Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Moody thriller with action highlights, 20 May 2002
PURPLE STORM (Chi Yue Fung Biu, 1999)
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
DVD soundtrack: Dolby 5.1
Theatrical soundtrack: Dolby Digital
Though produced with an international (ie. American) market in mind, Teddy Chan Tak-sum's moody action-thriller retains enough of its Chinese identity to distinguish the film from its run-of-the-mill US counterparts. Daniel Wu Yin-cho (NEW POLICE STORY) plays a young Cambodian terrorist who loses his memory during a shoot-out in Hong Kong with an elite anti-terrorist unit (run by Emil Chow Wah-kin). Reprogrammed by his captors to believe that he's an undercover cop, he's subsequently recaptured by his Khmer Rouge associates - commanded by his father (Kam Kwok-leung, handicapped by unconvincing 'old age' makeup) - only to discover that they're plotting to detonate a bio-chemical device that will kill millions of innocent people. As Wu's fragile memory begins to return, he's suddenly torn between his father's destructive ideals and the lure of moral redemption...
Wu shares an audio commentary on Hong Kong Legends' all-region DVD with the estimable Bey Logan (now a permanent Media Asia employee, credited with providing this film's English subtitles, amongst various other production duties), but their praise for the movie's combination of top-flight action and heartfelt drama isn't really borne out by the film itself. Wu - a terrific young actor - invests his divided character with genuine pathos, but the 'amnesia' plot device casts him adrift from everyone else in the picture, including his wife (Josie Ho Chiu-yee, playing against type), who retreats into blind obedience to the 'cause' after her sexual advances are rejected. As a consequence, the entire film rings a little hollow, lacking the kind of emotional conviction which has always been a distinguishing feature of HK popular cinema.
In most other respects, however, the movie is an impressive achievement, due in no small measure to its ambitious script (by Hui Yuet-jan, Yip Wai-chung and Aubrey Lam Oi-wa) and spectacular production values. In one of the DVD's supplemental features, Josie Ho describes director Chan (credited as 'Teddy Chen' on-screen) as an extremely serious man, totally dedicated to his craft, and her observations are corroborated by the film's careful attention to detail (note the unusual butterfly symbolism, for instance), though not at the expense of action set-pieces, which are filmed with breathtaking gusto. Arthur Wong Ngok-tai's location photography recreates HK as a gleaming, hi-tech metropolis, framing every shot for maximum visual impact, and Stephen Tung Wai's dynamic action choreography is transformed by editor Kwong Chi-leung into a veritable cinematic whirlwind.
Incredibly, despite the film's strong showing in various technical categories at the Hong Kong Film Awards in 1999 (not 2000, as noted on the packaging), most of the actors went unrecognised, except for Ho, shortlisted for her low-key performance. Wu - whose extraordinary portrayal of a tortured victim of circumstances constitutes the heart and soul of the entire movie - went home with nothing, not even a nomination.
NB. During the aforementioned commentary, Wu concurs with Logan's assertion that PURPLE STORM marked the actor's first starring role, though both seem to have forgotten his shared lead with Stephen Fung Tak-lun in Yonfan's BISHONEN (1998), a brave but dramatically awkward entry in HK cinema's tentative exploration of the former colony's gay sub-culture.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
High Octane Techno Thriller, 24 Sep 2001
By A Customer
This is a fast paced, action packed action packed Hong Kong classic at its very best. Produced by Jakie Chan, Purple Storm is the highest award winning movie in Hong Kong cinema history, and after only one viewing, its easy to see why. The story concerns Todd, a member of an infamous Terrorist group, who during a accident during a robbery, loses his memory. The Hong Kong Anti-terrorist group enlist the help of a Therapist, who uses Hypno-Therapy to convince Todd that he is really an undercover cop, working to uncover, and bring in the Terrorist group, headed by Soong, Todds Cambodian Revlutionist father. What follows is Todds struggle to uncover the real life he has lead, trying to recognise the false memories from the real....but what man will eventually emerge? If you want a movie packed with excellent martial arts sequences, then you are better of with 'The Black Sheep Affair', or 'Once Upon A Time In China'. But if adrenaline pumping blasting every which way but loose, a la 'Hard Boiled' is your thing, then you cant go wrong. However, the finely choriographed action scenes are not the only strongpoint. Supprinsingly (especially for a film associated with Jakie Chan), Purple Storm has a strong story line, which is reinforced by some great acting. In a brief summary, Hong Kong action at its best..........go see it now!!
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Nothing like I expected, 13 Jun 2001
Hongkong Legends, a good company who bring martial art enthusiasts like myself, kung fu classics. I was expecting another classic and with the comments on the box, 'the most sucessful hongkong film in the history of cinema', I thought i'd purchase this title. Big mistake. Not only is this film extremly poor, but it has absolutely NO MARTIAL ARTS in it at all. Why would a terrorist loosing his memory and crying when he has flashbacks, be a good plot for a film? Ok, its a good looking film and a good idea, but it doesn't work. The worst part of the film was when 'the purple storm' biological virus was released, and caused purple flames to appear out of the water! Don't buy this film ...
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