narrative choices galore, he manages to pace the piece well. Mainly a thriller, there's not even nail biting tension to speak of but the cast on display, engaging in both fisticuffs and really poor gunplay, makes matters totally bearable and satisfying in a strange, illogical way. Automatic Wang Yu-factor again?