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RATING:  
SINGAPORE: "The Storm Warriors" is based on a series of Wuxia comic books and novels by Hong Kong writer Mah Wing Sheng. It comes 11 years after the first film "The Storm Riders" was released way back in 1998.
The film is basically about how the two main heroes Whispering Wind (Ekin Cheng) and Striding Cloud (Aaron Kwok) set out to stop evil warlord Lord Godless (Simon Yam) and his son Heart (Nicholas Tse) from conquering China.
That is the whole plot.
It may be simple and does not afford much chance for character development, but that is simply not the focus of the film. The fights are the main attraction.
"Storm Warriors" is one of the most action-packed martial arts films I have ever seen. Spectacular CG enhanced fights take up almost 70 per cent of the film's 110 minute running time and cost a third of the film's entire budget to produce. Even the script has only about 200 lines of dialogue to accommodate all that action.
If the melodramatic "Twilight" were a sensitive new-age guy, fight-filled "Storm Warriors" would be a quiet man of action.
The film's directors, Pang brothers, Oxide and Danny, have really paid a lot of attention to the cinematography and martial arts choreography in "Storm Warriors". Fights are fast and furious, accompanied by suitably epic music. Particularly painful moves are shown in slow motion to let their impact sink in.
The key factor that made the fights look good is the massive advances in CG technology since the first film "Storm Riders" was released.
In those days, CG was inexpertly applied to "Storm Riders", resulting in cheesy scenes that looked hideous. CG techniques have come a long way since then and allowed for some exhilarating fight sequences in films like "300" and "Sin City".
"Storm Warriors" follows in the footsteps of these films and is the first Chinese film ever to be completely shot in blue screen. The CG effects do not feel out of place since the whole environment is CG and keeps the audiences immersed in the "Storm Warriors" world.
Perhaps the only downside of this action-heavy film is the lack of back story about Wind, Cloud and the other characters, so the uninitiated might feel a little disconnected from the characters. Still, the brilliant action sequences make up for it.
"Storm Warriors" is a good example of how a simple plot, when executed properly, can still result in a stylish, thoroughly enjoyable movie. It is a must-watch for fans of the comic book series but still well worth watching for everyone else.
- CNA/ha
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