The StormRiders - I cavalieri della tempesta

I heard how great this Hong Kong flick, so I was really happy to find a copy of it at my video store. Unfortunately, at the time of my rental, I didn't know that the U.S. video/DVD distributor hacked out about THIRTY MINUTES from the original running time! What a mess! The movie made absolutely no sense!

Still, I could see enough in this butchered print to indicate that the full uncut version must be fabulous (and make a heck of a lot more sense!) So I think it's safe for me to recommend you see it - though ONLY if you can see the uncut version!

Wow. This movie is a CLASSIC, almost entirely because of it's extreme unintentional hilarity. The "fighters" are actually Chinese pop stars, and it comes through quite easily in this, dare I say, "Film." The special effects will leave you either in painful laughter or extreme incredulity, and not because of how well they are done. The plot has the solidity and continuity of a jellyfish, with characters appearing, leaving and reappearing for what appears to be no reason at all. It's best to watch this movie with several friends late at night, but a warning: the laughter might cause some damage. Every kung fu fan should immediately watch this movie, and then watch a good movie, such as Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon or Fist of Legend.

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.

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.

I saw the DVD of this movie in a local HMV store and on the cover it said that it outsold 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' in Hong Kong. I read the back and it sounded very interesting. The DVD contained 2 discs - the international version and the Director's cut. I opted for the Director's cut as I like to see films the way the Director intended.

So, I bought it, sat back and pressed play. I was absolutely amazed - the story was fascinating, steeped in Eastern mysticism, the acting was superb (especially Aaron Kowk as Cloud and Ekin Cheng as Wind, the two principal leads) and the special effects were mind blowing.

I won't give the story away and to be honest, the plot wouldn't do justice to the way the film's made and how entertaining it really is. Ideas are thrown in one after the other, Lau's direction is assured and there are set pieces which defy belief (for example, when Wind is fighting the fire dragon in the cave).

It's simple, if you have a chance to see this, then watch it. Watch the Director's version though - the International version is many minutes shorter and badly dubbed.