![the storm riders 1998 the storm riders 1998](http://chinesemov.com/images/1998/the-storm-riders-1998-s.jpg)
When comparing 'Stormriders'(128min version) with 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon', there is no comparison.
![the storm riders 1998 the storm riders 1998](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/WgQAAOSwls5Y7aik/s-l300.jpg)
You'll find yourself saying 'Hang on.!!', 'How the heck.', 'Woah, why is that.' etc. In general you miss out on so many lovely little tidbits especially from Qi Shu (Muse) and the plot suffers terribly as you are forever fighting to catch up on what the heck is going on. The main characters English dubbed voices don't suit the chars: Striding Cloud (Aaron Kwok)loses his essential moodiness, Jestor becomes a real on screen joke and Mud-Buddha loses his credibility as the all seeing prophet.
![the storm riders 1998 the storm riders 1998](https://d3rwyinxzcqr6y.cloudfront.net/Assets/GalleryImage/91/103/L_g0012310391.jpg)
However watch the 91 min version at your peril!! Its missing so many scenes that it becomes so watered down that it becomes farcical. The only serious critical comment I have with the 128 min Chinese version is that the subtitles were a little small. I have seen both the 128 min version in Chinese with subtitles, and the 91 min English dubbed version. In general, Stormriders possesses a fantastic mix of stunts, CGA and musical score and will please. The action scenes while very 'Fantasy', were well balanced and not cheap. It flowed well from start to finish and had very little confusion that I find occurs a lot in HK movies. The story progressed rather well and I became entranced in the subtleties of the plot. The music was excellent and it had a hi-tech appearance that belayed my fears that it was yet another low budget Hong Kong B-grade martial arts flick. From the opening credits it grabbed my attention. After a friend recommended it I popped it into my player with no real expectations.
#The storm riders 1998 movie
Stormriders was a movie that was not highly publicised. Hey, add Kristy Yang and Shu Qi, you can't lose!! Definitely one worth watching. His blank look stare totally defines his character. Give credit to Aaron Kwok who gives a great performance. Cloud is unpredictable and has a tough demeanor. Storm Riders gives you two great warriors: Wind is strong, but kind hearted and caring. One thing that films like this do is focus too much on the effects and disregard the acting. Their powers are amazing to see and they can deal a lot of damage. I really didn't find myself disliking his character which, again, is credit to Sonny. I think it's his deep voice though that gives him that real evil aura. Conquer (played by Sonny Chiba) is the antagonist who's someone you do NOT mess with. The story is not hard to follow and the whole concept of fate is key. The special effects are great as fight scenes giving the characters super powers.
#The storm riders 1998 full
The film isn't perfect, but I have to give it full marks have for effort. The box also mentions that it's Final Fantasy HK Style, and though I'd say the story itself might not make a great Final Fantasy game, the SFX do give it that feel. The film is already some four years old as I write this, and it seems to not have aged at all. They were all discreetly put together into the film, such that it added to the film rather than the film depending on it. But credit has to be given to the graphics team behind the special effects. I can't begin to imagine what the International Version must be like as it has some 40 minutes taken out of it.
![the storm riders 1998 the storm riders 1998](https://images.mubicdn.net/images/film/55077/cache-39329-1445903141/image-w1280.jpg)
It does feel, even with the Directors' Cut, version that I saw, there was too much edited out of the film and it left you slightly disoriented at times. However, the main weakness of the film has to be the discontinuity in many places in the film. The characters were on the whole well built giving the whole movie an edge. The storyline was a bit dark (possibly one might say it could have been darker to give it a bit more depth), and some of the martial arts action were brilliantly choreographed. I was, it has to be said, very pleasantly surprised. But given that this is one of the biggest films, Hong Kong had ever made, I had to watch it for myself. When I first saw the box for The Stormriders, I had never heard of the comics, let alone the film.