HK Cinema - 1998
The HK film industry is in dire straights.
Less than fifty films were planned for 1998 as compared to over two hundred
films being made a few years earlier. Even with only fifty films being
produced, very few of them are profitable. Most of this is due to the reasons
gone into in a previous section, but many HK film people are of the opinion
that HK films are out of date technologically. The special effects of the
American films are overwhelming their own product in the Asian markets.
So with nearly the hype of Star Wars, they
produce Storm Riders and release it to great fanfare. It easily has (I
am told – have yet to see it) the best special effects of any HK film ever.
Based on a comic book, it is a tale of good and evil set among spectacular
visuals. Though many have complained about the poor acting and the lack
of character development, the film was a box office hit.
This is something HK direly needs, but do we really
want HK films following in the footsteps of the bland Hollywood of the
90’s? Isn’t one of the reasons that we have turned to HK films because
they are in fact not “Hollywood” at all. Only time will where HK films
will go in the next century.