Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		2.0

In the Line of Duty IV Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 27, 2023

Note: This version of this film is available on Blu-ray as part of 88 Films' In the Line of Duty: I - IV set.

In some of his typically information packed mile a minute commentaries included as supplements in 88 Films' set of In the Line of Duty films, Frank Djeng kind of hilariously gets into how this supposed "series" really isn't by any objective standard, and that in fact due to the vagaries of production and release dates and almost comically variable titles, the "order" of the films in the franchise is even up for debate. That somewhat chaotic situation leads to an almost farcical state of affairs where the ostensible first film in the series may in fact not be, and where any number of alternate titles can either link or uncouple various entries in the "series" in a virtually random fashion (it's perhaps salient to note that In the Line of Duty didn't even crop up in any original title until the third film). Whether or not Royal Warriors or Yes Madam is defined as the "first" film, and whether or not all four are indeed a traditional "series", the first two outings star Michelle Yeoh in what was arguably her first big leap toward international superstardom, while the subsequent two films feature Cynthia Khan. If there's a "through line" tethering the films together, it may be nothing other than the fact that these are so-called "girls with guns" outings, where the focal character is kinda sorta a Hong Kong equivalent of Police Woman, albeit with a facility for martial arts that Pepper Anderson never had.

It's kind of interesting to see how In the Line of Fire IV takes, to borrow a phrase from another staple of Chinese society, namely the restaurant, one from column A, one from column B, so to speak, as it assembles plot points that have at least in some way been featured in the three previous entries. This time the focal inspector is Yeung Lai-Ching (Cynthia Khan), who may or may not be the same as Rachel Yeung from the third entry. The "oil and water" combo of opposing police that was most overtly exploited in Yes, Madam! is back here courtesy of Yeung's interactions with both officer Donny Yan (Donnie Yen) and beat cop Michael Wong (Michael Wong), two character names which might provide as much proof as anything as to a certain lack of creativity on the part of the writing staff.

There's also a McGuffin quite like the one featured in Yes, Madam!, though the context might be slightly different. This film attempts in dribs and drabs to provide some passing comedy, mostly courtesy of Michael Wong's character, but there's still a great deal of what used to be called gratuitous violence on display.

As with the other films in this set, In the Line of Duty IV has received a Region B Blu-ray release courtesy of Eureka! Entertainment and Svet Atanasov's review of that version provides some more plot details as well as more screenshots.

In the Line of Duty IV Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

In the Line of Duty IV is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 88 Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. There's no real technical information imparted in the insert booklet included with this set, and only a passing generic "new 2K restoration" on the back cover. Judging solely by screenshots, this is another release which looks mightily similar and I'd say darn near identical to the Eureka release reviewed by Svet. I echo Svet's comments about the color timing, which reflect some of what I found odd and lacking in myRoyal Warriors Blu-ray review and In the Line of Duty III Blu-ray review, though to my eyes this film comes through the weird timing issues the best of the bunch, at least relatively speaking. While there is a definite teal and/or blue-green skew to a lot of the imagery, quite a bit of the outdoor material in particular pops quite well, and detail levels can be very appealing. Grain resolves naturally throughout.

In the Line of Duty IV Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

In the Line of Duty IV features DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono mixes in either Cantonese and English, and I have to say to my ears this is one release where the English track seems to have quite a bit more full bodied sound, something that's apparent if you toggle between tracks during any of the sequences featuring underscore. Otherwise, though, both tracks offer good renderings of dialogue, effects and score. Optional English subtitles are available.

In the Line of Duty IV Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Export Version (Classic English Dub) (HD; 1:35:38) is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0.


• Commentary with Frank Djeng and Michael Worth


• Archive Commentary with Stefan Hammond and Michael Wong


• Archive Interview with Donnie Yen (HD; 20:29)


• Hong Kong Trailer (HD; 4:26)


• English Trailer (HD; 5:30)

In the Line of Duty IV Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It's undeniable fun to see a very young Donnie Yen along with Cynthia Khan and Michael Wong in this enterprise, but there's still a kind of "been there, done that" feeling to everything. This is another film in this collection where some intermittently odd color timing is an arguable hiccup, but where some enjoyable supplements may help to offset things for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.