When I first saw the box for The Stormriders, I had never heard of the comics, let alone the film. But given that this is one of the biggest films, Hong Kong had ever made, I had to watch it for myself.
I was, it has to be said, very pleasantly surprised. The storyline was a bit dark (possibly one might say it could have been darker to give it a bit more depth), and some of the martial arts action were brilliantly choreographed. The characters were on the whole well built giving the whole movie an edge.
However, the main weakness of the film has to be the discontinuity in many places in the film. It does feel, even with the Directors' Cut, version that I saw, there was too much edited out of the film and it left you slightly disoriented at times. I can't begin to imagine what the International Version must be like as it has some 40 minutes taken out of it.
But credit has to be given to the graphics team behind the special effects. They were all discreetly put together into the film, such that it added to the film rather than the film depending on it. The film is already some four years old as I write this, and it seems to not have aged at all.
Overall, it is a good film to watch. The box also mentions that it's Final Fantasy HK Style, and though I'd say the story itself might not make a great Final Fantasy game, the SFX do give it that feel. The film isn't perfect, but I have to give it full marks have for effort.
The Storm Riders
1998 [CHINESE]
Action / Adventure / Fantasy
Plot summary
Based on a comic book called Fung Wan, the movie stars Ekin Cheng as Wind and Aaron Kwok as Cloud. The plot involves two children, Whispering Wind and Striding Cloud, who become powerful warriors under the evil warlord Conquer's tutelage. They grow up serving as his subordinates, but a love triangle and an accident leads to a quest for retribution.
October 22, 2023 at 07:44 PM
Tech specs
720p.BLU 1080p.BLUMovie Reviews
Amazing Effects
Fun fun fun!
I really liked this movie,and both leads were perfect in there roles.
this is a action fantasy with lots of cool but hoky special effects and almost non stop action.
Great fighting scenes and decent special effects.your 12 to 15 year olds will love it as will most si-fi/fantasy/kung-fu buffs.
If anime was real...
This was very entertaining to watch. The special effects are great as fight scenes giving the characters super powers. The story is not hard to follow and the whole concept of fate is key. Conquer (played by Sonny Chiba) is the antagonist who's someone you do NOT mess with. I think it's his deep voice though that gives him that real evil aura. I really didn't find myself disliking his character which, again, is credit to Sonny. He's just a really cool baddie.
Wind and Cloud are really cool to watch. Their powers are amazing to see and they can deal a lot of damage. Interesting triangle involved too. One thing that films like this do is focus too much on the effects and disregard the acting. Storm Riders gives you two great warriors: Wind is strong, but kind hearted and caring. Cloud is unpredictable and has a tough demeanor. Give credit to Aaron Kwok who gives a great performance. His blank look stare totally defines his character. Hey, add Kristy Yang and Shu Qi, you can't lose!!
Definitely one worth watching.
Yes
Now we need part 2 The Storm Warriors 2009
Thank you FREEMAN , I've been waiting for too long for this movie
I remember watching this one on tv back in the day, thank you!