REVIEW: ‘The Storm Riders’ (1998)

Fantasy epic depicts the struggle between a powerful warlord and his two pupils who discover they are only his pawns in his quest to rule the martial world.

The Storm Riders is based upon a popular Asian comic book which tells the tale of Xiong Ba (Sonny Chiba), the leader of the World Society Clan who wishes to conquer the world by becoming master of all martial arts. Xiong Ba kills the parents of both Bu Jingyun (Aaron Kwok) known as Cloud and those of Nie Feng (Ekin Cheng) known as wind in his quest for domination. Cloud and Wind, both mere children are groomed by Xiong Ba to be his instruments for destroying his rivals. As young adults, Cloud and Wind vie for the love of their masters’ daughter Kong Ci (Christie Yeung) but eventually realize they must join forces to stop their tyrannical master, Xiong Ba.

This is definitely a new breed of Hong Kong action film with digital effects to match or even outdo most Hollywood productions. Of course we all know eye candy does not make a film entertaining by itself if we use Dungeons & Dragons (2000) for example. Both films use a fantasy environment with plenty of fantastic imagery but where D&D fails, The Storm Riders manages to sustain the viewers’ interest in the characters and their exploits. Unfortunately, they share the mistake of overwhelming the viewer with effects that actually steal intensity from the film. There are a number of well played moments and the effects certainly are well done but some of the flair is missing. Its a certain element where human emotions and skill simply give way to overwhelming otherworldly power. Perhaps I pine for the days when Dr. Frankenstein screamed in triumph as his face lit up from the glow of pulsating electric gizmos in glorious black and white.

The addition of several great genre actors like Yu Rong-guang (Shanghai Affairs) and Sonny Chiba (The Street Fighter) is a real treat. Even Anthony Wong, a terrific and prolific actor best known for his award winning performance as the cannibalistic serial killer in The Untold Story shows up, portraying an aging master swordsman.

The sheer creativity involved and visual splendor is enough to highly recommend this film. Despite misgivings about too much reliance on visual effects, The Storm Riders delivers when it comes to providing an entertaining and enjoyable modern fantasy.