Fantasy over Action

'Stormriders' has special significance for most Asian viewers as it is the first Asian movie on a grand-scale that showcased fantasy (Japanese manga) in a dramatic way. Now, Western viewers may compare it to action movies like 'Kung Fu Hustle' (primarily a Stephen Chow comedy featuring kung fu), as Western viewers tend to expect that all Asian movies should be about martial arts (a Hollywood stereotype), but 'Stormriders' was made to satisfy Asian moviegoers, not Western ones.

For me, as well as all my friends who watched it at the time, seeing 'Stormriders' on a cinema screen was absolutely breathtaking. The iconic heroes, the effects, the OTT drama just made it more exciting and unforgettable. For days, no for weeks and months after, people talked about it, compared it with all other movies and couldn't get it out of their heads. This was the impact of 'Stormriders'. We went to see it without expectations. It would be probably better to enjoy it like that, without expecting Asian kungfu action to be its highlight.

Obviously, as a movie made in 1998, special effects and flying could be better achieved now. But having been to watch it personally on a big screen, none of this bothered any of us audiences. We were wowed by Wind and Cloud, Ekin Cheng and Aaron Kwok, and were blown away by how Japanese comic heroes (such as played by Sonny Chiba) could dominate the screen like that (and our future conversations).

On a final note, this movie has special significance for me as I met my husband many years later and he liked this movie too - he's English and watched this without pre-conceived notions of what Asian movies should be like...and enjoyed it! So it's highly recommended that you watch it without expectations. In fact, it's better watched on a nice big screen, good sound, and on a night when you prefer to watch a bit of romanticised Japanese fantasy rather than hard-core kungfu action. Enjoy this one-of-a-kind movie, and hopefully this review will put all other comments into better perspective!