I'm surprised that nobody else has reviewed S STORM on this site as it's a fairly slick and popular Hong Kong thriller, albeit one made with Chinese backing. It's a follow up to Z STORM, which I had hoped to watch first before Netflix randomly removed it a week after putting it up. The film stars Louis Koo as a financial cop who leads a team to battle corruption, this time in the sporting world. There are various ne'er-do-wells ranged against him, and the plot plays out as a series of terse dialogue scenes interspersed with action moments. It's a watchable but average kind of movie, made on a mid budget and occasionally veering into cheesiness with inexplicable events taking place. CGI is used to simulate blood, fire, etc. One typical moment has an assassin on a motorbike ride on to the top of a moving car to shoot his victim through the car's roof, which made me burst into laughter; why not pull alongside it like a normal person? Realism isn't key here. Still, the fast-moving plot means that this is never dull, and Koo is assured as the lead.
9 Reviews
Another bad quality movie as previous movie.
mailtaskservice19 July 2020
Like part 1 it is a bad directorship with lack of reality and lots of nonsenses. This is a bad quality against most HK movies. This one is only slight ly better than part 1 but still a lousy movie.
This movie always creates coincidence and bad story-based. Although many good famous actors but it's sad that this is such a failure movie, blame on the director who lacks quality character.
A bit better than the previous one
Eiriksterminator28 November 2019
A bit better than the first movie in the series, Z Storm (I see one reviewer here who thinks L Storm was the first and came before this one, even though that one is the 3rd movie in the series and comes after this one, lol), though as one other reviewer noted, that isn't saying much. Still, at least with this one I wasn't completely bored like I was with the previous mediocre movie. Still nothing special, but at least the directing is better this time around, and there is a little more thrill and action. Main actors are all right.
Style over substance
toboer28 October 2019
Another Hong Kong film more concerned about pretty actors looking cool than any credibility. Erratic behaviour and shoddy police work. Undercover cops walking around with fingers constantly pressing on their "hidden" ear pieces. Really? Waste of time.
Affectionately done but rather rushed
harrypotterjerv4 August 2019
This sequel in-name only to 2014's Z Storm is definitely an improvement over its predecessor, which to be fair isn't saying much. S Storm revolves around a football bookmaking syndicate with members in Hong Kong, which seems like a refreshing, modern update on the typical global syndicate cliche. Like most Hong Kong police movies or dramas, there are assassins, random A-listers and gunfights galore.
Without giving away too much, Vic Chou's mysterious assassin character is by far the best villain and character in the entire movie. Chou plays the character with emotion, though the character is itself rather badly written, and the character development seems somewhat forced, whose blame can be placed on the rather rushed runtime of an hour and forty minutes. This runtime not only claims Chou as its victim, but a good many others including veteran "grandpa" actor Loi Hai-pong, as well as a sudden, rushed subplot in China that really should have been shaved, since it doesn't really accelerate the main plot.
In terms of the other casting choices, Ada Choi is brought on as an analyst to help Louis Koo's team, who fade into the background and could be replaced by anybody without any notice, and Choi does do her best, but her best is not really required for such a cliched role. Bowie Lam also appears as a senior member of the former jockey club, and I appreciated Lam's acting here, managing to flesh out a small yet important role well. Julian Cheung does shine here, although I wish his background wasn't so much forced into the movie in order to tie in to the gambling and betting theme this much. Dada Chan is unfortunately rather terrible in this one, so I won't be talking about her too much.
In short, although it is riddled with cliches, the main cast tries hard enough and the theme is interesting enough to keep audiences guessing, though this comes at the expense of character development thanks to the short runtime.
Without giving away too much, Vic Chou's mysterious assassin character is by far the best villain and character in the entire movie. Chou plays the character with emotion, though the character is itself rather badly written, and the character development seems somewhat forced, whose blame can be placed on the rather rushed runtime of an hour and forty minutes. This runtime not only claims Chou as its victim, but a good many others including veteran "grandpa" actor Loi Hai-pong, as well as a sudden, rushed subplot in China that really should have been shaved, since it doesn't really accelerate the main plot.
In terms of the other casting choices, Ada Choi is brought on as an analyst to help Louis Koo's team, who fade into the background and could be replaced by anybody without any notice, and Choi does do her best, but her best is not really required for such a cliched role. Bowie Lam also appears as a senior member of the former jockey club, and I appreciated Lam's acting here, managing to flesh out a small yet important role well. Julian Cheung does shine here, although I wish his background wasn't so much forced into the movie in order to tie in to the gambling and betting theme this much. Dada Chan is unfortunately rather terrible in this one, so I won't be talking about her too much.
In short, although it is riddled with cliches, the main cast tries hard enough and the theme is interesting enough to keep audiences guessing, though this comes at the expense of character development thanks to the short runtime.
What just happened
silviadai-245645 April 2020
Storm again
kosmasp7 June 2019
And again and again and again - I have not checked how many "Storm" movies are supposed to come out - but this is just the second movie of many others. Obviously if you liked the first one (L Storm) you will enjoy this one too. Even if it plays in the rather "boring" world of (sports) betting - it is the main cast that is interesting.
Action sequences are really good (expected) and the story flows nicely. So in a sense we can be expecting more in the future. It may not be great but it more than decent enough- especially if you like chinese cinema and some of the well known actors in this
Action sequences are really good (expected) and the story flows nicely. So in a sense we can be expecting more in the future. It may not be great but it more than decent enough- especially if you like chinese cinema and some of the well known actors in this
It infected me more, entertainment and fun...
RosanaBotafogo24 October 2021
It managed to be slightly better than the first one, continued on the same theme, fighting corruption at ICAC, but now in the betting world, and with more female characters, and a passionate "villain", it infected me more, entertainment and fun...
Seen this after L Storm, better
madbird-612436 February 2019
The male leads Koo and Cheung are all the same cool and smart. Plus the Taiwan star Chow, it is a perfect combination of handsome men in a movie. I especially favour the acting of Cheung. He can be lazy while brave. And his acting as Captain Cool is always in mind.
The plot is not without fault, but is at an acceptable level. If i am the police i would charge Cheung's sister for helping the assinsin Chow. And it is just miracle that Cheung, a once addicted football gambler, could become a senior police inspector. Overall speaking, however, the story is much better than L Storm anyway. And I am surprised why only 5 is given as general rating.
The plot is not without fault, but is at an acceptable level. If i am the police i would charge Cheung's sister for helping the assinsin Chow. And it is just miracle that Cheung, a once addicted football gambler, could become a senior police inspector. Overall speaking, however, the story is much better than L Storm anyway. And I am surprised why only 5 is given as general rating.
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