When I found "L Feng bao" (aka "L Storm") I hadn't even heard about it. I picked it up knowing that it was a Hong Kong movie and it had Louis Koo in it, I didn't even read the synopsis. Yeah, I am that much of a fan of Asian cinema that I need little encouragement to sit down and indulge myself into a movie.
I must say that "L Storm" wasn't a particularly outstanding movie in the Hong Kong cinema history. Sure, it was entertaining, but it offered nothing new that previous movies in the same genre haven't already brought to the enjoyment of the audience. In fact, the storyline was rather generic and predictable, and that was a massive obstacle around the movie, holding it back.
The movie is well-paced and there isn't really any slumps in the progression of the storyline, just a shame that it was so generic though.
The acting in "L Storm" was good, and Louis Koo definitely carried the movie quite well. I would just have expected a movie such as this to have a bigger ensemble of established actors and actresses performing in it. A shame that it wasn't crammed with stars.
All in all, "L Storm" was a mediocre movie. Hardly a movie that I will return to watch a second time around, because the movie offered nothing new to the genre, nothing that hasn't already been exploited and explored by many previous movies.
"L Storm" is a suitable movie for newcomers to the Hong Kong cinema, and then embark on a larger journey into a cinema that is grand and majestic. But for seasoned veterans of the Hong Kong cinema, this addition felt like a half-hearted movie with director David Lam running on autopilot.
