Purple Storm (1999)
"Zi yu feng bao" (original title)

Khmer Rouge terrorist Kieron Chow and his unit arrive in Hong Kong for their latest mission. Todd, Chow's son and fiercely loyal right-hand man, sustains a serious head wound. Now a total ... See full summary »

Director:

Teddy Chan

Writers:

Jo Jo Hui, Oi Wah Lam,

Stars:

Daniel Wu, Kwok-Leung Gan, Emil Chau

10 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Daniel Wu	...	Todd Nguyen
Kwok-Leung Gan	...	Soong
Emil Chau	...	Ma Li
Josie Ho	...	Guan Ai
Joan Chen	...	Shirley Kwan
Theresa Lee	...	Cheryl
Patrick Tam	...	O.B. (as Yiu Man Tam)
Jianxin Huang	...	Liu
Michael Tong	...	Mike - ATF officer
Moses Chan	...	Rock
Alan Moo	...	F.D. (as Moo Kai)
Cordelia Choy	...	Judy - ATF agent
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mike Abbott	...	Todd's adoptive father
Mike Cassey	...	Airline Pilot
Mo-Chan Chik

Storyline

Khmer Rouge terrorist Kieron Chow and his unit arrive in Hong Kong for their latest mission. Todd, Chow's son and fiercely loyal right-hand man, sustains a serious head wound. Now a total amnesiac, Todd wakes from a coma to find he's been given a new life, one that may be the death of him. With the help of psychiatrist Shirley Kwan, anti-terrorist officer Mark Chan tries to convince Todd that he is actually an undercover cop sent to infiltrate Chow's group. As fragments of his shattered memory return, Todd is forced to choose between his dark past and this one shot at redemption...

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Plot Keywords:

khmer rouge | undercover | psychiatrist | head wound | police | 

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Taglines:

Unmei wa hitori no otoko no kioku ni yudanerareta [Japan]

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Genres:

Action

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Details

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin Cantonese Khmer

Release Date:

25 November 1999 (Hong Kong)

Also Known As:

Purple Storm

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Company Credits

Production Co:

Media Asia Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

User Reviews

Pretty decent, if somewhat incoherent action thriller

Not being a fan of hyper action films, I was pleasantly surprised at the movie Purple Storm. It was not the usual shoot them that has a paper thin story line and tons of action used as fillers.

The main part that interested me was the much of the way the style of the movie was made. Not so much the action sequences, but the overall feel of the film, with the dark, anxious feeling it conveyed.

The storyline was somewhat interesting also, with the dilemma that the main character Todd, played by Daniel Wu, who just had amnesia, had to make on his past life as his memory slowly comes back, and his relationship with wife and the paths and sacrifices everyone makes in their quest for their goals.

I thought there might have been too many scenes left on the cutting floor, as many parts of the film felt choppy and incoherent. Scenes like the attempted rescue of Todd by his father, who was invading whom? Who's these guys carrying coffins? Why are commandos sent into the building? Who is that guy with the crew cut and flak jack doing all the shooting during the same invasion? isn't that our man Todd, who looked and dressed same and was being lead away only a couple of scenes earlier? Only on subsequent viewings would things clear up. Other parts are vague, left hanging and should have been better explored more in depth. Such scenes includes death of Todd's child, why Soong, played by Kwok-Leung Gan was so after the head of the ATF. Some of the scenarios seemed incredible or with plot holes so obvious that you ask yourself `how did that happen.' This might be typical of action movie genres in general though.

The action sequences are OK, with some special effects that looks like it was done with film overlays as opposed to CGI, giving it a low budget feel (by American standard.)

The acting by Daniel Wu seems to be a little dramatized, especially when he is confused and torn between his two realities. Otherwise, he gave a good performance as the reluctant terrorist. Kwok-Leung Gan might not have played it right. He did not do the demigod character usually found in global villains, but he still had a bit of that attitude. Figuring him being a revolutionary, you would think he is only working for the bigger goal of reviving the Khmer Rouge again.

To sum up, moodish movie that had an interesting storyline, something not usually found in films of this genre.