4/10
Storm Warriors-- THE "Magic-(Kung)Fu" Comic-Book Movie
9 December 2009
Green-screened movies and manga/ anime (graphic-novel/ cartoon) adaptations are a dime a dozen these days-- so what makes "Storm Warriors" (based on a Hong Kong "wuxia" comic series) any different? Well, unlike Hollywood movie adaptations which tend to tone/ dumb things down for wider/ mainstream appeal, or Japan movie adaptations which try to stuff all the original story/ characters in, Hong Kong movie adaptations are generally about entertaining their fan-base-- even at the risk of becoming self-referential/ indulgent "B"-movies.

And the "magic-(kung)fu" style/ stance aptly known as "Mastery of Ten Thousand Swords" shows up right at the beginning, as if Hong Kong/Chinese cinema is staking its claim as the rightful home of "magic-(kung)fu" movies. Jedi Knights can only ape, but never muster up, THIS much style.

That's right, "Storm Warriors" is an unabashed attempt at THE "magic-(kung)fu" comic-book movie-- complete with comically symbolic names and philosophical kungfu-babble, as well as the requisite series of achingly slow 2-minute "power-ups/ stand-offs" followed by dizzyingly fast 2-second "fights/ contacts", etc.. By starting right at the END of the story, "Storm Warriors" shrewdly (shamelessly?) avoids any semblance of story-telling or scale... in favor of merely showcasing the "end-game" battles that are being fought-- with NO explanations for the uninitiated.

And unlike its prequel "Storm Riders", which tried semi-successfully to make a "realistic/ conventional" movie based on an earlier story-arc in the same Hong Kong comic series, this movie simply aims to realize the experience of reading/ re-imagining its "wuxia" battles-- with frequent "fades-to-black", extreme close-ups and closely-edited montages... and once I realized/ accepted I was watching a manga/ comic-in-motion, I actually had fun "interpreting/ analyzing" each "panel".

In other words, just go and do your own research if you didn't "get it"... and if you didn't have fun watching it, you're obviously not its target audience-- "wuxia" fans waiting to see the next stage in the cinematic realization of "magic-(kung)fu" battles (the opening "Mastery of Ten Thousand Swords" is now CANON in "wuxia"-fantasy cinema). Never mind if you missed (like I did) the "magic-(kung)fu" movie craze started by the "Buddha Palm" in the 1960s (filmed in black-and-white) or the "Warriors of Zu Mountain" in the 1980s (filmed with wire-fu)-- thanks to the advances in green-screen and CGI technology, "Storm Warriors" is able to show you some of the wild "magic-(kung)fu" battles envisioned by generations of "wuxia"novelists/artists with all their crazy chi/energy.

Of course, you can fault the directors/ writers for the lack of story/ character development-- or just blame it on comic fans who already know the story/ characters (the comic series ended ages ago), as well as "wuxia" genre fans who will able to figure it out (most of it "wuxia" clichés), or even the investors who wouldn't put up the money for a 9-hour trilogy upfront.... But you can certainly see where most of the money went-- though I wished more of it was spent fleshing out the first half of the movie, instead of endlessly "leveling-up" in the second (where budget limitations really show).

Personally, I admire the producers'/ directors' guts (foolhardiness?) in splurging on the EFFECTS and scrimping on the script (instead of the other way round like most films with a tight budget). Eg. The lighting/ texture of CGI-background/effects matches with the live-action actors so well/ evenly that it usually does NOT distract/ detract from the movie (always the highest compliment for CGI); and the choice/ ability to light/ color the film with "natural/ ambient" light is a welcomed sight for sore eyes strained by heavily color-corrected sci-fi/ fantasy movies (hiding their CGI in "soft sepia", "cool blue", etc.)-- so "Storm Warriors" aimed rather low, and mostly hit its mark.

In short, this movie is nothing if not "pulp/cult", and a "guilty pleasure" at that too-- the story/ characters may not resonate, but the visuals can certainly be relished... depending on how you liked them. For me, there were at least 2 things (no, not the two male leads) that they got right: "Mastery of Ten Thousand Swords" at the very beginning, and "Capricious Dance of the Demons" at the very end-- but there was really a lot of "filler" to get through...
10 out of 15 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Recently Viewed