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Edmund Lee

2/5 stars
Anyone who mocked the title of 2014 film Z Storm as the result of an English alphabet lottery should have realised by now that the joke is on them. Following S Storm (2016) and L Storm (2018), P Storm is now in cinemas and G Storm has just been announced; it’s cold comfort to realise we may only have 22 more frivolous sequels to sit through.
No prior knowledge of the crime thriller series – nor of how Hong Kong’s police and prisons operate – is required to watch director David Lam Tak-luk’s latest crime-busting fantasy. The only character you need to recall is Louis Koo Tin-lok’s unstoppable investigator William Luk, of the city’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).
After spending three films mingling with police officers, Luk decides to go to prison – not as a visitor, but undercover as a prisoner, through a convenient drink-driving conviction – in order to take on his next big corruption case. His target is inmate Cao Yuenyuen (Raymond Lam Fung), the wealthy, cold-blooded son of a Chinese tycoon who indirectly caused the death of Luk’s former teacher in a land dispute three years earlier.


Cao is due for early release and Luk, believing he must have bribed correctional service officers, launches a one-man mission to secure evidence of that. Also behind bars is Wong Man-bun (Lam Ka-tung), a corrupt policeman Luk arrested back in Z Storm and arch enemy of Cao.
With much of the action taking place in jail, P Storm takes on the structure of a prison drama – Luk even picks up a prison buddy (Louis Cheung Kai-chung). While it’s no surprise Luk fakes an alliance with Cao in order to gather the evidence he seeks, and to fend off Wong, it makes little sense that the vengeful Wong does not immediately reveal Luk’s true identity.
Project Gutenberg leads Hong Kong Film Awards 2019 nominations
Still, credibility is the least of the filmmakers’ concerns. The screenplay by Ho Man-lung (L Storm) and series scriptwriter Wong Ho-wa is so laughably detached from reality that Luk is allowed to gather much of his evidence through theft, characters are able to plan their stays in prison as accurately as if they’re checking into a hotel, and the film culminates in a major shoot-out ... involving ICAC officers.
While this film is utterly silly, at least it’s not boring, and for that Lam deserves credit. If you’re a Hong Kong cinema lover who’s willing to suspend your disbelief and overlook its ridiculous plotting, P Storm is not the worst way to spend 96 minutes of your life.
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ICAC investigator William Luk, played by Koo, goes undercover as a prisoner to snare his latest target, and has to deal with an old adversary
Not for the first time in this series, the script is thoroughly detached from reality, but P Storm is never boring, and there are worse ways to spend 96 minutes


ICAC investigator William Luk, played by Koo, goes undercover as a prisoner to snare his latest target, and has to deal with an old adversary; while laughably unrealistic, the film is never boring, and there are worse ways to spend 96 minutes.


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An assessment or critique of a service, product or creative endeavour.  Film reviews, restaurant reviews, reviews of art exhibitions. (Eg. Crazy Rich Asians: an important film, yes, but a good one?)


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Review | P Storm film review: Louis Koo, Raymond Lam in laughably unrealistic prison drama