The Storm Riders
The Storm Riders
風雲雄霸天下
Overview
"Lord Conqueror, the ruthless leader of the martial arts world, receives a prophecy stating he will achieve ultimate supremacy if he adopts two specific children: Wind and Cloud. Raising them as his deadliest disciples to expand his empire, the prophecy later reveals that the very children who brought him to power will ultimately be the ones to destroy him."
Iconic Tracked Scenes
- ▶
An epic, visually striking duel taking place directly on the head and shoulders of the colossal Leshan Giant Buddha statue.
"giant buddha fight""statue duel" - ▶
Cloud unleashing huge, CGI-enhanced water blasts utilizing his legendary Repelling Cloud Palm technique.
"cloud palm""water blast magic" - ▶
Venturing deep into an incredibly dangerous cave to find the glowing Blood Bodhi fruit and the Fire Monkey.
"blood bodhi""fire monkey" - ▶
The spectacular final showdown against Lord Conqueror uniting the mystical powers of Wind and Cloud.
"wind and cloud team up""lord conqueror final fight"
Why It's Remembered
- ★The dazzling, heavily stylized CGI battle atop the massive Leshan Giant Buddha statue.
- ★Cloud unleashing the devastating, water-based 'Repelling Cloud Palm' attack.
- ★The discovery of the mystical Blood Bodhi fruit in the treacherous Fire Monkey cave.
Cultural Context
- ◈Based on Ma Wing-shing's incredibly popular manhua (comic book) series 'Fung Wan'.
- ◈This film completely revolutionized Hong Kong cinema's use of CGI, blending traditional Wuxia wire-work with heavy, comic-book style visual effects and energy blasts.
- ◈It was the highest-grossing Hong Kong film ever at the time of its release, beating out Hollywood blockbusters.
About the Action Elements
The Storm Riders is widely celebrated among martial arts cinema fans for sequences involving giant buddha, leshan, statue, duel, river. One of the most memorable sequences features Aaron Kwok naturally executing giant buddha fight, where the choreography and unique set pieces become the unexpected highlight of the film.