Purple Storm (1999)

Truly Dreadful Film

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

This modern-day Hong Kong thriller mixes together elements of the psychological human drama with a more conventional terrorist-mastermind type plot that seems very familiar in today's world of suicide bombers and terrorist bombings. With repeated shots of buildings exploding a la 9/11, this makes for a film that is sometimes uncomfortable and always unexpected. Sadly, the movie as a whole is let down by some indifferent acting, especially on the part of the lead, Daniel Wu, whose over-the-top gurning belongs in a pantomime. The good news is that it generally fits together well as an action-cum-thriller with plenty of shoot-outs, bloodshed, and martial arts battles to keep the machismo running over.Director Teddy Chan handles the action sequences with aplomb, revealing the true horror of what happens when the police battle on the streets with terrorist villains, as numerous bystanders end up getting caught in the crossfire and both sides taking heavy casualties. Although the toxic gas premise belongs in a sci-fi movie, things don't really get out of hand until the effects-laden finale in the sewers which actually happens to be pretty funny. Attempts are made to give this film a heavier plot that most, as it focus on various characters caught up in the proceedings, trying to get the audience to see what it would be like to be them.Out of the cast, the best performances come from Emil Chau as the by-the-book cop, who has a wholesome feel of goodness about him; I'd like to see him in similar roles in other films. Although Joan Chen is top-billed in her minor role as a police psychologist, she's actually on screen very little and makes nothing of an impact – I've always considered her to be overrated myself. Conversely, Josie Ho, an actress I've never heard of, who plays one of the female terrorists, is excellent, bringing heart to the role of a guilt-free killer and being very sexy with it – give this lady more roles! Much is made of white-haired Kwok-Leung Gan as the chief terrorist Soong, and he is decent as bad guys go, more of a silent brooding menace than a megalomaniac in this one. So, all in all this is a decent action flick, not a masterpiece or particularly rewatchable or anything, but different enough to be worth a go.

"Purple Storm" is actually a great action movie, well worthy a watch if you like high octane action movies that have a good plot as well.The story is about Todd Nguyen who is a terrorist but having suffered head trauma has lost his memory and is now being played as an undercover agent by the ATF (Anti Terrorist Force) in Hong Kong, trying to unravel a terrorist cell and hinder their action to set off a cataclysmic event known as "Purple Storm" (though referred to a Purple Rain in the movie). Todd gradually recovers his lost memories but finds himself torn between the righteousness and good of humanity and between his ties to family and the terrorist organization.The people cast for "Purple Storm" were doing great jobs with their roles, and I must admit that even though I don't like Daniel Wu one bit, then his performance in this movie was actually quite good and convincing. But he didn't carry the movie alone, there was another crucial performance by the guy who played the leader of the terrorist cell, he really put on a great performance."Purple Storm" has a lot of action, in form of gunfights, fight scenes and chase scenes, and it was all nicely executed and choreographed, coming together for a great entertainment experience.I liked the storyline in the movie, despite it not being innovative or introducing anything new to this particular genre of action movies. But also my love for Asian cinema helped to enjoy this movie for what it was. Great action. Great fun. Great performances. Great story.If you enjoy Hong Kong cinema and like an adrenaline-filled action thriller, then you should treat yourself to "Purple Storm".

I started watching this expecting the worst, i was happy to find that the film turned out to be enjoyable, slightly confusing in parts, like when they all justs started singing. It gave me a chance to see Daniel Wu in action for the first time, he is a better actor than i thought, at times he seemed a bit out of place. I thought purple storm deserves its Hong kong legends release, as it is different to most other HK films, it is about a mans emotional struggles when confronted with memory loss, it may sound corny but when he eventually pieces out what and who he actually is it really makes the film a lot more interesting. Once you get into the film you will find it keeps you gripped to it, as if you miss one bit then a lot of the film wil make sense, for example i missed a bit at the start and i recommend to anyone that watches this that they do not miss any of it. So i can say that this film was worth watching and a grateful surprise for me, that i enjoyed it.

This movie gives Daniel Wu his chance to do a great action movie, but I really find Emil Chow's character really great, gutsy but determined to righting wrongs. Plus the main terrorist, it gets me wondering his revolution, makes me wonder if he is doing this for good or bad. A movie that tells us about Todd, an amnesiac terrorist being tricked as an undercover until he learns who he really is. The consequences that he makes from his terrorist family, gives him a the choice of redemption.Purple Storm was one of the best ones that I have seen this year. The movie really stands out when it is filled with tremendous action scenes set-up by Stephen Tung Wai, which won the best action sequences in the Hong Kong Awards. (9/10)