The Storm Riders (1998)

Just perfect...

A different way of telling a story

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

This is a very impressive movie, if only for the special effects. Everything else about it though make it a very poor Hong Kong movie. It is probably a very good movie, and in fact deals with struggles within the main characters, Cloud and Wind, but the two main problems are that the subtitles were really bad and the movie followed a series of comic books, so it is a little difficult to understand some of it as the background is not there.Basically the movie is about two young warriors, Cloud and Wind, whose fathers are killed by the leader of the a great martial arts clan whose master wishes to become the most powerful martial artist in the world. Unfortunately he cannot because he must wait ten years to fight an even more powerful martial artist, but during that time he trains the two boys, plus Frost, a third one, to make a martial arts triad.There are lots of little turns in the plot of this movie which would be much better if the subtitles could be read. Unfortunately I cannot explain them because of the difficulty in understanding the dialogue. For the fights and the special effects then the movie is great, but from watching what I could of the plot one can see an even deeper level with developing characters. In fact the characters are meant to be the heroes, but they are in league with the bad guy, so they must first overcome their loyalty to him.The main comment that I wish to make about this movie is that I see it as the movie that Mortal Kombat should have been. The effects are probably just as good, but the way in which they are used are much better (especially the fist scenes). The plot is also superior (if I could understand it).

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.

I had heard a lot of good things about this movie, so when I saw the double DVD version for a tenner I couldn't help but purchase the merchandise.After a good study of the pack I couldn't help wonder why they bothered releasing it as a double because, quite frankly, disk two isn't worth watching. Disk one contains the original 2hr+ release, in original language plus subtitles, widescreen format and a few decent goodies. Disk 2 contains the dubbed version, a pretty poor pan and scan (it cant do justice to the explosive visuals) and no extras. The only time it ever comes in handy is with mates (or my girlfriend) who cant watch subtitles at any cost. But watching this version leaves them just as confused as many plot points and fight scenes are hacked out. It is more than a little annoying that the disk one version doesn't allow you to change the aspect ratio or choose between dub or subs. If you had these options you could do away with the second disk entirely.As far as the film is concerned (the full version not the butchered edit), I cant remember a more enjoyable film. It really is a spectacle at times, people fly around and summon balls of energy and the sword saint showdown is ingenious. The story is coherent, and mostly makes sense. It bounces along at a fair pace and never really gets boring. The main players are decent enough. Cloud is the better of the two leads, his brooding performance really lends well to the character, whereas Wind comes off as a bit of a wimp (although he is anything but). Sonny Chiba is kick arse as Lord Conquer, giving real menacing performance of the strongest martial arts master in the world.The special effects are amazing, a real visual treat. The actors are quite convincing when they interact with the CGI. The score is also pretty good. The traditional music of the genre is replaced with something a bit more up tempo as befits a film of this speed and modernity. And the 5.1 sound is pretty good to. It gives the old sub a right rattling and the effects fly around all over the shop.Overall, I really enjoyed 'The Stormriders'. Shakespeare it aint, obviously, but it is so fast paced and visually enthralling that you cant help but succumb to its charms. The extras are pretty good, a FX documentary and a making of, both of which are entertaining and fairly informative. Like I say, stick with disk one As far as the Wu Xia Pan genre is concerned this is right up there.

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.