THE WHITE STORM (2013) centers around three lifelong friends and police officers in the Hong Kong Narcotics Bureau: Chief Inspector Ma (Lau Ching-Wan), undercover agent So (Louis Koo), and Inspector Cheung (Nick Cheung). The story follows their mission to take down a powerful Thai drug lord, Eight-Faced Buddha (Hoi Pang-Lo), in a high-stakes undercover operation. So, tired of his undercover work and wanting to just go home and take care of his pregnant wife, finds himself in more and more danger as the operation unfolds. A botched raid in Thailand leads to an impossible choice for Ma that comes with devastating consequences for the three friends. Five years later, those who survived must overcome feelings of guilt and betrayal in a final attempt to bring down the drug lord.

I enjoy director Benny Chan’s THE WHITE STORM for two primary reasons. First, THE WHITE STORM is a modern example of the “heroic bloodshed” genre of action film that was so popular in Hong Kong in the 80’s and 90’s, beginning with the John Woo / Chow Yun-Fat classic, A BETTER TOMORROW (1986). This genre is defined by stylized violence, as well as themes of brotherhood, loyalty, and extremely difficult moral dilemmas. THE WHITE STORM definitely delivers on the stylized violence inherent in the genre, giving us even bigger action set-pieces based on the expectations of more modern audiences. While not necessarily as innovative as John Woo’s best work, the action sequences are exciting and further develop the emotional dynamics between the main characters. The central emotional conflict at hand in THE WHITE STORM seems to be the value of friendship versus each of the cop’s civic duties to stop a drug trade that is crippling Hong Kong. In the best heroic bloodshed tradition, the characters are continually forced to make impossible decisions that may be for the greater good, but are bad for somebody. These decisions lead to a lot of melodrama over the course of the film, but the drama is done well for the most part. 

A “heroic bloodshed” film like THE WHITE STORM cannot possibly work without strong performances, and Benny Chan gets excellent work from some of Hong Kong’s best actors. Lau Ching-Wan’s stoic intensity, Louis Koo’s conflicted desperation, and Nick Cheung’s emotional vulnerability create a chemistry that sells the “brotherhood” of our main characters. It’s a delicate balancing act as each character has their own motivations for their actions, but we can understand where they are coming from and still believe that they truly care about each other. Of course, this emotional connection makes the film that much harder to watch as the story heads into more tragic directions.

Overall, THE WHITE STORM is a solid action film that showcases excellent action scenes and emotionally satisfying drama, delivered by some of Hong Kong’s best actors. If you’re a fan of the Hong Kong’s heroic bloodshed genre, in my opinion, it’s a worthy addition and a must-watch. 

THE WHITE STORM is currently steaming on Tubi. I’ve included the trailer below: