The Storm Riders is like nothing you have ever seen. It's a hyper-kinetic Hong Kong action fantasy movie with state-of-the-art digital effects. It's caffeine on celluloid. If video games had real people, they would look like this. Everything is sped up. Director Andrew Lau tilts, whirls and zooms the fight scenes. Warriors don't strike with one fist, but with a hundred. Flying combatants hurl bolts of fire, or whirling chunks of earth, or freeze their opponents with their special Frost Palm attack. They duel in waterfalls, atop stone idols or deep underground.

There's even a plot, and a pretty good one as far as fantasy films go, played out with conviction by the all-star cast. Bearded warlord Conquer (Sonny Chiba) is told that if he can locate and train two boys with particular star charts then his Conqueror Clan will be invincible for ten years. Obviously a man who knows a favourable prophecy when he hears one, Conquer finds the two lads, but is obliged to get violent when their parents prove old-fashioned about forking over their sole heirs. Conquer brings them up as his own, along with his legitimate son Frost and daughter Charity. Ten years pass, and our two orphans are mighty warriors. Wind (Ekin Cheng) is obedient but Cloud (Aaron Kwok) is a bit of a brooder, especially when Conquer announces the marriage of Charity (Kristy Yeung) to Wind. Nothing causes a war in the world of martial arts like a love triangle and, before you can say "Whirling Water Attack", Cloud is storming the wedding to steal the bride. It's grand escapism adapted from a popular Hong Kong comic book series by Ma Wing-shing.

The film has a couple of problems. The voices are a fraction out of sync at times. Furthermore, if you don't speak Cantonese, be prepared to read subtitles; although they're mighty legible, you'll occasionally be torn between eyeballing the gorgeous visuals and keeping up with the story (my solution: see it twice!). Strict martial arts fans will be disappointed that the usually incredible choreography of Hong Kong films has been largely replaced by computer graphics and blurred motion. Most regrettably, the female characters are the old archetypes of princess, pregnant wife, scheming wife et cetera, ignoring the proud lineage of capable kick-ass Hong Kong action heroines. Only Hsu Chi is able to make something of her role as Muse, a backwoods healer who is eager to see the world but not quite up on social graces.

But, those points aside, this is still jaw-dropping entertainment. If you enjoy a special-effects fantasy movie and have a penchant for a hero with blue hair, you'll love it. "Wind is formless. Cloud is unpredictable." And this movie rips. Go see it.