Without a doubt one of the most anticipated films coming out in Hong Kong this year - I'd have said it was the mostanticipated if not for the incredibly fast production cycle of Bodyguards and Assassins, which will see that film released in December - is the Pang Brothers big budget, heavily CG effected martial arts fantasy The Storm Warriors. A sequel to massive hit Storm Riders, Storm Warriors reunites the original cast, loads in a ton of other big names - most notably Simon Yam in the villain role - and then turns the Pangs loose to go nuts with the visuals. And as frustrating as the Pang Brothers can be with their stories - or lack thereof - there is no doubting that they are very likely the most talented pure visual stylists working in Hong Kong today.
The first teaser arrived a good while back. It was gorgeous. The extended battle clip that followed soon after? Incredibly stylish, also gorgeous. The full trailer that just turned up? You guessed it.
Check all three out below the break!
Trailer
Clip
Teaser
looks like another Pang Bros all-flash-no-substance movie ala Re-Cycle. expected, since they've done nothing good since The Eye.
Simon Yam looks completely miscast.
i'm not holding my breath.
11 years overdue but oh well. Looks nice but a bit excessive on the slow-mo, it seems.
True, Simon Yam somehow doesn't fit in the Wu Xia World.
Cool trick to get the runtime up to 90 minutes - crank out half the movie in slow motion! :p Not too excited by the new trailer.
Nice too look at but taking your cue from the Zack Snyder school of filmmaking isn't going to work to your benefit. That slo mo crap got old REAL quick and this is only three clips!!!
Teaser looked interesting, Clip looked stylish but a bit too much, the official trailer looked friggin amazing! The thing is Hk do not come out with many big movies every year, this one is one of the big ones. Which means..its a must watch for me!
I think the first stormriders is the only movie that I felt the HK movie industry use the CGI well. I think this movie will once again set the standard for Hk cgi effects.
ps. I really hope the CLIP is only the intro of the movie of some sort, that clip was seriously too much. The trailer looksso much better. CANT WAIT!
haha..looks great! can't wait to see it
I think your probably right...like it or not, Storm Warriors is probably going to be like Storm Riders - meaning it will be a big Box Office hit and will set the standard for HK CGI effects for years to come
the frist movie was one af my favoritese and this one looks sick cant wait to see this one looks amazing good job Pang Bros.
Thanks for making a sequel!
This is very much the Hong Kong equivalent of the summer blockbuster, so I'll approach it like I do when I watch summer blockbusters: take off the thinking cap, don't expect anything innovative beyond some effects and I should have a good time. It probably won't be 'Top Ten of the Year' material, but I dig some junk food every now and then.
C'mon, spare the exaggeration!!!
"crap" like this?
C'mon, if u don't personally "enjoy" something, 'sokay....
Cuz, that's like, ur opinion so w/e...
But...This is cool stuff!!!
I dig!! Sometimes we could give two SHITS about "dialogue" or story/character development...
Sometimes, like the above mentioned comments...
We just want some "junk" food for our MIND!!!
haha...Seriously, though, what's NOT to luv?
It's cool...doesn't have to "justify" itself, other than just heavily stylized Wuxia...Kick@SS ACTION!!!
And slo-mo galore? Nah...Can't get enough!!!
More movies like this, I doubt, but as long as it's something like this which REQUIRES a OVERLY-stylized kinda presentation...lends itself some more HEFT if u get me drift...
Bee-sides...Watchmen may be "aiiiight", but I personally liked "300"...
Especially the FIRST slo-mo w/King Leonidas and his spear...
Love the "tracking" shot...single take? Of him going thru his "weapons"...
And taking names!!!
Love it, love it!!!
Who cares? Few do the Wuxia, slow-mo to good or Great effect...
So why not? Not like u're gonna get any Gratuitous slow-mo shot in a Fincher movie...God forbid, an Aliens VERSUS PRed movie...
Though, on review...I think that would actually be Kinda cooL...!!!
Have at least one sequence like dat, with two or three aliens goin at it with a few preds?
Heck, yeahs!!!
I don't know...just staying optimistic & Enthusiastic...
Otherwise, killjoy would leave us w/no movies to enjoy, whatsoever!!!
At least the bad ones would be for a good time/laugh...haha...
Who cares, right?
So, no movie snobs, mmmmmkays?
Love the fact that the movies industry even exists...
Cuz...ya never know...Cinema is something of a privilege...a treat...
Sometimes...we get something more fantastical...Sometimes poignant...
Sometimes...just plain fun...so...it's a mixed bag...
Let's how bout, lower our OUTRAGEOUS...demands...and Unrealistic expectations...for what is satisfying...and just...appreciate the fact that, EVEN the "shit" movies...that there are a lot of individuals who go to great length to even get the movie made in the first place...
Hurdles...remember...someone, usually w/the money, green lights these movies to begin with...and if it generates interest in the "product" or industry, I say, why the heck not?
So, c'est la vie...Peace & Love!!!
Just remember that...Just saying!!!
haha...I don't mind if anyone has anything to say on this either...
Feel free...Let the responses begin...but please, let's be "civil", no?
But Casshern is not a good movie, the cgi looks good, but the overall movie is awful. Here: the CGI looks bad, and the movie looks bad as well. Also, is not that CGI can't be done right in a wuxia flick, it's just that the CGI can't be the center piece of a good movie, wuxia or not.
The Pang Brothers liking Michael Bay makes all the sense of the world, they direct like if they had been taught by the man himself.
Regardless of what the Pang Brothers have to say about it, Michael Bay isn't worthy to drink the sweat from their collective balls. The Pang Brothers are better filmmakers in every imaginable way. And this is not meant to praise the Pang Brothers, who are very, very uneven filmmakers. Michael Bay just sucks that hard.
LOL love the comments guys, I know this genre is getting old and innovations need to be made or need to be avoided at all times, Im just an old fan of Storm Riders and Im happy that there is a new one. I am like I said sad to see the pang's in control of this Franchise, ANDREW LAU ...................................where ARE YOU..................... SAVE US!!!!!!
@ Chevalier & Rhythm-X
About Michael Bay you're right in every sense. That's a bad reputation for the Pang Brothers, so they are maybe not the best directors out there to reinvent modern Wu Xia. But still they are trying out new things in HK cinema. So I'm hoping for the best. The trailer itself is focused more on CGI, not the story, so
actually we don't have a real idea, how it turns out at the end.
@ Chevalier- why do you think Cashern was abad movie? It was somewhat slow paced, but all in all very watchable and beautiful, although not a masterpiece.
And definitly better then any japanese Idol-pop-Chanbara (the last princess, azumi etc.)
The pang brothers are not doing anything new, they are just using a ton of CGI in a wuxia flick. The Eye was ok, aside from that they haven't done anything worthwile.
I don't want to derail too much with Casshern. As i said in previous comments, Casshern is just a bore to watch, pretty CGI and everything. The story is 15 year old fan-fiction-i-just-watched-akira-and-the-matrix-anime-cliche-101, with completely silly and failed attempts at making all sorts of statements about war and race and what not. Something like Tears of the Black Tiger is as pretty to watch, or more, but way more fun, and again, no CGI storm-fest.
I understand the criticisms of Casshern but I enjoyed it for what it was; obviously the story was in service to the technology (like Sky Captain) so it seems unfair to criticize it too harshly.
However, The Storm Riders is supposedly a wuxia film and it's certainly not as effective in that regard no matter how many fx are in it -- I liked it but then again I saw it before I saw Dragon Inn (Tsui Hark's version), or any Shaw film, and so on.
Funny you mention Tears of the Black Tiger because I was a *tiny* bit disappointed with it when I finally saw it -- too much hype while it was held up in Miramax hell? -- the director's Citizen Dog seemed like more of a pleasant surprise to me.
I"m excited because I loved the first one, which did not have a lot of action in it. Sonny Chiba's charisma is what brought that film its intensity.
The trailer for the second installment seems heavy GCI and as much as Simon Yam is a great actor, he really didn't seem that menacing. Nevertheless, I will make sure to check this out. Mmmmmm ... Ekin. LOL!
HEY IT LOOKS GOOD TO ME...WAIT WAS TOO LONG FOR THIS. I AM THERE.