Admirable film.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

China O'Brien (Rothrock) is a tough cop in the big city, who also happens to be a karate instructor. After a shooting incident goes wrong, she is forced to move back to the rural Utah town where she grew up, Beaver Creek. Her father is the sheriff, and he does his best, but there is something sinister brewing in this quiet burg. It appears corruption is rife and it, naturally, goes all the way to the top. The mastermind of all this is the sinister, but elderly Mr. Sommers (Kerby). Seeing Sheriff O'Brien (Blackwell) as a threat to their small-town criminal empire, as he cannot be bought off like the rest of the judges and law enforcement in town, including the bowtied judge Godar (Hazlett), the baddies use their preferred method of murder: they blow him up with a car bomb. Distraught, China runs for her father's old position. Along the way she reconnects with old flame Matt (Norton) and the mysterious but helpful Dakota (Cooke). Luckily, the three of them have plenty of martial arts skill and they take on an army of goons, because the only way for Beaver Creek to be untainted with corruption is to punch and kick everyone in sight.As has been noted elsewhere, one of the major flaws in China O'Brien is the lack of a powerful bad guy - at least one that can do martial arts. Because the "bad guy" here is the nebulous notion of "corruption", and the man who has his fingers in all the interests of the town looks more like he should be doing daytime TV commercials complaining about his "diabetis", the film's end could be described as an anti-climax. To add insult to injury, assuming you've seen it, the plot and antagonist will remind you of Radical Jack (2000).But all is not lost, as Rothrock, Norton and Cooke clearly came to play, and all three bring their physical A-game. The prerequisite bar brawl and the high school gym sequence are standouts, as is the confrontation at the political rally. Norton is his usual likable self, and Cooke has some seriously impressive moves. You'll remember him as Prang from King of the Kickboxers. But the star of the show is obviously Rothrock, and she does a great job as the crusading O'Brien. Fighting corruption is a theme everyone can get behind, so you cheer for her all the way.By action movie standards, C O'B has a relatively slow pace, presumably to match the slower pace of the boondocks in which the movie is set. In that sense it's appropriate, but fans may be puzzled by it.The best way to describe this movie is "Americana with punching" - wouldn't you love to see a Norman Rockwell painting of Cynthia Rothrock and Richard Norton pummeling the baddies into submission? Break out the "good China" and see it tonight.for more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com

China O'Brien stars Cynthia Rothrock as a big city gendarme who returns to her itty bitty home town when her father decides to retire as the local sheriff. Of course, the bad guys give him a dose of the ol' Lead Pension plan and before you can say Hackneyed Plot Point China is running for sheriff so she can bring in the desperados who gunned her Daddy down! She joins forces with that same Australian karate guy thats shows up in most of her movies(like Tiger Claws) and a one handed, motor cycle riding Indian kid who had a hand chopped off by the same guys what iced Daddy O'Brien.(These evil dudes are busy. Maybe the local Villains Union is understaffed) Everything is pretty typical and if you like Cynthia then you'll most likely enjoy this flick. However, if you aren't more than a casual fan of the star or genre, look elsewhere. The acting is waaaay too stiff. If the actors had lightened up and Rothrock was allowed to show some personality and charm the movie could have had some genuine appeal. That's all it needed.

I caught this movie on FX last night, and as I was sitting there watching it, it occurred to me that it could quite possibly be the worst movie ever. Bad acting, bad cinematography, bad sound, totally unbelievable fight sequences, stupid characters. All these made it up to be the most laughably bad movie I've ever seen. It was so bad, I was enthralled by it's sheer lack of anything semi-competent that I had to keep watching... and they made a sequel!

Cheesy but fun. Pure Battle sequences, lots of action. Whether intentional or not it was hilarious. In the beginning when the disgruntled student does not believe in the power of Kung Fu he wants China to go into an alley in the middle of a City to prove Kung fu! first Bruce Lee I don't think would do it with all the guns in the cities. Second she is Kicking arse one by one and explaining all the moves. Even better the Kung fu Muslim Brother comes to aid her. And the best comedy relief of the movie is the australian guy with his version of Kangaroo Kung Fu! what a riot. He has some martial arts moves but He manages to splice it with street gymnastics and drop kicks, yes two legged dropped kicks landing on the booty in the middle of a serious fight. Good for straight action raw on story 5 out of ten