Purple Storm (1999)

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

"Purple Storm" is actually a great action movie, well worthy a watch if you like high octane action movies that have a good plot as well.The story is about Todd Nguyen who is a terrorist but having suffered head trauma has lost his memory and is now being played as an undercover agent by the ATF (Anti Terrorist Force) in Hong Kong, trying to unravel a terrorist cell and hinder their action to set off a cataclysmic event known as "Purple Storm" (though referred to a Purple Rain in the movie). Todd gradually recovers his lost memories but finds himself torn between the righteousness and good of humanity and between his ties to family and the terrorist organization.The people cast for "Purple Storm" were doing great jobs with their roles, and I must admit that even though I don't like Daniel Wu one bit, then his performance in this movie was actually quite good and convincing. But he didn't carry the movie alone, there was another crucial performance by the guy who played the leader of the terrorist cell, he really put on a great performance."Purple Storm" has a lot of action, in form of gunfights, fight scenes and chase scenes, and it was all nicely executed and choreographed, coming together for a great entertainment experience.I liked the storyline in the movie, despite it not being innovative or introducing anything new to this particular genre of action movies. But also my love for Asian cinema helped to enjoy this movie for what it was. Great action. Great fun. Great performances. Great story.If you enjoy Hong Kong cinema and like an adrenaline-filled action thriller, then you should treat yourself to "Purple Storm".

PURPLE STORM has, at its core, a timely and interesting idea. An anarchist, Todd, is injured during a terrorist operation, loses his memory and is captured by the Anti-Terrorist Force. The ATF convince Todd he is actually an undercover agent working for them and hand him back to terrorist leader Soong. But having glimpsed the righteous point of view Todd now harbours doubts about his leader's cause, setting up the protagonists for a climactic showdown.The problem lies in how inadequately this fascinating idea has been developed. Scenes that could have been so much better - Todd's "reunion" with his (fake) police officer girlfriend and Todd's reunion with his real terrorist girlfriend - are just not explored in the same way that a Hollywood production would have done.The handicap here is the lazy script by HK schlockmeister Wong Jing. He's a great idea man but just about always fails to put a decent amount of work into the script. And as he's usually the producer too, the poor director and stars have no chance.The resulting film is very choppy and disjointed. It plays like there are scenes missing from the final cut that would have explained what's going on. Why is that guy trying to decode files on a disc Todd was carrying when he was captured? The ATF already know what's going on. Why are the terrorists hiring a ship, when they simply hijacked one at the beginning of the film? Why does Soong blow up the office building during the hand-over of Todd?Sloppy film-making with a few good action scenes.

This movie was recently released on dvd in England by Hong Kong Legends. I had seen the movie before on VCD but I can say without reservation that HKL have done a great job with it's debut on DVD.For fans of Hong Kong action cinema or viewers bored by the usual brainless Hollywood shoot-em-ups this film should make for a good evenings entertainment.

This movie gives Daniel Wu his chance to do a great action movie, but I really find Emil Chow's character really great, gutsy but determined to righting wrongs. Plus the main terrorist, it gets me wondering his revolution, makes me wonder if he is doing this for good or bad. A movie that tells us about Todd, an amnesiac terrorist being tricked as an undercover until he learns who he really is. The consequences that he makes from his terrorist family, gives him a the choice of redemption.Purple Storm was one of the best ones that I have seen this year. The movie really stands out when it is filled with tremendous action scenes set-up by Stephen Tung Wai, which won the best action sequences in the Hong Kong Awards. (9/10)