Zi yu feng bao (1999)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Teddy Chan

Writers:

Jo Jo Hui (writer)
Oi Wah Lam (writer)

Release Date:

25 November 1999 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Action

Tagline:

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

Plot:

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...

Plot Keywords:

Undercover | Khmer Rouge | Psychiatrist | Head Wound | Covered In Blood

Awards:

10 wins & 6 nominations

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
Xu-Hao Liu	...	Khmer Rouge soldier
Jude Poyer	...	ATF Agent
Tony Trimble	...	Mercenary - Driving crane

Also Known As:

Chi yue fung biu (Hong Kong: Cantonese title)
Purple Storm (Hong Kong: English title)

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin | Cantonese | Khmer

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Malaysia:18SG | Australia:MA | South Korea:15 | Germany:16 | Netherlands:12 | Singapore:PG | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Company:

Media Asia Films

Muddled, as it stands, could have been better

PURPLE STORM has, at its core, a timely and interesting idea. An anarchist, Todd, is injured during a terrorist operation, loses his memory and is captured by the Anti-Terrorist Force. The ATF convince Todd he is actually an undercover agent working for them and hand him back to terrorist leader Soong. But having glimpsed the righteous point of view Todd now harbours doubts about his leader's cause, setting up the protagonists for a climactic showdown.

The problem lies in how inadequately this fascinating idea has been developed. Scenes that could have been so much better - Todd's "reunion" with his (fake) police officer girlfriend and Todd's reunion with his real terrorist girlfriend - are just not explored in the same way that a Hollywood production would have done.

The handicap here is the lazy script by HK schlockmeister Wong Jing. He's a great idea man but just about always fails to put a decent amount of work into the script. And as he's usually the producer too, the poor director and stars have no chance.

The resulting film is very choppy and disjointed. It plays like there are scenes missing from the final cut that would have explained what's going on. Why is that guy trying to decode files on a disc Todd was carrying when he was captured? The ATF already know what's going on. Why are the terrorists hiring a ship, when they simply hijacked one at the beginning of the film? Why does Soong blow up the office building during the hand-over of Todd?

Sloppy film-making with a few good action scenes.