Cynthia Rothrock Movies
The self-proclaimed Queen of Martial Arts Films and Kung-fu Video Queen, quick-fisted Cynthia Rothrock has been crushing skulls and thrilling international action fans since her high kicking debut in Yes, Madam in 1985. Her lightning speed and adrenalized bone-crushing rivals that of such well-known action stars as Steven Seagal and Chuck Norris -- only Rothrock can take down an army of baddies in three-inch heels.Born in Delaware in 1957, Rothrock gained appreciation for martial arts from an early age. At 13, she began taking lessons, and soon after was encouraged by parents and teachers to enter competitions to showcase her unique abilities. Soon earning her first black belt of at least five in varying disciplines, Rothrock would eventually earn a coveted spot in the Black Belt Hall of Fame and Kung-Fu Insider Hall of Fame. She began taking interest and developing skills in multiple disciplines, including Northern Shaolin (classical Chinese), Eagle Claw (Chinese), and Tang Soo Do (Korean) to name a few. Mastering various techniques and disciplines ultimately led Rothrock to becoming the undefeated World Karate Champion in both forms and weapons competitions from 1981 to 1985, and would eventually catch the attention of Hong Kong-based Golden Harvest Productions, who cast Rothrock opposite kung-fu queen Michelle Yeoh in Yes, Madam (1985). Though she had appeared in a Kentucky Fried Chicken commercial in the early '80s, it was Madam that sent Rothrock's cinematic career into overdrive with Hong Kong audiences.
Attempting to broaden her appeal to action fans in her native country, Golden Harvest backed China O' Brien and China O' Brien II in 1990. Though her efforts failed to draw significant box-office returns in the U.S., Rothrock's more than 30 cinematic ventures proved to have a lucrative shelf life on the home video market. Working tirelessly with some of the most prolific actors and directors of varying genres (including the likes of Sammo Hung, Enter the Dragon director Robert Clouse, and John Schlesinger) Rothrock has released an average of three films a year since her introduction to international audiences in 1990. Throughout her cinematic career, Rothrock has continually appeared in some of the most prolific martial arts publications in the world, constantly promoting and reinforcing her image as a deadly beauty with a killer kick.
~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1992
An angry widow dons her ninja gear and takes off for revenge against the gangster who killed her husband in this lively martial arts actioner that revels in its deliberately, deliciously awful tongue-in-cheek dialog that takes a sharp poke at the genre. While the black widow kicks and chops her way to vengeance against the evil villain "White Powder's" gang, police officers Lee Ann Jackson and Lester McQueen stalk her while simultaneously trying to clean up the other trash that litters the streets of their city. In the explosive final conclusion, White Powder meets Mr. Big in the ubiquitous empty warehouse to finalize a major drug deal. Unbeknownst to either of them, the ninja-girl got there first and planted a little surprise for them. In the end, the two crooks get their just desserts, the cops get demoted, and the widow flees to Mexico. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Kung fu star and choreographer Corey Yuen spins this vigilante flick featuring Yuen Biao as Hsia Ling-ching, a court prosecutor who is sick of watching the criminal and the corrupt waltz away from justice. After knocking off well-connected drug pushers and underworld denizens, Hsia finds himself not only tailed by determined cop Cindy (played by American kung fu diva Cynthia Rothrock but also pursued by a number of hired guns contracted by crooked gumshoe Sergeant Wong (Melvin Wong. Soon Hsia is scaling building, battling baddies and clinging to helicopters. Roy Chiao Hung and Wu Ma also appear. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cynthia Rothrock, Yuen Biao, (more)
- 1993
The beautiful Cynthia Rothrock is one of the foremost female martial-arts experts in films, and that's all that is required in Angel of Fury. This time, Rothrock is sent to rescue a "brain." Said brain is housed in a super-computer, jealously guarded by enemy agents. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cynthia Rothrock, Chris Barnes, (more)
Join martial arts masters Sam Deratani and Cynthia Rothrock as they offer invaluable information on self-defense for the non-martial-artist in this video that teaches the ten basic principles of non-submission. Few instructors have the remarkable experience and background as Deratani and Rothrock, and by instructing viewers on how to react in a series of potentially dangerous confrontations, they give you the power and the knowledge to defend yourself against a wide range of physical attacks. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cynthia Rothrock, Sam Deratani, (more)
While staying in her hometown for a vacation, a martial-arts-trained police officer (Cynthia Rothrock) finds herself running for sheriff after her father (David Blackwell) is killed by a local crimepin (Steven Kerby). As the long arm of the law, China O'Brien avenges her father's death. The film was followed by a sequel. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cynthia Rothrock
- 1989
- R
The final chapter in the two-volume series finds sheriff China O'Brien (Cynthia Rothrock) still the bedrock lawperson of Beaver Creek. The small village is once again invaded, this time by a group of Vietnam-vet outlaws led by a drug-dealing madman (Harlow Marks). ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cynthia Rothrock
- 1992
Lau Kar-wing directs this affable low-budget action-comedy. The film centers on Kent Tong (Kenneth Tong Chun-yo), a convict on the lam and in possession of some fantastically valuable microfilm wanted by not only FBI agent Cindy (Cynthia Rothrock), but also thugs posing as FBI agents named Ken (Ken Godman) and Macquarton (Mark Houghton), and a pair of incompetent Hong Kong cops, Ching Shing (Miu Kiu-wai) and Tai Kau (Shing Fui-on). In the midst of all this, Ching falls in love with the fugitive's beautiful sister, May (Suki Kwan Sau-mei), while Cindy falls for Tai Kau. Later, martial master Michiko (Michiko Nishiwaki), which sets the stage for a kung-fu smack down between her and Cindy. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- 1990
Piecing together exciting film footage of martial arts performances, Deadliest Art demonstrates the reasons for the popularity of martial arts combat in visual entertainment. The history of the art, including basics of the Eastern philosophies that govern it, provides insight along with the demonstration of various types of martial arts fighting. Touching on the skills and frame of mind necessary to perform feats of this kind, this film showcases the beauty of defense without weapons, as well as special techniques required to incorporate the use of weapons, and the ways in which the martial arts have been showcased in the film industry. ~ Sarah Sloboda, All Movie Guide
An ordinary woman is driven to the point of violent revenge in this tense thriller. Karen McCann (Sally Field) is a suburban wife and working mother with two daughters. Karen's life is turned upside down when her 17-year-old daughter is raped and murdered, a crime she overhears on her cellular phone. Sgt. Denillo (Joe Mantegna), a bright and resourceful police detective, soon tracks down the culprit, an especially sleazy criminal named Robert Doob (Kiefer Sutherland). However, due to a minor technicality, Doob escapes conviction, even though he's clearly guilty. Karen's husband Mack (Ed Harris) suppresses his grief and tries to go on with his life, but Karen doesn't find this quite so easy; she joins a support group for parents of murdered children, and she discovers that within the group is an underground society that seeks vigilante justice against killers who've slipped through the net of the judicial system. Karen buys a gun, learns how to use it, and begins training in martial arts. She starts keeping tabs on Doob, and learns that he not only intends to kill again, he's targeting her younger daughter. Beverly D'Angelo co-stars as Karen's best friend Dolly, and Philip Baker Hall plays Sidney Hughes. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sally Field, Kiefer Sutherland, (more)
- 1991
- PG
This fast-paced caper/chase comedy, shot on location in Utah and Colorado, chronicles the daring exploits of a bank robber and his teenage-criminal-mastermind son. Exciting stunts and special effects help make up for the rather lame story. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Corey Haim, Cynthia Rothrock, (more)
- 1994
- PG13
A bank robber tries to go straight but finds himself framed in this crime drama. Former criminal Nelson Potter is trying to stay clean and open up a bank insurance company with Patrice his girlfriend. His father, a Nelson's former crime partner, wants out. Then Lily robs a bank that Nelson said had so-so security. She kills a guard and leaves the knife covered with Nelson's prints. Nelson is also being harassed by a shady FBI agent. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Corey Haim, Cynthia Rothrock, (more)
- 1996
Iolaus (Michael Hurst) thought that his problems with the beautiful but deadly Enforcer (Karen Sheperd) were over when she was killed and carted off to the Other World. Now, however, he must contend with Enforcer II (Cynthia Rothrock) -- whose essence is fire, and thus is twice as dangerous as her water-essenced predecessor. So powerful is the "new" Enforcer that Iolaus is actually killed, but not before warning his friend Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) of the new threat to humanity. Hades (Erik Thomson), king of the Other World, dispatches the original Enforcer to help Hercules polish off her successor...but how can this bring Iolaus back to life? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Sorbo, Michael Hurst, (more)
- 1992
- R
Action heroine Cynthia Rothrock stars as FBI agent Tracey Pride, who teams with her sister Joyce (Donna Joyce), an Interpol operative posing as a TV newswoman, to take down an evil executive (John Miller) with plans to buy a nuclear detonator. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cynthia Rothrock
- 1992
- R
Martial arts expert Cynthia Rothrock stars as a widow who learns karate in order to gain revenge on the crime boss (Richard Norton) who killed her husband. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1993
- R
Cynthia Rothrock again stars in the title role, playing a woman who uses her martial arts mastery for vengeance on the thugs who terrorized her home. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1986
Looking to cash in on the popularity of Steven Spielberg's mega-hits E.T. and Raiders of the Lost Ark, Hong Kong schlockmeister Wong Jing directs this yarn about Andy (Andy Lau Tak-wah) who, along with buddies Pin-pin (Siu bin-bin) and Pancho (Wong Jing) ventures to Greece to find his long lost friend Shen (Phillip Ko Fei). They soon discover Shen is being tailed both by the KGB and by Interpol after discovering some rare gems in an archeological dig. After a unkindly series of events, Andy winds up back in Hong Kong with the stones, which, it turns out, is not gems but rather an alien life form. Meanwhile Karov (Richard Norton), an evil magician, is hell bent on getting his hands on the gem/alien no matter what. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andy Lau, Cynthia Rothrock, (more)
- 1990
- R
Martial Law is a no-brainer action flick starring Steven McQueen, the son of the late, great Steve McQueen. Buddy cop duo Sean Thompson and Billie Black are on the trail of a killer whose signature weapon is a punch that stops the heart. The bad guy, played by David Carradine, also runs a number of illicit businesses, including trafficking in drugs. Things get personal when Sean realizes his little brother has fallen under the killer's sway, and hot when Sean realizes the feisty Billie might be falling for him. The film runs a predictable course as the two close in on the killer, rescue the little brother, defeat the evil henchmen, and finally capture the bad guy. Its formulaic story aside, Martial Law is an interesting film for its blending of the early-'90s hysteria around serial killers with the equally prevalent hysteria around gangs and urban youth. ~ Brian Whitener, All Movie Guide
- 1991
- R
This martial-arts sequel follows the further adventures of LA cops Billie and Sean, two members of the department's urban-warfare martial arts unit, "Martial Law." The two team up again to look into the suspicious death of a fellow officer and discover a complex network of corruption and murder all centered around a posh nightclub. Female martial-arts champion Cynthia Rothrock plays Billie. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1998
- R
Obsessed with the media, a crazed serial killer likes to videotape the agonizing death of his victims thus providing the only clues a police detective has to go on. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred Williamson, Cynthia Rothrock, (more)
- 1989
- R
In this loose sequel to the earlier film No Retreat, No Surrender, young martial artist Scott (Loren Avedon) now living in Thailand, he has a Vietnamese girlfriend whose wealthy father would strongly disapprove of their liaison. When she is kidnapped after one of their dates, Scott seeks to rescue her. Enlisting the aid of his arms-dealing buddy Mac (Max Thayer) and pilot friend Terri (Cynthia Rothrock), he sets off into the jungles of Southeast Asia to confront the kidnappers. He confronts renegade Soviet front man Yuri (Matthias Hues), and the bad guys get their comeuppance in the usual scenes of martial arts mayhem, spiced with plenty of machine gun fire and explosions. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Loren Avedon, Max Thayer, (more)
A woman starting a new life discovers her old life won't go away so easily in this action-drama. Julie Cosgrove (Cynthia Rothrock) was an Federal intelligence agent working on a top secret assignment when she found herself in the middle of an ambush gone wrong which led to the death of the man she loved. Emotionally devastated, Cosgrove turned her back on the government, assumed a new identity, and began a new life. However, she unwittingly becomes involved with a group of people who have been backed into a corner by crime kingpins. Cosgrove feels compelled to help them, but by doing so, she finds herself in deeper than she expected, and tips her hand to her former colleagues, who now want to silence her permanently. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cynthia Rothrock
In Rage and Honor, Cynthia Rothrock is featured as a full-time high-school teacher/part-time karate instructor who's out to protect one of her students who innocently witnesses and films a mob drug transaction. He's caught and beaten but keeps the film from the bad guys. Finding and helping him is an Australian foreign-exchange cop who also gets involved in the fracas when he's set up for a murder by some cop cohorts who've gone bad. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cynthia Rothrock, Richard Norton, (more)
