The Storm Riders (1998)

What a martial arts movie! Good acting, great special effects and charismatic characters. The martial arts sequences were beautifully shot, indoors as well as out of doors.The plot is a little hazy, at least as to why Cloud would be a student under the man who killed his father; however, he has the appropriate amount of angst, so it is easily ignored. In my opinion, the Cassandra-like character, Mud-Buddha, is the most compelling. Like Cassandra, he misused his gift of prophecy; however, unlike Cassandra, he was stricken with running sores.Sonny Chiba was sufficiently intense in this movie. I've seen a great many of his movies and this is not his best performance; however, I don't think that he was meant to overpower the special effects anyway. I find it interesting that, if I hadn't known beforehand, I never would've guessed that the man on the screen behind the beard was Chiba...Anyone who liked Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon would enjoy this movie. If you like the older martial arts flicks, this one should also be a joy to watch. I give it a nine out of ten...

This is the best Honk-Kong Fantasy out there, !!BUT!! If you are about to buy it, rent it or borrow it, make sure it is the original version and nothing else!!! You will know this by checking the length of this movie which should be over 2 hours! and not 90 min as the US version. Also check the language which should be Cantonese and not English.In the US version of this flick you will miss the most important scenes and won´t understand anything because it´s cut down to the minimum.This IS one of the greatest movies. "Final Fantasy" meets "Lord Of The Rings".US version 3/10. Original version 10/10!!!

In my opinion, it doesn't matter if the editing(or perhaps the story itself, I haven't read the comic) makes the movie hard to follow at times and that the dialogue is lame at times. This movie is freaking so cool to watch I can't get over it. Cloud is so hardcore... he rips off his own arm just to have the liquid to use his special power!!!! That is so cool that I don't find any problems with the fact that the surgery that attaches a new arm actually works. To top it all off, the arm is no ordinary arm.... It's a "Fire Beast Arm" with special powers. Oh, and there is a "Fire Monkey" which sucks the puss from the cursed boils that cover Mud Buddha. Basically it's insane and max cool all at the same time.This and "The Duel" are totally sweet hong-kong fantasy fighting movies. Check 'em out.

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.