The Storm Riders (1998)
Reviewed by: Anticlimacus on 2006-05-14
Summary: Smokescreen Riders
Storm Riders
Chinese Action

The most appropriate opening statement for this review would have to be the following: Storm Riders is one of the most overrated movies to EVER come out of China.

First of all, the movie proved insatiably annoying within the first half hour. The first action sequence (in a forest) is a disgrace to the art of action choreography, using quick-cuts and non-fluid camera tricks that play out like you’re watching a slide show (similar to those used in Ashes of Time). Add to this a “wise man” who talks as if he’s a robot with a stick up his rear-end, and one has in the making a remarkably poor film that annoys to the point of making the viewer angry.

The use of extremely poor action is the hallmark of this film, as well as its brother movie A Man Called Hero. I have always held that the concept of “action” demands that the characters actually DO something. They don’t here. Storm Riders first walks the dubious roads trekked by Pistol Opera in having its characters perform theatre poses, only to then invoke the Pokemon-like glowing balls used in A Man Called Hero. Who could possibly call this nonsense “action” while keeping a straight face?

The fact of the matter is that the special effects in this movie are used as a smokescreen to mask its deficiencies in action choreography. It’s as if the makers of this movie didn’t feel like taking the time to painstakingly map out fight scenes or brainstorm over fresh combinations of moves and maneuvers. The result is a series of artsy confrontations devoid of any quality whatsoever.

The fact that Storm Riders is absurdly overrated is beyond question. One reviewer on this web site went so far as to compare this movie with The Matrix because it “sets up a new dimension of film making.” If the exploitative substitution of cartoons for quality action set pieces is to be deemed a “new dimension”, then I suppose he is correct.

Rating = 1/5 stars
Reviewer Score: 2