The White Storm (2013) - Lau Ching-Wan, Louis Koo, Nick Cheung

[One Armed Boxer]

A movie about 3 Hong Kong friends who end up in South East Asia over their heads, only to return home to find their friendship fractured and loyalties tested. Throw a pregnant girlfriend in the mix, a character who loses their arm, some questionable English line delivery, and a showdown in a container terminal between the friends as they use their cars to smash into each other. What do you have? Of course it has to be the John Woo classic 'Bullet in the Head'!

But no, in this case it's Benny Chan's 'The White Storm', and whereas the showdown in the container terminal takes place at the end of 'Bullet in the Head', here it takes place only midway through, meaning there's still an hour to go. This fact had me holding my head in my hands, as I came to the realization that this arduous ordeal was nowhere near over.

Benny Chan is a director whose modern days actioners I usually look forward to, 'Connected' & 'Invisible Target' are two of the best post-2005 action movies to come out of Hong Kong in my opinion. However, lest we forget Chan also directed 'Divergence' and 'The Heroic Duo'. Movies that gave us Aaron Kwok rolling down a hill in a car backwards while bawling his eyes out, and Karena Lam revealing that she'd become blind because she'd cried so many tears.

Sadly 'The White Storm' sits alongside these lesser efforts to make somewhat of a 'Trilogy of Crap'. Chan's latest effort isn't short on man-tears either, but you'll be far more distracted by the likes of characters who come back to life after plummeting off a cliff into a pit of crocodiles (having been shot in the chest), and perhaps even more so by the fact that when said character reveals himself to still be alive to the rest of the cast several years later, nobody seems particularly surprised. Oh, said character has also gone a little bit crazy, but after a brief rooftop chat the craziness also disappears just like that. It's this kind of movie.

To top all this, we have possibly the most cringe inducing use of the song 'Amazing Grace' you're ever likely to witness in a movie. What's sad is that Lau Ching Wan, Louis Koo, & Nick Cheung are good actors, but watching them struggle through as the titular 3 friends is an embarrassment. There are at least 2 scenes during the labored 135 minute run-time when they have intense arguments with each other, only for the disagreement to be resolved by one of them beginning to sing the theme tune of an old swordsplay drama they used to watch together. Of course, skip forward a few seconds and they're all singing along together. Being subtle is not one of Chan's strong points, and if anything these scenes serve as a reminder as to exactly how much of an excellent director Woo was in his prime.

To say I was disappointed with 'The White Storm' is an understatement. Compared to the likes of 'Connected' & 'Invisible Target' even the action paled in comparison, the cars dangling on the edge of cliffs and grenades being thrown into a room scenes have both been done better in these earlier movies, and there's an awkward mix of practical effects & CGI in many of the scenes here. Instead of the CGI complimenting the practical effects, it seems almost like the two are competing with each other. This is particularly noticeable in the Thailand action scenes, they just don't gel together well.

All in all 'The White Storm' sadly makes Benny Chan look like a rank amateur who's trying to impersonate the heroic bloodshed movies of John Woo, and failing on pretty much every level.

[xianzai]

Oh, said character has also gone a little bit crazy, but after a brief rooftop chat the craziness also disappears just like that.

Said character's behavior is explained in the film.

[One Armed Boxer]

Said character's behavior is explained in the film.

It certainly is, in one of many unintentional laugh out loud moments.

[xianzai]

It certainly is, in one of many unintentional laugh out loud moments.

*shrug* What happened in that scene is a standard genre convention.

[Drunken Monk]

Maybe I wasn't in the right mood, but I couldn't even sit through it. I turned it off. I might revisit it again, hoping I'll be more patient but it certainly wasn't what I expected. I don't know, it just felt overblown in regards to the acting and character relationships.

[VenomsFan]

No mood could make you watch this again. Unless you are a fan of Chinese Dramas because this is far from a movie actioner. It went all Special ID on us, but worse. Bunch of angry chinese men yelling at each other scene after scene. Sorry, movie's shit mate.

[DiP]

More mediocrity from Benny Chan... Hardly surprising. Good thing I refrained in the last minute. Thanks for the heads up.

I'll go with Firestorm and Unbeatable instead.

[Drunken Monk]

No mood could make you watch this again. Unless you are a fan of Chinese Dramas because this is far from a movie actioner. It went all Special ID on us, but worse. Bunch of angry chinese men yelling at each other scene after scene. Sorry, movie's shit mate.

Cheers for that. I was a bit worried I'd typed out early and missed a massive about of action. It's good to know that it doesn't pick up the pace much.

[VenomsFan]

Sure thing. It is one you have to forcibly sit through in hopes it gets better. The finale Heroic Trio is decent but the over the top drama every scene until the finale doesn't add up. There's no pacing, or suspense, it's just dropped in because, well Cop thrillers have them don't they?

Chan had a great cast but over does it. Special ID is far better in that it still delivers. The White Storm fails to do that. IF you can sit through it you will be oh so grateful for Firestorm which nailed it. Cold War nailed it best IMO, Firestorm is an awesome throwback and doesn't waste time with the drama or action - the balance that is nowhere to be seen in White Storm. I've got Unbeatable in the queue and am also looking forward to that.

[KUNG FU BOB]

Okay, so I thought that there were a few scenes in this film that were cool. But these scenes were surrounded by a ton of overwrought, poorly conceived bullshit. 5/10

To make a point, I have to explain a little bit about how I watch, enjoy, and rate or review a film. If I'm going into a 1974 Sonny Chiba karate movie (which I would obviously be doing while sporting an enormous grin) I'm not expecting a well-told, linear story with excellent acting, an important message, and award-winning cinematography. I know there will probably be parts of the movie where characters will appear of disappear without being beholden to any kind of story logic. Most likely the cast will pull ridiculously exaggerated faces while shouting most of the dialogue (subtlety be damned). At times it will look like the camerawork was shot by a near-sighted, one-armed cameraman being rolled down a hill in a broken wheelchair. Now knowing this going in, I am in that frame of mind, that 1970s Japanese karate film watching zone. After I watch the movie, if a friend asks me how it was, I would not compare it in my mind to some timeless classic like THE GODFATHER and say "It sucked". No, I would be arriving at my judgement based on the film and others of it's ilk. How did it compare to THE KARATE 2, or THE KILLING MACHINE?

Because I compartmentalize these different styles and genres of film in this manner, I am able to enjoy their merits for what they are. I can watch a super cheapo Yukari Oshima film and enjoy it because I know it's going to have zero productions values, look like it was mostly filmed in a decrepit warehouse, and I'm going to see her kicking Phillip Ko a whole bunch of times. If I watched one of these and she didn't do any fighting, then it's a "bad super cheapo Yukari Oshima film". See?

You know when this way of watching films backfires for me? When I watch some of Benny Chan's films.

There's this weird thing that his films all have for me- they all seem to present themselves as competently made, well-filmed, high class productions with great casts. So I always feel like I'm about to get served fine wine and caviar. But then sometimes, someone hands me a hotdog wrapped in a soggy bun with a bite taken out of it and no drink.

Movies like NEW POLICE STORY and SHAOLIN had everything going for them. Yet he still managed to make them half great, and half stupid! THE WHITE STORM is more than half stupid as far as I'm concerned. As usual with his films, the potential is huge, but he just doesn't know how to utilize what he's got.

From here on down I'm going to getting into the details, so...

SPOILER ALERT Below and for the remainder of this post.

I wish I could go beat for beat through everything that was a HUGE FAIL for me, but it's been about a week since I watched it, it wasn't good enough to stick with me, and I refuse to spend the time looking back at the film again. But here are some of my major problems with it...

* Not one of the three characters ever said "Yeah, that song and our childhood memories are swell, but fuck off with that song! I'm an adult now, and I'm asking a legitimate life and death question that I want answered. And not in song form."

* I am so sick of pregnant wives and birthdays in HK films. Stop that!

* Louis Koo's character has a preggers wife that none of his gangster friends know about, and a house that no cop could ever afford that they've never seen, and his cop buddies visit him there (somehow, even though he's only been there three times in the past year, they figured they'd catch him there) and stand out in the open on the patio.

* When Nick's character is shot off the cliff... He is shot from almost point blank range in the chest (which would have killed him). We clearly see the bullet exit the middle of his back (which would have killed him)- you know, where a person's spine is located? He falls (in a way that involves the type of nonsensical physics that only exist in Benny Chan films) what looks like over two hundred feet onto his back (which would have killed him). He lands on a crocodile (which would have killed him). The huge gathering of crocodiles that were waiting for someone to fall (as someone else had just dropped from above to whet their appetites) weren't fast enough to bite Nick as he fell on them. Nor were they fast enough to catch him as he swam to safety (you know how clumsy crocodiles are in water ) with his life's blood pumping out of the huge wound through his internal organ-filled torso (which would have killed him). Then he played the part of vengeful killer and joined the drug lord and married his daughter... who they said was actually his son. And after years of being a killer in their organization he revealed that he was just waiting for a proper "sorry" so that he could put his plan of helping his friends get revenge into motion. WTF?

* I think Lau Ching-Wan is a fantastic actor, but he has zero ability in this to sell a punch- both thrown or taken.

* Louis Koo wanted out of his undercover job so he tipped off the drug lord?! This has got to be one of the dumbest, most juvenile, consequence-blind moves any movie character has ever made. Uh duh!

* The Thai helicopter scene should have been awesome, but it was seriously hampered by the stupidity of the whole set-up and the poorly rendered CGI gunfire.

* The drug boss shooting down at them from a balcony with a machine gun, while they have no practical cover but they don't all get minced...

There's more, but I'm bored of typing. If the film had been presented as a stupid, non-too-serious actioner it might've worked for me a little better. But it was presented as something quite different. (which would have killed him) Huh?

[Sheng]

No mood could make you watch this again. Unless you are a fan of Chinese Dramas because this is far from a movie actioner.

Couldn’t disagree more! To say it clearly, I generally do like Benny Chan’s movies despite their undeniable flaws and the fact that he has never managed to top his first-ever film, the truly flawless MOMENT OF ROMANCE. He might die trying...

Ayway, speaking about THE WHITE STORM, no, I didn’t mind the amped-up “Chinese” drama after Koo’s and Lau Ching Wan’s return from Thailand one bit. Yes, ‘subtle’ might not necessarily be a term out of a Benny Chan script, once again the man goes for the jugular here with big babymama drama, screaming evocations of brotherhood bonds and bombastic funeral crying fits, fist-clenching and cheek-slapping theatrics (didn’t have a problem with those scenes being scored to “Amazing Grace”, but they should have gone for Aretha’s take, not for some third-rate version belted out by Nana Mouskouri of all people...), but the way he pumps it all out at cha’ certainly grabs me harder than the dramatic sequences in pretty much any American-made actioner I can think of seeing in the last few years.

Having watched THE WHITE STORM for the second time yesterday, I do think however that the film looses focus a bit when the TST gang is brought in as a shortcut to lure the Thai druglord and his mercenaries to HK and relocate the action there. And Nick Cheung marrying... yep, a transvestine (the druglord’s daughter) ostensibly just to do in the father provided one of those baffling logic leaps or WTF moments that Benny Chan movies seemingly can’t do without! Plus, as I already observed after seeing the theatrical version back in December, the over-stylized Macao casino shoot-out is nothing but pure (and way-too predictably staged) hommage and something of an anti-climax here. Still to me its a heck of an entertaining ride! The heng dai tale of the three cops growing up in a drab NT housing estate, over-familiar as it might be, gels because the acting is rock-solid, the story lurches ahead at a brisk pace and except for the grand finale, I don’t think you can front on all those Nicki Li-designed action set-pieces either.

And KFB, as much as I usually tend to concur with your judgements, here we just don’t see eye to eye! I genuinely liked SHAOLIN and NEW POLICE STORY (best JC film except SHINJUKU INCIDEMT since WHO AM I back in ’98 – and that was a Benny Chan joint, too!), so it seems we’re far apart in our assessment of this particular director.

[One Armed Boxer]

Maybe I wasn't in the right mood, but I couldn't even sit through it. I turned it off.

No mood could make you watch this again.

Agreed, I also got interrupted mid-way through watching this. It was only the fact that it was still in the DVD player that I went back to finish it, and even then, knowing that it still had 45 minutes to go, pressing the play button took a massive physical effort.

I'm going to be commenting on SPOILER related quotes below -

* Not one of the three characters ever said "Yeah, that song and our childhood memories are swell, but fuck off with that song! I'm an adult now, and I'm asking a legitimate life and death question that I want answered. And not in song form."

The song was gratingly annoying, I thought it couldn't get any worse music choise wise, then 'Amazing Grace' started to play. My ears were bleeding as the movie went through a checklist of 'character' moments - Lau Ching Wan slapped in the face by widow of dead colleague (check!), Louis Koo standing alone yelling (check!), it went on and on.

* When Nick's character is shot off the cliff... He is shot from almost point blank range in the chest (which would have killed him). We clearly see the bullet exit the middle of his back (which would have killed him)- you know, where a person's spine is located? He falls (in a way that involves the type of nonsensical physics that only exist in Benny Chan films) what looks like over two hundred feet onto his back (which would have killed him). He lands on a crocodile (which would have killed him). The huge gathering of crocodiles that were waiting for someone to fall (as someone else had just dropped from above to whet their appetites) weren't fast enough to bite Nick as he fell on them. Nor were they fast enough to catch him as he swam to safety (you know how clumsy crocodiles are in water ) with his life's blood pumping out of the huge wound through his internal organ-filled torso (which would have killed him). Then he played the part of vengeful killer and joined the drug lord and married his daughter... who they said was actually his son. And after years of being a killer in their organization he revealed that he was just waiting for a proper "sorry" so that he could put his plan of helping his friends get revenge into motion. WTF?

I actually had tears rolling down my cheeks while reading this. Not a lick of anything made sense, and everything in the movie revolves around this plot point! & yes, as it was stated in their first meeting, the daughter is actully a he (the actress/actor playing the part is also a real life transexual), so no wonder Cheung's character tells Louis Koo that he can't imagine the things he's had to do during the last 5 years. I bet.

* Louis Koo wanted out of his undercover job so he tipped off the drug lord?! This has got to be one of the dumbest, most juvenile, consequence-blind moves any movie character has ever made. Uh duh!

The whole movie I was waiting for the explanation of this! Is Koo really an undercover gangster posing as an undercover cop pretending to be a gangster!? It wouldn't have surprised me, but no, the reason was.....that. Seriously!?

* The Thai helicopter scene should have been awesome, but it was seriously hampered by the stupidity of the whole set-up and the poorly rendered CGI gunfire.

Agreed, it just looked off.

There's more, but I'm bored of typing.

I'll add that the movie also seems to have a motif of making the HK baddies use high pitched "wooooo hoooo" noises whenever they're onscreen, which was quite bizarre. I don't remember the gang leader of the Tsim Sha Tsui crew doing anything else except yelling out "wooooooo!" whenever he was in a scene. Then, when Cheung returns as a hip flask sipping evil gangster, he also makes his entrance in the container park scene by yelling out "yoooooooooooo hooooooooo!" several times while ramming his car into Ching Wan.

Plus, as I already observed after seeing the theatrical version back in December, the over-stylized Macao casino shoot-out is nothing but pure (and way-too predictably staged) hommage and something of an anti-climax here.

I admit to laughing out loud at a lot of moments during the movie, none of them which were supposed to be funny. However the biggest laugh of all came from Ching Wan's death scene, he just didn't seem to have it in him to do a heroic death in a hail of bullets moment, and when he does his death yell I swear I could see a glint of self aware embarrassment in his eyes.

SPOILERS OVER!

You know when this way of watching films backfires for me? When I watch some of Benny Chan's films.

I think Benny Chan as a director is a bit like Aaron Kwok as an actor. Both of them are capable of excellence if they can just be restrained, which they seem to need other people to do for them. That's why when they made a movie together, 'City Under Siege', it was like watching a 2 hour + train wreck. Kwok's tendency to over-act with Chan's insistance on over-emoting, while trying to tell a superhero tale, came very close to being unwatchable. Don't even get me started on 'Divergence'.

[massa_yoda]

* When Nick's character is shot off the cliff... He is shot from almost point blank range in the chest (which would have killed him). We clearly see the bullet exit the middle of his back (which would have killed him)- you know, where a person's spine is located? He falls (in a way that involves the type of nonsensical physics that only exist in Benny Chan films) what looks like over two hundred feet onto his back (which would have killed him). He lands on a crocodile (which would have killed him). The huge gathering of crocodiles that were waiting for someone to fall (as someone else had just dropped from above to whet their appetites) weren't fast enough to bite Nick as he fell on them. Nor were they fast enough to catch him as he swam to safety (you know how clumsy crocodiles are in water ) with his life's blood pumping out of the huge wound through his internal organ-filled torso (which would have killed him). Then he played the part of vengeful killer and joined the drug lord and married his daughter... who they said was actually his son. And after years of being a killer in their organization he revealed that he was just waiting for a proper "sorry" so that he could put his plan of helping his friends get revenge into motion. WTF?

Dude, this made me laugh..a lot. Love your faces everywhere too.

[kami]

The points being made here by the critics of the film are mostly valid, but they didn't matter to me that much, as many genre favorites suffer from similar weaknesses. With this level of harshness most John Woo-movies could be categorized as garbage as they too have ridiculous plots and overly emotional scenes. Please think of A BETTER TOMORROW 2, a movie with totally stupid story, idiotic dialogues and laughable drama (when you think of the Dean Shek-scenes, for example).

I really disliked the AMAZING GRACE-scene in WHITE STORM, aside from that I enjoyed the movie including the references to the TV-series title song. Maybe it should have been told with a faster pace and more action so the viewer doesn't have time to think about the various implausibilities.

[Sheng]

No mood could make you watch this again.

Originally Posted by One Armed Boxer

Agreed, I also got interrupted mid-way through watching this. It was only the fact that it was still in the DVD player that I went back to finish it, and even then, knowing that it still had 45 minutes to go, pressing the play button took a massive physical effort.

Well, sometimes it helps if you just stop a film when you feel you’re not in the mood for it and grab something that you just know will electrify you instantly. Having preconceived negative notions and suspect forebodings about a director and his new project can sometimes lead one to just seek affirmation to butress one's already highly critical perspective. It might make you miss important details and that in turn can disconnect you further from a film. My experience anyway!

The song was gratingly annoying, I thought it couldn't get any worse music choise wise, then 'Amazing Grace' started to play. My ears were bleeding as the movie went through a checklist of 'character' moments - Lau Ching Wan slapped in the face by widow of dead colleague (check!), Louis Koo standing alone yelling (check!), it went on and on.

That song in question was Adam Cheng’s theme song from the 70’s TVB series “Luk Siu Fung” (“Lu Xiaofeng” in Putonghua) that was based on the Gu Long novel of the same name. You can hear the original tune here:

To me it is really a memorable one that many HK viewers can instantly identify. Hearing Nick Cheng’s croaky karaoke interpretation of it was admittably an endurance test!

Towards the end of the film they put the song to a rock beat, then it became truly unbearable to me. But generally I have a fairly low tolerance of rock music.

Now, I said my part about the friggin’ “Amazing Grace” rendition by Nana Mouskouri already. There’s so many better versions of this all-time-classic around, beginning with Aretha, Mahalia, the Five Blind Boys of Alabama, the Harlem Gospel Choir... Still, to use a hymn like this at a funeral service is neither overblown nor out-of-place to me. I mean, have you ever had a chance to attend the crying contests that traditional Chinese funeral ceremonies oftentimes resemble?

That's why when they made a movie together, 'City Under Siege', it was like watching a 2 hour + train wreck. Kwok's tendency to over-act with Chan's insistance on over-emoting, while trying to tell a superhero tale, came very close to being unwatchable. Don't even get me started on 'Divergence'.

CITY UNDER SIEGE was in fact a dud, Chan’s worst-ever. Kwok Fu-Sing has turned into an excellent actor by now. Seen SILENT WITNESS ? First time I began to truly feel the man was in ANNA MAGDALENA. And ever since AFTER THIS, OUR EXILE I pay serious attention to his films. Yup, he was nonstop running on adrenaline through DIVERGENCE and I remember feeling quite indifferent to that film when I first saw it. When it hit BD a couple of years ago I re-watched it and felt it was way better than I remembered it. Tonally his performance in DIVERGENCE is almost foreshadowing the one he turned in for COLD WAR.

P.S. It would be cool if you could take time out to identify the quotes you’re using. It alleviates the search for ‘em. I (and I’m sure others as well) always prefer to read a post quoted in fragments in its entirety.

[One Armed Boxer]

Having preconceived negative notions and suspect forebodings about a director and his new project can sometimes lead one to just seek affirmation to butress one's already highly critical perspective.

I agree, but as I mentioned, this was a Benny Chan modern day actioner - based on my love of 'Connected' & 'Invisible Target', I was actually really looking forward to this one!

That song in question was Adam Cheng’s theme song from the 70’s TVB series “Luk Siu Fung” (“Lu Xiaofeng” in Putonghua) that was based on the Gu Long novel of the same name.

I guess I should re-phrase. I didn't have an issue with the song itself, I got annoyed with the context in which it was constantly used. The whole, "There's some tension between us here, so, let me recite a few lines from this song again to make everything ok" plot device just did the complete opposite of endearing me to the characters.

I mean, have you ever had a chance to attend the crying contests that traditional Chinese funeral ceremonies oftentimes resemble?

Despite my almost weekly invites to traditional Chinese funeral ceremonies, I regret to say that no, at the moment I've yet to be able to attend one.

Kwok Fu-Sing has turned into an excellent actor by now. Seen SILENT WITNESS ? First time I began to truly feel the man was in ANNA MAGDALENA. And ever since AFTER THIS, OUR EXILE I pay serious attention to his films.

'Silent Witness' is on my to watch list. But the most important question here is, what's your take on 'Murderer'? (http://www.kungfucinema.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17353)

It would be cool if you could take time out to identify the quotes you’re using. It alleviates the search for ‘em. I (and I’m sure others as well) always prefer to read a post quoted in fragments in its entirety.

Noted! Just to clairfy though, do you mean quote directly from the persons post, so that it say's who it was originally posted by on the top?

[KUNG FU BOB]

Couldn’t disagree more! To say it clearly, I generally do like Benny Chan’s movies despite their undeniable flaws and the fact that he has never managed to top his first-ever film, the truly flawless MOMENT OF ROMANCE. He might die trying...

A shocking addmission- though I have owned it (and it's sequel) for years, I've never watched A MOMENT OF ROMANCE. But you can consider me intrigued now after reading your comments about it.

Ayway, speaking about THE WHITE STORM, no, I didn’t mind the amped-up “Chinese” drama after Koo’s and Lau Ching Wan’s return from Thailand one bit. Yes, ‘subtle’ might not necessarily be a term out of a Benny Chan script, once again the man goes for the jugular here with big babymama drama, screaming evocations of brotherhood bonds and bombastic funeral crying fits, fist-clenching and cheek-slapping theatrics (didn’t have a problem with those scenes being scored to “Amazing Grace”, but they should have gone for Aretha’s take, not for some third-rate version belted out by Nana Mouskouri of all people...), but the way he pumps it all out at cha’ certainly grabs me harder than the dramatic sequences in pretty much any American-made actioner I can think of seeing in the last few years.

This will certainly surprise One Armed Boxer, but the funeral scene and the playing of Amazing Grace was not a part of the film that I didn't like. I actually did feel the emotion during this scene. Yes, I did think "There's an inevitable slap coming", but despite the tired cliche of this oft-repeated moment, it felt to me like it did fit here.

I don't mind when the characters get all crazed with testosterone in films and yell at each other. As long as it wrings true. It felt very put on to me here. I did enjoy the first scene where they were all together for the first time, with their reminiscing, learning a bit of their background and shared childhood memories, and when they broke into that song. It fit perfectly. Basically, Lau and Nick didn't have anything else to say about Louis' situation at that point that would be of any help. So they manipulated and at the same time soothed his nerves with the song. But the second time they did it I needed Louis' character to say "Fuck off with that! Is our memory of our favorite TV show going to raise my child and take care of my wife when I get killed?" But instead he falls for the same thing? I guess that his character was just supposed to be a really dim bulb, which would explain his ridiculous phone call later on.

Having watched THE WHITE STORM for the second time yesterday, I do think however that the film looses focus a bit when the TST gang is brought in as a shortcut to lure the Thai druglord and his mercenaries to HK and relocate the action there.

Yes, it really went downhill for me there too.

And Nick Cheung marrying... yep, a transvestine (the druglord’s daughter) ostensibly just to do in the father provided one of those baffling logic leaps or WTF moments that Benny Chan movies seemingly can’t do without!

They could've shown him "dealing with this" in some (non-graphic) manner to emphasize just how out of the norm it was for him (out of the norm for a guy that's impervious to deadly bullet wounds and that can do two hundred foot back-flops onto crocodiles which he can easily out-swim:angel:).

Plus, as I already observed after seeing the theatrical version back in December, the over-stylized Macao casino shoot-out is nothing but pure (and way-too predictably staged) hommage and something of an anti-climax here. Still to me its a heck of an entertaining ride! The heng dai tale of the three cops growing up in a drab NT housing estate, over-familiar as it might be, gels because the acting is rock-solid, the story lurches ahead at a brisk pace and except for the grand finale, I don’t think you can front on all those Nicki Li-designed action set-pieces either.

I agree that the finale did not match some of the other action scenes. And I did enjoy a lot of the action. It just seemed to constantly be punctuated with things I did not like.

I thought that most of the acting was good, but a lot of what they were saying was from such a stupid script that it made it goofy.

And KFB, as much as I usually tend to concur with your judgements, here we just don’t see eye to eye! I genuinely liked SHAOLIN and NEW POLICE STORY (best JC film except SHINJUKU INCIDEMT since WHO AM I back in ’98 – and that was a Benny Chan joint, too!), so it seems we’re far apart in our assessment of this particular director.

Allow me to clarify...

To quote myself- "There's this weird thing that his films all have for me- they all seem to present themselves as competently made, well-filmed, high class productions with great casts. So I always feel like I'm about to get served fine wine and caviar. But then sometimes, someone hands me a hotdog wrapped in a soggy bun with a bite taken out of it and no drink.

Movies like NEW POLICE STORY and SHAOLIN had everything going for them. Yet he still managed to make them half great, and half stupid! THE WHITE STORM is more than half stupid as far as I'm concerned. As usual with his films, the potential is huge, but he just doesn't know how to utilize what he's got."

I do like NEW POLICE STORY, and SHAOLIN too, though not as much.

NPS is definitely one of Jackie's best later day films, but it does suffer from that thing that Benny Chan does when he goes wrong. There are some unbelievably embarrassing displays of emotion in the film that I find extremely annoying. I know that a lot of HK cinema features over-the-top, theater type acting, and I don't mind it. But JC's breakdowns here are so over-wrought that it's ridiculous.

SHAOLIN seemed to have everything going for it. But Benny... Oh Benny... Amid an otherwise great film there are certain scenes that seemed randomly dropped in, as though after the film was finished, some other director with a completely different vision for the film came in and inserted some of his own scenes. The JC fight is the worst offender in the film. I was digging JC's character, thought it was cool that he was playing a part similar to what Simon Yuen had played opposite him in his early classics, and excited for when he'd finally unleash the Fu. But... ugh. That shit was terrible.

As I said- if the films felt generally like these scenes, then it wouldn't be so bad. But they are put together in a way that it seems like Benny does know better, but he gets all stupid anyway.

I am a fan of a lot of his films though. Despite the completely ludicrous Super-Man jump across an entire street in INVISIBLE TARGET, I loved the rest of the film. WHO AM I? (1998) is one of my favorite Chan films. ROB-B-HOOD (2006) is much more entertaining than I could've ever thought it would be.

I actually had tears rolling down my cheeks while reading this.

Glad you enjoyed that.

Not a lick of anything made sense, and everything in the movie revolves around this plot point! & yes, as it was stated in their first meeting, the daughter is actully a he (the actress/actor playing the part is also a real life transexual), so no wonder Cheung's character tells Louis Koo that he can't imagine the things he's had to do during the last 5 years. I bet.

This is the point where a "clever idea" was needed for the script. Clearly they never came up with one, and I guess everyone involved just sort of thought "In the end it'll all look like it makes sense."

The whole movie I was waiting for the explanation of this! Is Koo really an undercover gangster posing as an undercover cop pretending to be a gangster!? It wouldn't have surprised me, but no, the reason was.....that. Seriously!?

Me too! I thought he had switched sides. Not that he was just an incompetent, thoughtless, immature dick!

I'll add that the movie also seems to have a motif of making the HK baddies use high pitched "wooooo hoooo" noises whenever they're onscreen, which was quite bizarre. I don't remember the gang leader of the Tsim Sha Tsui crew doing anything else except yelling out "wooooooo!" whenever he was in a scene. Then, when Cheung returns as a hip flask sipping evil gangster, he also makes his entrance in the container park scene by yelling out "yoooooooooooo hooooooooo!" several times while ramming his car into Ching Wan.

Ugh. So obnoxious and one note.

I admit to laughing out loud at a lot of moments during the movie, none of them which were supposed to be funny. However the biggest laugh of all came from Ching Wan's death scene, he just didn't seem to have it in him to do a heroic death in a hail of bullets moment, and when he does his death yell I swear I could see a glint of self aware embarrassment in his eyes.

I thought that too.

To me, he looked phony in every single scene where he had to do any kind of action. He looked bad fighting, getting hit, running, shooting... But his "fight" with the gang at the docs was the worst moment. He looked as unconvincing as I think an actor could look "going for it" and laying the beatdown on his enemies.

I think Benny Chan as a director is a bit like Aaron Kwok as an actor. Both of them are capable of excellence if they can just be restrained, which they seem to need other people to do for them. That's why when they made a movie together, 'City Under Siege', it was like watching a 2 hour + train wreck. Kwok's tendency to over-act with Chan's insistance on over-emoting, while trying to tell a superhero tale, came very close to being unwatchable. Don't even get me started on 'Divergence'.

That's a great point. I never thought of it that way, even though I've always thought that Kwok's performances tend to swing wildly from good to bad in his various films.

Dude, this made me laugh..a lot. Love your faces everywhere too.

Cool. I didn't know if it would come across in print the way that I meant it.

The points being made here by the critics of the film are mostly valid, but they didn't matter to me that much, as many genre favorites suffer from similar weaknesses. With this level of harshness most John Woo-movies could be categorized as garbage as they too have ridiculous plots and overly emotional scenes. Please think of A BETTER TOMORROW 2, a movie with totally stupid story, idiotic dialogues and laughable drama (when you think of the Dean Shek-scenes, for example).

I really disliked the AMAZING GRACE-scene in WHITE STORM, aside from that I enjoyed the movie including the references to the TV-series title song. Maybe it should have been told with a faster pace and more action so the viewer doesn't have time to think about the various implausibilities.

First, I am genuinely happy that you and Sheng, and anyone else, enjoyed the film. That's great to hear. I just wish I had enjoyed it more.

True, Woo's films are filled with OTT melodrama. But those films- for the most part- seemed true to themselves, so that worked for me. They started out with an almost operatic, heightened reality- like characters from a wu-xia story- and they followed through with that to their ends. THE WHITE STORM presents itself as this ultra-realistic, very naturalistic story, then suddenly we have "The Amazing Nick and his Crocodile Stunt Dive" and other ludicrous stuff popping up. It's like you can't trust the film. It's sort of like if I were watching DRUG WAR, and at the end Louis Koo suddenly pulled off his skin and revealed that he was an alien, and got away in his invisible space ship. It's just a huge cheat by lazy filmmakers. If Benny didn't show me that he's better than his nonsense, then I wouldn't mind the nonsense as much.

As for Dean Shek in A BETTER TOMORROW 2... He's the worst thing to ever happen to a HK John Woo movie as far as I'm concerned. When he was crying over the oranges and flopping like a fish on the floor I was squirming in my chair. I cannot express just how much I wanted Chow to shoot him 100 times! Yup, that film was a prime example of ridiculous script, but it still worked for me... other then Jar Jar Shek. This film was sort of forced on Woo, so it didn't have the class and overall quality that his other films had at that time. But... at least it delivered- in spades- at the end. Quite unlike THE WHITE STORM IMHO.

Well, sometimes it helps if you just stop a film when you feel you’re not in the mood for it and grab something that you just know will electrify you instantly. Having preconceived negative notions and suspect forebodings about a director and his new project can sometimes lead one to just seek affirmation to butress one's already highly critical perspective. It might make you miss important details and that in turn can disconnect you further from a film. My experience anyway!

That's great advice Sheng.

I've done this on many occasions myself. One time I started a film and was thinking "What is this nonsense?" and switched it out for something else. Later tried the film again, SHINOBI NO MONO (1962, aka. Band of Ninja; Ninja, A Band of Assassins), and I was shocked that I hadn't been into it. It's a fantastic film! I guess I just wasn't in the mood for it that day.

To me it is really a memorable one that many HK viewers can instantly identify. Hearing Nick Cheng’s croaky karaoke interpretation of it was admittably an endurance test!

Towards the end of the film they put the song to a rock beat, then it became truly unbearable to me. But generally I have a fairly low tolerance of rock music.

I think it was a great idea that was quickly over, and inappropriately used as the film went on.

P.S. It would be cool if you could take time out to identify the quotes you’re using. It alleviates the search for ‘em. I (and I’m sure others as well) always prefer to read a post quoted in fragments in its entirety.

Noted! Just to clairfy though, do you mean quote directly from the persons post, so that it say's who it was originally posted by on the top?

Just to let you guys know (and it's weird that it got brought up because I was just thinking yesterday- I have to tell these guys about multi-quotes), here's how you do it.

Obviously you both know that if you want to quote multiple member's threads you use the "multi-quote" button. But here's where you each are going astray... If you want to use a sentence from a member's quote, then have your response, then have another member's quote, you have to do this.

1. Once you hit the "post" button, figure out how many bits of the quote you want to use. Let's say there are three specific bits you want to use.

2. Within your little post writing box, highlight and copy the member's entire quote including the bits at the start and finish that are in parentheses. Then paste the whole thing twice, one under another in your post box.

3. Now go to the first copy of their quote. Other than the parentheses and the first bit of the quote that you want, delete the rest of their post.

4. Now go to the second copy of their quote. Other than the parentheses and the second bit of the quote that you want, delete the rest of their post. Etc.

5. If you leave these two parts in every quote...

...each of your quotes will say who you are quoting. It makes it much easier to follow your points.

Hope that explanation makes sense?

[massa_yoda]

Just to let you guys know (and it's weird that it got brought up because I was just thinking yesterday- I have to tell these guys about multi-quotes), here's how you do it.

Obviously you both know that if you want to quote multiple member's threads you use the "multi-quote" button. But here's where you each are going astray... If you want to use a sentence from a member's quote, then have your response, then have another member's quote, you have to do this.

1. Once you hit the "post" button, figure out how many bits of the quote you want to use. Let's say there are three specific bits you want to use.

2. Within your little post writing box, highlight and copy the member's entire quote including the bits at the start and finish that are in parentheses. Then paste the whole thing twice, one under another in your post box.

3. Now go to the first copy of their quote. Other than the parentheses and the first bit of the quote that you want, delete the rest of their post.

4. Now go to the second copy of their quote. Other than the parentheses and the second bit of the quote that you want, delete the rest of their post. Etc.

5. If you leave these two parts in every quote...

Thank you for this!

Ha! Did it!

[Sheng]

Originally Posted by One Armed Boxer

Silent Witness' is on my to watch list. But the most important question here is, what's your take on 'Murderer'?

The most important question in relation to Kwok’s acting skills? (or overacting skills, as you would possibly have it). Er... to be honest, never bothered to watch that one. Ya see, sometimes when you read a ton of reviews all claiming that a particular film is really, really the pits, and especially if those reviews are penned by crits whose balanced & culturally informed assessments you usually value, then you just loose your interest to waste your time with it. I mean, we’re all spoilt for choice, aren’t we? Just like in your den, the piles of unwatched DVD’s / BD’s in my crib are ever-growing...

I reckon I must have pulled MURDERER outta the shelves at least 27 times in the last four years in various HK DVD shops... and always tossing it back thinking “arrgh, its that one...”

I did go to see director Chow Hin Yeung’s NIGHTFALL, his follow-up to MURDERER though, and I thought that was considerably better than a lotta reviewers made it, at least good enough for me to buy the BD the minute I noticed it had dropped down to a lil’ less than 100 HKD...

Originally Posted by One Armed Boxer

The whole movie I was waiting for the explanation of this! Is Koo really an undercover gangster posing as an undercover cop pretending to be a gangster!? It wouldn't have surprised me, but no, the reason was.....that. Seriously!?

Originally Posted by Kung Fu Bob

Me too! I thought he had switched sides. Not that he was just an incompetent, thoughtless, immature dick!

Dunno, but I interpreted this scene differently than you guys. To me Koo was simply at his wit’s end, badly shaken by the hospital phone call and hell-bent on going home to HK immediately and calling off anything that might delay him. To warn the mobsters was probably done with the belief that they wouldn’t show up, that the whole operation is canceled and their mission in Thailand would be aborted. It was a somewhat weird moment oozing Benny Chan-typical sloppy-, or lazyness, granted, but this explanation seems like the most plausible to me...

Originally Posted by One Armed Boxer

Then, when Cheung returns as a hip flask sipping evil gangster, he also makes his entrance in the container park scene by yelling out "yoooooooooooo hooooooooo!" several times while ramming his car into Ching Wan.

At first I thought this scene was supposed to be a re-run of the final act of BULLET IN THE HEAD...

Originally Posted by KUNG FU BOB

Just to let you guys know (and it's weird that it got brought up because I was just thinking yesterday- I have to tell these guys about multi-quotes), here's how you do it.

Obviously you both know that if you want to quote multiple member's threads you use the "multi-quote" button. But here's where you each are going astray... If you want to use a sentence from a member's quote, then have your response, then have another member's quote, you have to do this.

1. Once you hit the "post" button, figure out how many bits of the quote you want to use. Let's say there are three specific bits you want to use.

2. Within your little post writing box, highlight and copy the member's entire quote including the bits at the start and finish that are in parentheses. Then paste the whole thing twice, one under another in your post box.

3. Now go to the first copy of their quote. Other than the parentheses and the first bit of the quote that you want, delete the rest of their post.

4. Now go to the second copy of their quote. Other than the parentheses and the second bit of the quote that you want, delete the rest of their post. Etc.

5. If you leave these two parts in every quote...

Thanks for the instructions, Sifu!

[KUNG FU BOB]

Thank you for this!

Ha! Did it!

You're welcome.

Dunno, but I interpreted this scene differently than you guys. To me Koo was simply at his wit’s end, badly shaken by the hospital phone call and hell-bent on going home to HK immediately and calling off anything that might delay him. To warn the mobsters was probably done with the belief that they wouldn’t show up, that the whole operation is canceled and their mission in Thailand would be aborted. It was a somewhat weird moment oozing Benny Chan-typical sloppy-, or lazyness, granted, but this explanation seems like the most plausible to me...

I definitely saw that it was done in desperation, but it just seemed so incredibly risky that he, his friends, and a whole lot of other police officers might be killed by the drug lord once he knew they had been so close to duping them.

I'm usually willing to over-look lapses of logic in the name of entertainment, but this was trying to ignore a fart in the face. Just too much to ask.

I am willing to give the film another look though. Despite all it's flaws, there were some cool elements. Maybe with the shock of the boner script moments already out of the bag, I may enjoy it more the second time thinking of it as a beautiful looking cheapo, popcorn action movie.

At first I thought this scene was supposed to be a re-run of the final act of BULLET IN THE HEAD...

LOL I never even got to the point where I complained about that scene. But OAB took care of it for me. Whereas in BULLET IN THE HEAD it felt frantic, in-the-moment, and dangerous, here I was just shaking my head and muttering WTF?

Thanks for the instructions, Sifu!

Sure bro. But... you still didn't get it. Compare your posts quotes to mine. See the difference? You shouldn't have to type out "Originally Posted by Kung Fu Bob". If you do it like I said, it will automatically say that within each quote box within your post. Sorry If I'm not being clear. but I'm more of a visual teacher. If you were here I could show you in two seconds. Typing it out isn't as easy.

If it's worth the cost of the round-trip ticket to you... you're welcome to stop by.

[Sheng]

Sure bro. But... you still didn't get it. Compare your posts quotes to mine. See the difference? You shouldn't have to type out "Originally Posted by Kung Fu Bob". If you do it like I said, it will automatically say that within each quote box within your post. Sorry If I'm not being clear. but I'm more of a visual teacher. If you were here I could show you in two seconds. Typing it out isn't as easy.

If it's worth the cost of the round-trip ticket to you... you're welcome to stop by.

Hmm, I'ma try to follow your instructions next time I intend to quote multiple posts... If it ain't working out I'll ask you for a demonstration video, Sifu!

[KUNG FU BOB]

Hmm, I'ma try to follow your instructions next time I intend to quote multiple posts... If it ain't working out I'll ask you for a demonstration video, Sifu!

LOL Just so you know- I wasn't trying to be a jerk by pointing it out. The way you did it still shows who's saying what, so it's easy to read and follow. Works great. But it's just a little more work typing for you I'd think.

One more thing I forgot to mention about THE WHITE STORM that was a negative...

SPOILER BELOW

After clearly seeing Nick get shot clean on through- huge, bloody exit wound from his back- he later explains that he's still alive because the bullet hit his chest bone! Huh? It hit his chest bone and... what? Ricocheted off of it, traveled under his skin along the curve of one of his ribs, hit his spine and skipped off of that and back out of his body? Is that what happened? They should have had him suffer amnesia too. That old silly trope was one of the few missing from the film.

[David Rees]

Finally got around to watching this on HK Blu ray and i must say i did enjoy it a lot.

Sure, the script is crazy and illogical at times and the melodrama is over the top, but considering what action films have come out of Hong Kong lately like Special ID and Monkey King this was almost like a return to the old days.

The action scenes were well done, very violent and although it was overlong i urge any fans of heroic bloodshed to give it a go. It did have a Bullet in the Head feel to it, although nowhere near as good as that classic obviously and it was good to see Lau Ching Wan again as he is one of my favourite actors.

[FrankBolte]

Finally got around to watching this on HK Blu ray and i must say i did enjoy it a lot.

Sure, the script is crazy and illogical at times and the melodrama is over the top, but considering what action films have come out of Hong Kong lately like Special ID and Monkey King this was almost like a return to the old days.

The action scenes were well done, very violent and although it was overlong i urge any fans of heroic bloodshed to give it a go. It did have a Bullet in the Head feel to it, although nowhere near as good as that classic obviously and it was good to see Lau Ching Wan again as he is one of my favourite actors.

Thank you!

Just watched it too..luckily without reading all these comments here or should I say whining... sorry,some of you guys are hard to please.. the movie was entertainment ala HK..like all those 80bloodsheds were so much better... white storm is bloody and entertaining or just bloody entertaining..lol.. i liked it! nuff said

[Superfly]

Thank you!

Just watched it too..luckily without reading all these comments here or should I say whining... sorry,some of you guys are hard to please.. the movie was entertainment ala HK..like all those 80bloodsheds were so much better... white storm is bloody and entertaining or just bloody entertaining..lol.. i liked it! nuff said

I just saw it in the theater and didn't like it. I LOVED IT! I also stay away from reading reviews to after I see a film. I find that many who review are consistently negative. I do recognize though the Amazing Grace scene was pretty awful.