Directed by: Qin Pengfei || Produced by: Zuo Qinshu [1], Xu Shaofei [2]
Screenplay by: Wang Bosong [1], Xu Shaofei [2] || Starring: Ashton Chen [1, 2] , Bao Bei’er, Liu Fengchao [1], Michael Tong, Chunyu Shanshan [2]
Music by: Unknown || Cinematography: Zhao Xiofeng [1], Unknown [2] || Edited by: Unknown || Country: China || Language: Mandarin
Running Time: 97 minutes [1], 90 minutes [2] || 1 = Black Storm, 2 = Blade of Fury
Given my longstanding disinterest in blockbuster cinema of the Chinese mainland and the general decline of Hong Kong genre filmmaking since the 1990s, I have kept my senses perked for quality Mandarin or Cantonese-language productions outside of the typical mainstream theatrical circuit. The likes of Ne Zha (2019, 2025) do not appeal to my cinephile tastes, per se, but the online ecosystem of streaming media presents a wide array — a cinematic buffet, if you will — for those with more “purebred genre” tastes.
Enter Qin Pingfei, a prolific Chinese stuntman turned director who first cut his teeth on stuntwork for John Woo’s Red Cliff (2008). In 2024 alone, the man is credited with no less than six directorial features, most, if not all, of which are streaming-exclusive action films. Two of those that we shall highlight here are the blandly titled Black Storm and Blade of Fury; the former is a hardnosed cops vs. criminals flick set against a rural backdrop so simplistic and comical it could star Mahesh Babu, while the latter is an almost throwback period wuxia epic endowed with modern action cinematography. Both films star Ashton Chen in the lead role, who is simultaneously an asset and a problem for both movies.
Top: While Black Storm bored me by the third act with its rote characterizations and repetitive narrative structure, one sequence in particular set inside an elevator stayed with me for good (violent) reason. Bottom: Blade of Fury takes a while to build steam, but its tenacious finale may make its cliched narrative worth it for many action fans.
The weaker of the two, Black Storm, features a handful of competent though not overwhelming fight sequences, but little action variety and almost no human charisma of which to speak. Despite being a police-focused crime story set in the modern day, Storm contains no shootout set-pieces or notable gun violence of any kind, and only a single memorable yet brief vehicle stunt. The film’s repetitive action flavor lets down the admirable stunts, with only a single fight sequence choreographed inside a cramped elevator sticking in my mind. On the other hand, the cast of Black Storm are given little to work with beyond stock filler dialogue and an anemic crime saga with no interesting plot developments, mysteries, or twists of any kind. The movie is so lightly plotted and its action sequences so haphazardly integrated into its story (see also: Xtreme [2021]), as a matter of fact, that its modest 97-minute runtime feels long. Like so many other mediocre to bad action movies before or since, The Raid (2011) this is not.
Blade of Fury fares a bit better from both action diversity and screenplay standpoints, as Chen chews the scenery a good deal more here as a drunken former mercenary turned bounty hunter in medieval(?) China. The old-school wuxia artistic design gives the movie some period flavor thanks to the memorable costumes and creative sets, which combine with the elaborate titular weaponry to keep the violence fresh. Qin more or less executes a standard-issue cornball wuxia flick with contemporary action-design, and thanks to his fluency in the latter, Blade of Fury does not drown in melodramatic self-seriousness and the action set-pieces keep at least one foot in reality. This dynamic maintains tension throughout the movie’s tight 90-minute length and builds to a sensible conclusion. If it were not for a couple superfluous fight scenes and the general lackluster, forgettable characters, I might recommend Blade of Fury outright.
As it stands, I find myself unable to join the dozens — hundreds, maybe? — of online cinephiles enamored with Qin Penfei’s prolific directorial output and stylized fisticuffs. None of the characters in these two films are interesting beyond their martial arts prowess and maybe a brief guilt complex in Blade of Fury, while Black Storm in particular feels like a demo reel of hand-to-hand combat stunts and nothing else. I would be curious to see what Qin could do with a somewhat larger budget and paired with a talented screenwriter, but based on this initial sampling, I do not expect the man to become the next Chad Stahelski or David Leitch.
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SUMMARY & RECOMMENDATION: In a world buffeted by the generic, often watered-down “action” of most Hollywood, Indian, and Chinese blockbusters, streaming platforms often provide an outlet for younger, hungrier filmmakers to test their genre mettle. Qin Penfei gets credit for his dedication to unembellished, physically impressive stuntwork and casual violence, but he struggles to conjure interesting performances from his cast and cannot seem to elevate the stories of Black Storm or Blade of Fury with his action sequences. These movies remain bad to mediocre stories with some quality action scenes in them, but not quality action movies.
— However… Black Storm flaunts a pretty cool two-vs-one fight inside an elevator that you should check out; Blade of Fury, meanwhile, paces its set-pieces OK enough to muster through an hour and a half of standard Hero’s Journey cliches.
—> Black Storm is NOT RECOMMENDED, though I am ON THE FENCE with respect to Blade of Fury.
? Is it more common for villains to sacrifice little children or young maidens in demonic rituals?
Express Elevator to Hell 
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