THE WHITE STORM 3: HEAVEN OR HELL Review: Herman Yau Stays The Course With Another Career Best
Filmmaker Herman Yau has been cooking in the early 1980s working as a cinematographer in the Hong Kong film industry, ultimately working his way into the director’s chair. His shelf life has proven positive for him as well, especially in the age of social media where the action genre continues to nuture an immensely active community celebrating the achievements of numerous laureates and auteurs of late. Yau, with his accomplishments is no different, following the recently completed Mission Moscow and upcoming Nicholas Tse starrer Customs Frontline, and more to the point with his latest trilogy installer, The White Storm 3: Heaven Or Hell, which had its North American in-person only premiere last summer at the New York Asian Film Festival.
Yau directs from his own script a narrative set in a non-canonical crime franchise that began with Benny Chan’s inaugural hit, The White Storm, and continued with Yau at the reins for 2019’s The White Storm 2: Drug Lords. The same casting format sees a rotation of two of the actors from the franchise into the action crime threequel – Louis Koo and Lau Ching-Wan – with lead actor Aaron Kwok in his latest action role following films like Peace Breaker, Project Gutenberg, The Monkey King 3, and Phillip Yung’s Where The Wind Blows. Next to Koo and Lau reteaming after the The White Storm and Koo’s antagonist return for Drug Lords opposite Andy Lau, Heaven Or Hell also reunites Koo with Kwok following their scrimmages on Johnnie To’s brooding 2004 judo drama, Throw Down.
The White Storm 3: Heaven Or Hell spans a six month period while jumping back and forth in its storytelling to highlight the crucial events and moments that comprise the Hong Kong police’s efforts to infiltrate a notorious drug outfit run by Thai/Chinese crime lord, Hong (Lau). The story chronicles the efforts of undercover operatives Au (Koo) and Cheung (Kwok) to earn their way up the ranks in the same circle, with Au cozying up to Cheung’s most recent UC op, a triad named Fat Hung (Lam Suet), and with Cheung ultimately proving himself time and again to Hong, one way or another. When the movie starts, Cheung has already earned Hong’s friendship and camaraderie to the point where he’ll literally kill anyone who does him wrong, which is why he goes even farther to bat for him when a sting operation gone wrong leaves Cheung gravely wounded, and with Hong and his gang no choice but to exile themselves back to the Golden Triangle.
With the gang settled in a rural village near the Thai/Myanmar border, Au is desperate to find Cheung’s whereabouts. Meanwhile, with Cheung left in the career of Noon (Yang Caiyu), a young village resident who lives with her ailing grandfather, Hong is setting his sights on wedging his way into the territories most inner drug trade, run by a man known only as The Commander (Gallen Lo), a notorious drug lord who commands as many as a thousand soldiers who oversee business the region. This is where more focus is on Cheung and his burgeoning friendship with Noon as he learns more about her secluded way of life from the outside world, having never left the village and works to extract poppy to enrich the bustling opium industry for less than anything liveable for an income. As the film continues, the story is quick to keep the pace and intrigue going as Cheung minds his mission, even taking down notes about Hong’s activity. It adds to the complexity of Cheung’s situation once he realizes how much he cares about Noon, and it’s only a matter of time before both characters have to make a choice.
Just as with the first two films, The White Storm 3: Heaven Or Hell underscores a level of cordiality and friendship that sets the suitably foreshadowing tones that ready the troubling plot twists to come. The levity and comfort between the unwitting Hong and his cohorts Au and Cheung is fun to watch, and with Lau’s performance as Hong making fantastic work in keeping the film going. You can tell Lau had fun with his role, as skilled and versatile as he has been in many of his films. More importantly, Yau waits a little longer this time though, taking a slightly different direction that doesn’t convulse the film’s efforts to tell a cohesive story, and one that certainly lives up to the pulsating energy and crackling action Yau shepherded in the first film.
Fans familiar with action choreographer Nicky Li will be happy to hear of his return to The White Storm trilogy after delivering the goods on the first film, giving our mains some of the most exciting physical performances of their careers. The fisticuffs, close quarters and kicks are few, leaving the brunt of the action to the side of rollicking shootouts and the kind of vehicular manslaughter Yau so adequately familiarized viewers of Drug Lords with. Koo and Lau get some screentime together, followed by Koo and Kwok in a drunken contest emceed by their bosses in a club, and those are the more discernible two moments of hand-to-hand for the cast, both fun story highlights that contribute to the narrative from start to finish.
The thematic resonance of the film’s subtitle catches on as it nears the climatic action finale during which a raid on the village corners The Commander and his men, as well as Hong and his men along with Cheung in his efforts to warn Noon of the incoming attack. Be ready for guns blazing, bigger guns blazing and all the sort, and even bigger explosions if that’s your thing, while the compelling arc of Cheung’s mission and the various figures who threaten to upend it come to a close. It’s a meaty, piping hot and healthy bookend to Yau’s latest work as he goes back into it with what I believe with be a third entry into the Shock Wave franchise.
I was able to review The White Storm 3: Heaven Or Hell after importing the Hong Kong version of The White Storm trilogy on Blu-Ray from Universe Films over at YesAsia.com, and it has no bonus features to weigh in on. It’s still a worthy buy if you’re a Hong Kong film fan or completist and you don’t necessarily want to be tedious with which versions of the films to buy, and it’s Region A as well with English and Chinese language subtitles. If this film ever makes it stateside with a proper product release or via streaming, I’ll be more than happy to share an update in a seperate post with a link back to this review.
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