Japanese evil warlord Lord Godless desired to conquer China. He imprisoned a large number of martial artists and tried to make them subjugate. Among the prisoners were Cloud and the martial arts elder statesman Nameless. Wind came to the rescue. The trio was badly wounded by Lord Godless’s evil martial arts attack. Chu Chu was also knocked out when she blocked Cloud from Lord Godless’s strike. The remaining martial artists sacrificed their lives to save the trio, in the hope that the trio would beat Lord Godless one day and save the country.

Chu Chu was badly wounded and stayed unconscious. Cloud was filled with remorse and vowed to take revenge. Wind chose to take the evil way to quickly boost up his martial arts skills, so that he could protect the people. During his training, he met the girl who changed his life, Dream. Meanwhile, the troop of Lord Godless came to attack. Wind’s training was interrupted when he tried to save Dream from Lord Godless’s assault. After some killings, Wind ran away and disappeared….

Lord Godless took The Emperor in captivity and stationed his troops in Heaven Cave. Cloud arrived alone and started a combat with Lord Godless. Lord Godless had the upper hand. In the meantime, the half-evil Wind appeared and joined the battle.  During the fight, they inadvertently discovered the secret of the sovereign. The real intention of Lord Godless’s invasion was related to an ancient tomb, a forbidden ground buried with the Royal family’s secret. The truth was finally revealed. At last, how would the battle end?  Who would eventually rule over the country?

Movie Review

The Storm Warriors is the follow up to the highly successful Storm Riders 11 years ago. And it is also based on the highly rated & hugely popular Chinese comics. That sure gives the Storm Warriors a good starting. After all, like the Pang brother say “If all the fans who watched Storm Riders come back for Storm Warriors, then this will be one big blockbuster!”.

Indeed it is. It has quite good CGI, comparable to that of Hollywood standards (maybe not the best but near there). The photography & background are quite astounding. And the fact it has both its main leads come back to act in them: Aaron Kwok and the more down-to-earth Ekin Cheng.

All these will surely pull in the crowd. But what will most likely stop it is the very basic of them all – the story, which is rather predictable and at times boring. Sure we all know when good vs evil, we always root for the good. But we can only do so if we can connect with the characters more… and that seems to be lacking here, making the movie more of a visual feast with a hollow story.

Conclusion & Ratings

6.8. It’s a pity that this oriental superpower movie do not fall in the same league as the more well scripted Hollywood blockbuster of similar genre.

However, it is still a good enough effort for Asian cinema & very much for HK -  for now at least.

The Production Concept:

A decade ago, the comic-adapted movie Storm Riders, starring pop idols Aaron Kwok and Ekin Cheng, premiered in the summer of 1998. The movie was in theatre for 45 days and topped the box office chart for the year at HK$41,532.235. In Mainland China, the unofficial box office number hit RMB 100 million.

Today, 10 years later, computer technology has revolutionized movie production. The CGI-based movie 300 (2007) set an excellent example of how the distinction of the virtual world and reality became blurred. In addition to an outstanding plot, the movie was a pleasure to the eye by bringing the ancient world to screen through extensive use of CGI. Its success transforms into the basic production concept of The Storm Warriors.

After careful reviewing and short-listing of many stories created by Hong Kong writers, we selected The Storm Warriors. Not only are they the top-selling comics in the past decade, it also deeply touches readers through its dainty artwork and vivid portrayal of love, hatred and martial arts. These are always the most desirable elements of the martial arts world. The Stormriders comics have it all.

The Storm Warriors will be directed by the reputable CGI-savvy directors the Pang Brothers, choreographed by veteran action director Ma Yuk-sing, who partner up with award-winning art and costume director Yee Chung-man. The original story in the comics will form the backbone of the movie, while reality will be blended with the virtual world in harmony. The movie will be the center of attention in 2009, and will lead the production of martial arts movie into a new era.

It’s Distinctive:

The movie will be produced extensively on blue screen and custom-made sets. Design is based on traditional Chinese settings and costumes in the original comics. CGI will be handled by the award-winning production team of the Recycle.

The Production Objective:

To blend local subculture, CGI, martial arts and visual language into a brand new world of wu-hia, and to advance Hong Kong movie production to the next generation.

The Story:

Japanese evil warlord Lord Godless desired to conquer China. He imprisoned a large number of martial artists and tried to make them subjugate. Among the prisoners were Cloud and the martial arts elder statesman Nameless. Wind came to the rescue. The trio was badly wounded by Lord Godless’s evil martial arts attack. Chu Chu was also knocked out when she blocked Cloud from Lord Godless’s strike. The remaining martial artists sacrificed their lives to save the trio, in the hope that the trio would beat Lord Godless one day and save the country.

Chu Chu was badly wounded and stayed unconscious. Cloud was filled with remorse and vowed to take revenge. Wind chose to take the evil way to quickly boost up his martial arts skills, so that he could protect the people. During his training, he met the girl who changed his life, Dream. Meanwhile, the troop of Lord Godless came to attack. Wind’s training was interrupted when he tried to save Dream from Lord Godless’s assault. After some killings, Wind ran away and disappeared….

Lord Godless took The Emperor in captivity and stationed his troops in Heaven Cave. Cloud arrived alone and started a combat with Lord Godless. Lord Godless had the upper hand. In the meantime, the half-evil Wind appeared and joined the battle.  During the fight, they inadvertently discovered the secret of the sovereign. The real intention of Lord Godless’s invasion was related to an ancient tomb, a forbidden ground buried with the Royal family’s secret. The truth was finally revealed. At last, how would the battle end?  Who would eventually rule over the country?

Characters:

WIND – played by EKIN CHENG Kindhearted and kept his promises seriously. To save Cloud, he was willing to risk his own life. To save the people in the country, he sacrificed himself and took the evil way to boost up his strength. However, he was overwhelmed by evil strength and became a disaster to the world…

CLOUD – played by AARON KWOK Ill-fated, unruly, imperious but with a warm heart. He was a wanted man by the emperor, and inadvertently uncovered the secret plan of Lord Godless. Trained by Nameless, he greatly advanced his martial arts ability and battled with Lord Godless at the Heaven Cave.

NAMELESS – played by KENNY HO Martial arts legend with superior martial arts strength, and was regarded as the top enemy by invader Lord Godless. Eventually he was seriously injured and lost most of his martial arts ability. He passed the duty of saving the country onto Wind and Cloud.

LORD GODLESS – played by SIMON YAM Warlord from Japan who conspired to invade China. Under his plan, a large group of martial artists including Nameless were imprisoned, and the Chinese Emperor were also taken hostage. But he underestimated the power of Wind and Cloud…

HEART – played by NICHOLAS TSE The eldest son and competent assistant of Lord Godless. When his father was down falling, he chose to be a traitor.

SECOND DREAM – played by CHARLENE CHOI The daughter of Martial Arts Legend “King of Knives” who learnt knife skills from her father. The masculine style conflicted with her gentleness and left a red scar on her face. She gave Wind all her heart and stayed faithful even when Wind turned into evil.

CHU CHU – played by TIFFANY T The daughter of “Kirin Arm” who accompanied Cloud in his nomadic journey. They developed tacit understanding between each other, but the relationship still lacks some romance. During the battle between Cloud and Lord Godless, Chu Chu saved her beloved from a fatal strike and passed out…

LORD WICKED – played by KENNY WONG A recluse and a renowned martial arts master who broke his two arms in order to set himself free from evil power. Wind and Cloud came to him for help. Finally he agreed to teach Wind a shortcut to quickly increase his power….

PIGGY KING – played by LAM SUET An ugly-looking martial artist who was fond of women and only enjoyed fooling around. Under a special occasion, he was entrusted by Nameless with the duty of leading Wind and Cloud to Lord Wicked. Since then, he became mature and put in effort to protect his country.

THE CHINESE EMPEROR – played by PATRICK TAM Betrayed by his Chief Eunuch and being held captive by Lord Godless, the Chinese Emperor gave in and disclosed an ancient secret…..

EARTH and SKY – played by ANSON LEUNG and BYRON PANG Two devoted students of Lord Godless who finally came out from their secret training ground to help Lord Godless in his invasion.

The Production Lineup:

The Producers / Directors: The PANG BROTHERS (Oxide Pang Shun and Danny Pang Fat) are well known for their talent. They are adept in adding in special computer graphics effect into their movies. Their 2002 production The Eye has received extensive attention upon its release and has caused a tremendous leap forward of the local horror movies. In another horror blockbuster Re-cycle which was released in 2006, the Brothers have tried to combine the virtual world with the real world. Re-cycle has received great attention and appreciation throughout the film industry and was highly appraised by numerous well known film festivals, it was chosen as the closing film of Un Certain Regard of the 59th Cannes Film Festival. Since Recycle, the Brothers have produced a number of Hollywood movies including The Messengers and Big Hit In Bangkok, featuring Nicholas Cage. Big Hit In Bangkok is an adaptation from the Brothers’ early production Bangkok Dangerous. The movie will go for a wide release in USA in early 2008.

The Action Chorographer: MA YUK-SING is the best partner of veteran action director, Tony Ching Siu-tung, with whom they worked together in a lot of big-budget productions. In recent years, Ching has been the action choreographer of a number of martial arts blockbusters including Curse Of The Golden Flower, House of Flying Daggers, the latest released The Warlords and the upcoming An Empress and the Warriors. With the reputable solid experience accumulated while working with Tony, Ma has become one of the top action choreographer in Asia.

Ma’s solo projects include Bichunmoo starring Korean pop stars Kim Hee-sun and Shin Hyun-june and the China hottest TV programmes The Legend of Condor Heroes and Ni Shui Han etc.

The Art Director: YEE CHUNG-MAN, the most reputable Art and Costume Director in Asia, has received remarkable rewards for years. By the movie Curse of The Golden Flower, Yee was nominated for the Best Achievement in Costume Design and the Best Costume Design in the 79th Oscar Academy Awards and in the I.A.T.S.E. Award respectively.  His achievement was highly appraised. Yee has been a regular award winner in the Hong Kong Film Awards and Taipei Golden Horse Award. He is the three-time winner of the Best Art Director Award of Golden Horse Award for blockbuster titles A Chinese Ghost Story?Comrades: Almost a Love Story and Perhaps Love.  He is also the three-time winner of the Best Costume and Makeup Design Award in Hong Kong. In addition, Yee was awarded both of the Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design in the 40th Golden Horse Award by the movie Golden Chicken.

Written by: Renowned as the “Godfather of Hong Kong Comics”, MA WING-SHING joined the “Jade Comics Group” at the age of 14 and started his career in comics writing. His early creation included “Chinese Heroes”, which became the most popular and top selling comics in 1983. He founded “Jonesky Limted” in 1989 and started the creation of “Fung Wan” (aka Wind & Cloud), which has been the top selling comics in Hong Kong for 18 years. Blockbusters “Stormrider” & “Chinese Heroes” are both adaptations from Ma’s two most successful comics.

Special Effect by: FAT FACE PRODUCTION LIMITED is established by the multimedia producer Gao Fei, who was in charge of the special effects production of Recycle. The film has been selected as the closing film of Un Certain Regard in the 59th Cannes Film Festival.  Recycle has also been awarded with the “Best Visual Special Effects” in the 25th HK Film Awards. With their creativity and ability to combine fantasy elements into real live, Gao Fei and his team can often make the audience’s eyes wide-opened. Fat Face Production Limited has received appreciation among the media production industry as well as the film industry. The team has recently participated in the production of The Warlords.

Presented by: UNIVERSE ENTERTAINMENT LIMITED Universe is one of the leading companies in entertainment industry in Hong Kong. Starting from video distribution in late 80s, Universe has diversified its business to films acquisition and distribution, films production, artiste management, etc now. SHAOLIN SOCCER, award-winning films such as ONE NITE IN MONGKOK, DIVERGENCE, RE-CYCLE and the recent action blockbuster INVISIBLE TARGET were some of its distinguished productions. In order to maintain its spirit in creating the best movies to audiences, Universe breaks the national boundaries to co-produce various films with production companies in different parts the world. On the other side, Universe has started investing for the production of TV drama such as the martial art period spectacles, YONG CHUNG, each of Universe’s TV drama consists of diverse but creative theme and elements. Universe will continue its business to produce better movies and provide audiences with more marvelous entertainment.