HYBRID STORM (棋拳风暴)

Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Director: Terry Ng
Cast: Kevin Cheng, Hubert Wu, Annie Liu, Adam Pak, Bosco Wong
Runtime: 1 hr 33 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence)
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 13 November 2025

Synopsis: ICAC Chief Investigator Ching Tak Ming (Kevin Cheng) is looking into a smuggling case involving a boxing gym owner who is suspected of bribing customs officials to facilitate the import of illegal cigarettes. After the investigation, Ching identified former boxing champion Tsang Lok Hang and successfully caught him red-handed during an operation. Just when the investigation hit a dead end, Ching was called in for questioning! It turned out that a mysterious sum of money had been deposited into his father's account, making Ching a suspect in bribery. Ching intended to confront the director about this, only to discover that the director had already initiated an investigation against him and had suspended him!

Movie Review:

Those who have religiously followed the ‘Storm’ series by veteran Hong Kong actor-producer Raymond Wong’s son Edmond would remember that Kevin Cheng had joined the ensemble in the third chapter to play second fiddle to Louis Koo’s upright ICAC lead investigator. Cheng’s Ching Tak-ming was an equally upstanding officer, and it is no surprise with Koo’s departure after five films in the series that Cheng would be a natural fit to inject new life into the anti-corruption franchise.

True to the nature of the franchise, ‘Hybrid Storm’ more or less stands on its own basis, with no foreknowledge needed of the earlier movies in order to enjoy this spinoff. Here, Ching is given a backstory as a boxing champion before he joined the ICAC, and after retiring from competitive boxing, continued to remain active in promoting the sport, most recently by introducing the game of chess boxing into Hong Kong. For the uninitiated, this hybrid sport involves alternating rounds of boxing and chess, intended as a balance between violence and calmness and requiring a combination of brains and brawn.

As interesting as that may sound, Wong and his stalwart ‘Storm’ screenwriting collaborator Wong Ho-wah hardly give the emergent sport much screen time; instead, they keep the story primarily focused on Ching’s latest investigation into a cigarette smuggling operation that uses boxing gyms as a distribution node, which not only ensnares his former boxing buddy Chung Sing-kit (Bosco Wong) but also his talented pupil Man Yuen (Hubert Wu). It is not hard to guess just who is pulling the strings behind the scenes, but despite the predictability of the final denouement, director Terry Ng keeps the proceedings humming along at a steady and engaging clip.

More so than its predecessors, ‘Hybrid Storm’ benefits from a stronger character-driven narrative, as Ching grapples with being framed for bribery after his father (Lo Hoi-pang) receives a million-dollar gift, as well as the betrayal of two close friends. This in turn lets Cheng emote a lot more than Koo did in his role previously, and makes for a more piquant movie than any of the previous instalments; in fact, we dare say we enjoyed this ‘Storm’ more than the other chapters precisely because of the focus on Ching and Cheng’s seasoned acting.

Wong and Wu are also strong supporting acts that add heft to the movie; ditto the addition of Sau Shek and Raymond Wong who play characters on opposite sides of the law. It is also to director Ng’s credit that each of the actors, no matter the part, get the opportunity to hold their own, than be swept away by the frenetic storytelling, as was the case in the previous ‘Storm’ movies. Ng also manages to squeeze in some decent action scenes despite the limited budget, and though the gunfights, fistfights and foot chases are really nothing to shout about, they at least are coherent enough to keep you entertained.

Truth be told, the ‘Storm’ series had all but run out of steam by the time Koo completed the pentalogy, but ‘Hybrid Storm’ proves that the franchise could still be serviceable genre entertainment in the hands of a more competent crew. Even if unimaginative, it is still a fairly diverting watch, and as long as you keep your expectations in check, you’ll find that ‘Hybrid Storm’ could very well be the best the ‘Storm’ series has so far – and even if that doesn’t count for a lot, it is at least on par with the best of TVB..

Movie Rating:

(Just as you thought the 'Storm' franchise has lost steam, Kevin Cheng injects new momentum into the series with an engaging anti-corruption thriller that is on par with the best of TVB)

Review by Gabriel Chong