Matino

Directed: Oxide Pang Chun, Danny Pang
Genre: Action/Adventure/Fantasy
Runtime: 110 Min
Country: Hong Kong
Language: Cantonese
Subtitles: English
Cast: Aaron Kwok, Ekin Cheng, Kenny Ho, Nicholas Tse, Charlene Choi
Imdb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1186371/

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Synopsis / Plot

Japanese evil warlord Lord Godless desired to conquer China. He imprisoned a large number of martial artists and tried to make them subjugate. Among the prisoners were Cloud and the martial arts elder statesman Nameless. Wind came to the rescue. The trio was badly wounded by Lord Godless’s evil martial arts attack. Chu Chu was also knocked out when she blocked Cloud from Lord Godless’s strike. The remaining martial artists sacrificed their lives to save the trio, in the hope that the trio would beat Lord Godless one day and save the country.

Chu Chu was badly wounded and stayed unconscious. Cloud was filled with remorse and vowed to take revenge. Wind chose to take the evil way to quickly boost up his martial arts skills, so that he could protect the people. During his training, he met the girl who changed his life, Dream. Meanwhile, the troop of Lord Godless came to attack. Wind’s training was interrupted when he tried to save Dream from Lord Godless’s assault. After some killings, Wind ran away and disappeared....

Lord Godless took The Emperor in captivity and stationed his troops in Heaven Cave. Cloud arrived alone and started a combat with Lord Godless. Lord Godless had the upper hand. In the meantime, the half-evil Wind appeared and joined the battle. During the fight, they inadvertently discovered the secret of the sovereign. The real intention of Lord Godless’s invasion was related to an ancient tomb, a forbidden ground buried with the Royal family’s secret. The truth was finally revealed. At last, how would the battle end? Who would eventually rule over the country?




















Review
A tempest of CGI clouds the vision of "Storm Warriors II" but is not enough to smoke screen the action-fantasy's lame plot and appropriation of Hollywood style, especially the grainy texture and buff males of "300" and the production design of the third "Mummy" film. Its December release recorded a moderate take of about $1.8 million in Hong Kong and about $6.6 million in China over a three-week period. Followers of the careers of directors Oxide and Danny Pang ("Bangkok Dangerous") may be tempted to catch this, but there is not enough authentic physical combat to satisfy the typical Asian genre film audience.

"Storm Warriors II" is a sequel to the 1998 Hong Kong mega-hit "Storm Riders," which made memorable screen renditions of the original comic's heroes -- free-spirited but righteous Wind (Ekin Cheng) and cool but competitive Cloud (Aaron Kwok). Each action set piece in the first edition derived its own flavor from being choreographed to mirror the characters' personalities and dramatize their rivalry.

By comparison, the sequel feels bland as it dispenses with the characters' backstories, and abstracts the serpentine plot into a trite battle between good and evil. Even a 2008 animated version delivered a more polished storyline.