The Storm Warriors

Infobox Film
name = The Storm Warriors


caption = Teaser poster under the film's working title "The Storm Riders II"
imdb_rating =
director = The Pang Brothers
producer = Daneil Lam
The Pang Brothers
writers = Ma Wing-Shing
starring = Aaron Kwok
Ekin Cheng
Simon Yam
Charlene Choi
Nicholas Tse
Tang Yan
Lam Suet
music =
cinematography =
editing =
distributor = Universe Films Distribution Co. Ltd.
released = flagicon|Hong Kong 2009
runtime =
country = Hong Kong
language = Cantonese
budget = HK$100 million
preceded_by = "The Storm Riders"
followed_by =
mpaa_rating =
tv_rating =
amg_id =
imdb_id = 1186371

"The Storm Warriors" (zh-ts|t=風雲II|s=风云II) is an upcoming 2009 Hong Kong martial arts adventure film produced and directed by The Pang Brothers. It is a sequel to 1998's "The Storm Riders", both of which are based on the manhua "Fung Wan" by Ma Wing-Shing. Ekin Cheng and Aaron Kwok respectively reprise their roles as Wind and Cloud, who this time find themselves taking on a Japanese warlord known as Lord Godless (Simon Yam).

For the film, the Pangs were inspired by "Fung Wan"'s popular story arc "The Death Battle". [ [http://star-ecentral.com/news/story.asp?file=/2008/9/8/movies/1891927&sec=movies Role reversal in Storm Warriors - Article ] ] Shot primarily in Thailand, "The Storm Warriors" marks the first Chinese film to be shot in bluescreen and on custom-made sets. The film is expected to be released in Hong Kong by December 2009.

Cast and characters

* Ekin Cheng as Whispering Wind, a kindhearted and trustworthy martial artist. For his role, Cheng decided to grow back his former trademark long-hair extensions. [ [http://star-ecentral.com/news/story.asp?file=/2008/9/8/movies/1891927&sec=movies Role reversal in Storm Warriors - Article ] ]

* Aaron Kwok as Striding Cloud, Cloud's friend and companion. He is kidnapped by the film's villain, Lord Godless, and is wanted by the Chinese Emperor. He inadvertently uncovers Lord Godless' secret plan to invade China. Kwok was "ecstatic" about making a sequel to "The Storm Riders", despite realizing how difficult the shooting process would be. He prepared for the role by exercising and weight training. On the first day of shooting, Kwok was injured before the eyes of many reporters who covered the shoot, but fortunately did not sustain any serious harm. Kwok described Cloud as “a very complex character, and people will see a more developed version of him here. He is more mature this time, and more ‘human’ too. You see him as a real human character, not just a comic character.” [ [http://star-ecentral.com/news/story.asp?file=/2008/9/8/movies/1891927&sec=movies Role reversal in Storm Warriors - Article ] ] He later expressed his interest in the character: “I’ve always liked the character, especially when I was reading the comics. I had wanted to make a "Fung Wan" movie even before "Storm Riders" was made. I never thought I would be able to do it again 10 years later!”

* Simon Yam as Lord Godless, an evil warlord from Japan who conspires to invade China. He captures and imprisons a large group of martial artists, including the Chinese Emperor. The character is based on the comic book's story arc, "The Death Battle".

* Charlene Choi as Second Dream, The only daughter of martial arts legend “The King of Knives”. She is well trained with the knife since young and inherits the great skills of her father. She aids Wind when Cloud is kidnapped by Lord Godless.

* Nicholas Tse as Heart, the eldest son and competent assistant of Lord Godless.

* Tang Yan as Chu Chu, the daughter of Kirin Arm who has accompanied Cloud in his nomadic journey. Tang replaces actress Shu Qi who played Chu Chu in the first film.

* Kenny Ho as Nameless, a martial arts legend with superior martial arts strength and regarded as the greatest enemy to Lord Godless. He puts his hopes on both Wind and Cloud to save the world.

* Lam Suet as The Piggy King, an ugly-looking martial artist who is a womanizer and enjoys fooling around. However, he has been entrusted by Nameless to lead Wind and Cloud to Lord Wicked.

* Kenny Wong as Lord Wicked, the eldest disciple of the King of Knives and the Piggy King. A recluse and renowned martial arts master who broke both his arms in order to set himself free from evil power. Wind and Cloud seeks his help to increase their martial arts power.

Production

Development

The Pangs decided to recast Ekin Cheng and Aaron Kwok, having been impressed their performances in "The Storm Riders".

Film Title

It was announced in April that the Pangs had changed the film's English title, "The Storm Riders II" to "The Storm Warriors" in order to avoid copyright conflicts. [ [http://www.kungfucinema.com/?p=1889 'Storm Riders 2′ heads HK digital effects boom ] ] The name change was made to head off any potential copyright disputes with the comic book’s current license holder who is no longer associated with the film’s financiers. [ [http://www.screen-power.com/storm-riders-2-is-now-storm-warriors/705/ Storm Riders 2 is now Storm Warriors | Screen Power: Jackie Chan Magazine & Jade Screen: Hong Kong Movie Magazine ] ]

Filming

Filming began in April 2008. It was shot in three studios occupying 60,000 square feet in Bangkok’s Pak-Gret district. Members of the media and the movie’s distributors across Asia were invited to a site visit to the shooting location. Ekin Cheng and Aaron Kwok, along with The Pang Brothers, executive producer Daneil Lam and the film's crew kicked-off with a traditional Thai blessing ceremony.

Yee Chung-Man will serve as the costume designer, giving the characters a brand new look and distinctive visual manifestation. [ [http://www.gscmovies.com.my/msite/stormriders2/storm2.asp?search=happ GSCMOVIES.COM.MY .:: THE STORM WARRIORS ::. ] ]

Visual Effects

The visual effects will be produced by Fat Face Productions, which has been a leader in digital effects work in the region with past credits that include "The Warlords" and "Kung Fu Hustle".

"The Storm Warriors" is also being hailed as the first film to be shot in chroma key as the Pangs hope the film will have a "300" feel to it. [ [http://the-moviebuff.blogspot.com/2008/03/storm-riders-2-is-coming.html The MovieBuff: 'Storm Riders 2' is coming ] ] [ [http://www.cinematical.com/2008/03/19/hong-kong-filmart-storm-riders-ii-western-rain-rebuilt-s/ Hong Kong Filmart: 'Storm Riders II,' Western 'Rain,' Rebuilt 'Shanghai' - Cinematical ] ] The Pangs decided not to shoot the film entirely in bluescreen, as it would have cost money and ruined the look of the film. Oxide Pang commented on the film's look, saying, “We decided to make it more realistic-looking, and less like a comic book, but you will instantly know that it is a movie made out of a comic book just by looking at the background.”

References

External links

* [http://www.gscmovies.com.my/msite/stormriders2/storm2.asp?search=bts GSCMOVIES.COM.MY .:: THE STORM WARRIORS ::.]