'They Call Her… Cleopatra Wong' & 'The One-Armed Assassin' DVD Movie Review
'They Call Her… Cleopatra Wong' & 'The One-Armed Assassin' DVD Movie Review
Starring Marrie Lee, George Estregan, Dante Varona, Johnny Wilson, Kerry Chandler, and directed by Bobby A. Suarez
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"She purrs like a kitten, and makes love like a siren. This side of the Pacific, she's the meanest, deadliest, and sexiest secret agent!" screams the tag for They Call Her… Cleopatra Wong. Most of that is not true at all, but this old exploitation b-flick is still fun to see nonetheless. Singapore's answer to popular American TV fare like Charlie's Angels and Wonder Woman, Cleo (Doris Young, billed as Marrie Lee) is an Interpol agent whose mission it is to defeat a nefarious counterfeiting ring that's subverting the currencies of ASEAN countries Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines.
If that doesn't sound very "horror" to you, you are correct. And The One-Armed Assassin isn't any scarier; it's more of the same from chop-socky director phenom, Bobby A. Suarez. However, since most fans of fright flicks also enjoy many of the 70s subgenres, I decided to give this disc a spin (I only watched Cleopatra Wong all the way through, though). The more bloodthirsty and breast-obsessed fans may be disappointed (not much in the way or gore or clothes on the floor, here), however I still think Wong is well worth a look.
With fashions, weaponry and hot wheels reminiscent of another of Quentin Tarantino's favorite 'They Call Her…' reels, They Call Her One-Eye, Wong showcases a beautiful babe being bad, bad, bad. If that is all you go in expecting, you'll get that and then some — the showdown fight scene staged at a nutty nunnery is priceless! As is to be expected, the acting and dubbing is delightfully atrocious, the story loopier than Cleo's crotchet bikini, and the explosive action scenes are way over the top.
It's a fun thing to see once, but unlike some of the other Roger Corman Presents DVDs also released this year, this double feature is not a keeper. Having said that, I did find the extras interesting — there is a brand new interview with Lee, who talks about being cast (she did not at all fit the description in the casting call), what it was like to work with Suarez (Wong was just the beginning of a fruitful friendship), and what she has been up to since the early 80s. She is intelligent, well-spoken, interesting, and quite lovely. Fans will certainly appreciate the care than went into the featurette.
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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson