There’s a New Sheriff In Town: China O’Brien (1990)

When a misunderstanding and accidental shooting leads to a dead teenager, martial arts instructor and police officer China O’Brien (Cynthia Rothrock) cannot shake the guilt. It was her weapon and her trigger finger that put the young man down. She turns in her badge and revolver, and heads back home for some rest with family.

Unfortunately, the small pastoral town she recalls has been beset by corruption and greed. An industrialist and crime boss, Edwin Sommers (Steven Kirby), has moved in, and taken over as much as possible through bribes, extortion, and strong arm tactics. China’s father, Sheriff John O’Brien (David Blackwell) and his Deputy Tyler (Chad Walker) are holding the line, but only barely. China soon finds herself helping out and, when her Dad pushes a little too hard and winds up taken out of the picture by a car bomb, running for office herself. But what can one woman do against the money and power Sommers holds?

Plenty, it turns out. With Matt Conroy (Richard Norton), an ex-boyfriend turned Special Forces badass, and Dakota (Keith Cooke), a mysterious drifter with a messed up hand and plenty of hate for the villains, as well as the backing of the good and honest people of Beaver Creek, she will kick, punch, gouge, and bulldoze her way to justice. Robert Clouse writes and directs a fun and unapologetically cheesy action picture with China O’Brien (1990).

On several occasions, Chinese production and distribution company Golden Harvest tried to breach the North American market … alas, it was to no avail. Bruce Lee captivated America for a short but powerful time in ways that Jackie Chan and others just could not. With China O’Brien, they tried again but with a heavily English speaking cast, an American director (who happens to be responsible for helming Lee’s famed 1973 picture, Enter the Dragon), and sent the cast and crew to Utah for authentically American backdrops and regional flavor. The result is a weird hybrid picture featuring both American and Hong Kong action sensibilities in a high kicking martial arts movie meets western.

Clouse was actually tasked with delivering two films, both this and its sequel. In some circles that would mean shooting them back-to-back, but according to interviews with the cast, the shooting was actually done simultaneously. One day, scenes from China O’Brien. The next, scenes from the sequel, and often with little to no notice about what would be happening until the cast arrived on set. So, a general lack of preparation is baked into the pictures.

Alas, China O’Brien did not open the hoped for doors here in the states. It and its sequel did fair business but did not fulfill the blockbuster dreams the producers might have nurtured. These two pictures also served as Cynthia Rothrock’s final works for Golden Harvest, as she turned her attention stateside. In fact, she was supposed to jump from this project to starring alongside Sylvester Stallone in The Executioners. However, that project ultimately fizzled. Rothrock subsequently appeared in a variety of martial arts flicks here in the states including the Martial Law (1990) and Tiger Claws (1992) series. Sadly, jumping ship meant Rothrock was unavailable for China O’Brien 3 & 4, which Golden Harvest hoped to shoot back-to-back (or at the same time) in a similar fashion as 1& 2. Not meant to be, alas. Could such a project take hold in the future? Unlikely, but nothing is impossible . . .

Cynthia Rothrock is, of course, the major reason to watch this flick. The film is a terrific vehicle and showcase for her talents. The emotional range might not be there—the character is up and down through much of the picture, but Rothrock plays the role best when it’s at its most chipper. Of course, her martial arts skills are terrific, both hand to hand and armed with various weapons, China O’Brien is a force to be reckoned with because the actor is a force to be reckoned with herself. She also gets to indulge her character’s sadder moments, her frustrated ones, and her simmering fury while playing politics with dirty players, waving from a parade, and otherwise making small town Americana seem downright inviting.

Martial artist Richard Norton is her ally this time around. The two have appeared in several action flicks together, and the chemistry is certainly improved by their experiences together. And yet, the film never even tries to broach the question as to why Aussie born Norton is playing kid from Beaver Creek, USA with a strong Aussie accent. It just rolls along as though we might not notice. The flick he and Rothrock appeared in prior to this was Magic Crystal (1986), where he played the antagonist. Here, his Matt character gets to pine away for China (and really, who wouldn’t?) while also helping her bring justice to the evil doers. Norton’s martial art skills are solid, and like Rothrock he has had a long career in the Business, with recent appearances as a recurring character in both Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024).

Keith Cook gets to play the laconic outsider who comes to town with a chip on his shoulder. It’s a martial arts spin on the classic Clint Eastwood persona. This time around, his character’s hand is messed up and in a cast. The early drafts did not have this, but when the actor had an accident during pre-production he lobbied to have his real world injury used in the flick (otherwise, the director and producers were going to let him go and find a replacement). So, it works into the backstory, but more importantly it gives the part some individuality. Here we have, instead of the typical outrider, a partially disabled character who seeks revenge. He is not defined or limited by his handicap (there are some flips that are all the more impressive because Cooke is doing them one handed) but there’s more weight here than we might typically see.

With these three, the action scenes are a riot, and played to terrific effect despite having difficulty making up their minds whether they are trying to be Hong Kong fast and furious or more traditionally American in their execution.

The baddies are all sexist and xenophobic pigs who believe money makes them invulnerable, so they all deserve what’s coming to them. A favorite of mine is Patrick Adamson’s dirty deputy Lickner, who manages to look a tad like Joe Spinnel circa 1980’s Maniac. His character gets to be both a dirty fighter when he perceives his advantage as well as a cowardly bully when he’s had the carpet pulled out from under him. The role is a sleazy one played with the proper amount of cheese and relish.

On the other hand, Steven Kerby could be playing any land developing backstabbing snake from any number of westerns. He’s got the steady gaze and the tightness to his jaws. Of course, this being the eighties and trying to raise the stakes (while maybe offering a subconscious feminist slant to things), the character also has a BDSM kink, but those scenes are the ones where Kerby the actor seems a tad out of his depth. But in all the parts where he’s a modern day rail baron bull-rushing his opponents and building up reasons he needs to be taken apart by the heroes, he’s a lot of fun.

The Vinegar Syndrome release for the picture is actually a multi-disk set, including Blu-rays and 4K UHD editions of both China O’Brien and its 1990 sequel, China O’Brien 2. The 4K restoration and transfers are top notch. The features are a medley of items for both features, often overlapping. So, the 20-minute interview with Rothrock has her talking about both films (unsurprising, considering that they were so merged by the nature of their simultaneous shooting). We have new and archival elements, including some looks back and some makings of. The picture is accompanied by a commentary from martial arts film experts Frank Djeng and John Charles. It’s a fun package for a movie that’s sometimes silly, sometimes kickass, but always cheery and overflowing with heart.

China O’Brien is a fun flick. Kind of silly, sure, but a lovely showcase for some action that mashes together Hong Kong and American dynamics. The story is classic small town western besieged by greed and corruption stuff, but it’s nice to see a cheery, blonde haired woman as the method of balancing the scales and putting evil in its place. I love these ‘90s era Cynthia Rothrock movies.

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China O’Brien is available in DVD and 4K UHD/Blu-ray editions.

Next, we will take a look at the concurrently shot China O’Brien 2. It is available in DVD and 4K UHD/Blu-ray editions.

Writing for “There’s a New Sheriff In Town: China O’Brien (1990)” is copyright © 2024 by Daniel R. Robichaud.

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