User Reviews

Warriors of Future is a Hong Kong sci-fi film, released on Netflix. The story is very simple (don't except any depth or Oscar acting) as it relies on the CGI.

There are armour suits that look like Iron Man, various battle scenes with a giant plant, some zombie insects, and a few random robots.

In terms of CGI, it is quite impressive. The actions are pretty quick. Overall, it has all the elements of a sci-fi genre film with a bit of emotion here & there.

Towards the end, there is some massive struggle on a highway where robots are chasing down our heroes and it is really thrilling.

Overall It is a decent film for a one-time watch, if you are a fan of SCI-FI.

Warriors of Future, the long-awaited dream project from producer and actor Louis Koo, is a Hong Kong sci-fi action film that delivers on its initial attempt at CGI spectacle. It is a groundbreaking entry for Hong Kong cinema, catapulting into the realm of the big-budget CGI blockbuster filmmaking.

In the year 2055 on an environmentally-damaged and war-torn Earth, a meteorite strikes a futuristic Hong Kong, now known as B-16 district. A giant alien plant, named Pandora, has rapidly grown out from the rubble, causing devastation but also purifying the air. Scientists have devised a missile to alter the genetic makeup of Pandora to stop its growth and keep purifying the air. Tyler and Johnson of the B16 Air Force are sent to carry out the mission.

As a film, Warriors of Future is a triumphant opportunity both seized and missed all wrapped in a $450 million dollar bow.

The CG action scenes, while not up to Hollywood standards, are impressive for a first attempt. First-time director Ng Yuen Fai, who previously worked as a special effects artist, uses a quick cut style that's thrilling in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it type way. Although it is not photorealistic, everything visually falls into place and it has a consistent anime look of its own.

Unfortunately, Warriors of Future suffers from a severe lack of originality and thin plotting and characterizations in a script that's written around the action set pieces. The majority of the script's flaws could have been easily fixed by cutting out a shot or delaying certain information to create suspense, just Screenwriting 101 level stuff. All of which wouldn't have cost Mr. Koo an extra cent.

The overall results are Yin and Yang. Audiences will scratch their heads going, "The CG is decent. If you got that right, why couldn't you script this story better? Isn't writing the easier thing out of the two?"

Everything had traces from something we've seen before. I counted up to twenty sci-fi films that Warriors of Future was pulling ideas from, including Avatar, Iron Man, District 9, GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra and even the Batman Arkham games. It'd make one killer drinking game.

In the acting department, Sean Lau and Phillip Keung come out as the MVPs, breathing sweet life into the otherwise empty CG environments and helping Louis Koo carry the film in front of the camera. The buddy dynamic between the trio works well.

Nick Cheung gives a stilted, steely-eyed "smell the fart" performance that's straight out of a Saturday morning cartoon. Carina Lau and Tse Kwan Ho are both underused, the former having to deliver exposition and the other in a taciturn role.

That all said and done, Warriors of Future was a good time. Admittedly, I am biased being from Hong Kong.

Louis Koo's dream of stimulating the Hong Kong film industry is a noble and, some might say, romantic notion. Koo has invested so much of his own money into this small island in China to build up its entertainment industry, sometimes making risky business decisions. For example, Koo deliberately chose to do all the visual effects in one company in Hong Kong. Normally, they are done by multiple companies across the globe for efficiency.

That sentiment has touched people. Ever since it was reported that the film had a disappointing box office in Mainland China, Hong Kong audiences have actively gone out to support the film. It was packed for a weekday screening in my theater.

Warriors of Future ended up being more than a one-off theatrical experience, but an actual showreel of future CGI-driven Hong Kong films to come. Computer effects aside, seeing Hong Kong actors in mech suits battling robots was an eye-opening spectacle in itself. Finally, when the credits rolled, everybody intuitively stayed in their seats and waited for the mid-credits scene like a Marvel movie. It all felt very communal.

So from these sentiments alone, Hong Kong audiences will get more out of Warrior of Future. Honestly, I too am moved by Louis Koo's vision and even as I'm cracking jokes here, I don't feel like punching down on this film. It has my respect for its ambitions and it'll probably be remembered as the pioneer film. However, the film will struggle to impress an international audience as English-speaking audiences won't be as forgiving with its script and matter-of-factly written subtitles. The grammarian in me still eagerly wants to add a "the" to the title.

If there is going to be a sequel to Warriors of Future, more effort needs to be devoted into the writing and storytelling. Local audiences won't be so forgiving the second time around.

With my palms together into a prayer pose and sending positive vibes, I eagerly await the sequel.

My rating logic: "10" for CGI, "4" for the script. (10+4)/2= "7"

I've been on to this before it hit Netflix. After seeing it, I felt frustrated by the script. They could've fleshed out the story if they cut the VO in the beginning and add 20 mins of ground laying and threat intro. I saw the 2 deleted scenes from One Cool Film YouTube channel before watching the film. I preferred those 2 scenes over the VO. It makes more narrative sense. Now it feels like I'm only watching only Act 2 & 3 of the film. Because of that, the emotional scenes and sense of urgency all fell flat. There were times I felt like I should feel be sad, worried, or a feel a certain way, but I just can't because I don't know these characters. Mind you, Act 1 is just a VO. The only one whom the audience knows more about was Louis Koo's Tyler, but that he couldn't shine because the time was ticking. In short, they handle the characters and stakes like how they did in Morbius: the story fell flat because the creators cheaped out on Act 1. Then, everything came after that missed.

I heard this version was cut down to pass China government's film board and to preserve the fast pace action-flick momentum. So, I really do hope One Cool Film will release a director's cut because the 2 deleted scenes (slow-paced and ground laying) was excellent. I want to see these slow-pace scenes in the movie!

The deleted scenes (sorry, can't post the links)

1) Soldiers badged into a fenced community, went up a steel ladder. In a dry and dusty apt, a dehydrated youth was building a model-size Xmas tree from metal scraps. The youth (turn out wearing a leg brace on one leg) ran out with large empty containers after hearing water announcement. The mass gathered. Rationed water was given through coordinated rainfall. The meteor hit. Giants vines grew, wreaking the the buildings and fenced community.

2) The professor blankly stared out the window of the helicopter seeing the buildings and skynets. "Mankind is really absurd. Since the Industrial Revolution, mankind used 200 years to get the Earth sick. Then, mankind wanted to use 10 or more years to cure it. In the end, nothing was solved. We only ended up making dozens of fishbowls to trap ourselves inside." The professor leaned closer to the window. "I think Pandora is God's gift to us. A chance for mankind."

Scene closes up in the female commander. "The only thing I believe is that I believe in nothing. My responsibility is to ensure that no matter what the circumstances are, there's always plan B." The music starts rolling.

The professor turned to the female commander, looking concern. "What's plan B?" The female commander looked back at him. Scene cut to helicopters flying into B-16 area, probably heading to the base.

Good things:

CGI was excellent! Couldn't believe something like this was done by a Hong Kong production company. It's a great CGI portfolio. I want to see them participating in making Gundam or similar franchises. Hey, Hollywood maybe you can hire them to do your CGIs.

The story is basically bits and pieces of many other better movies in this genre, with added unnecessary melodramatics. That's not to say it isn't worth a watch, because there are many awesome action and fight scenes, and although a little sloppy at first, the visual effects do get better and are actually impressive for a non-Hollywood production. The story is extremely cliched and predictable, so don't expect anything revolutionary here, and you'll notice some plot and technical issues. It's like each of the three writers picked their favorite Hollywood film in this genre and mashed it all together. The editing could've been better, and the directing had many typical rookie mistakes. The pacing was spot-on, as was the score. The casting and performances are decent for the most part, cheesy dialogue aside. If you're a fan of this genre and have nothing better to watch, you'll enjoy this one.

This is a very good try to make a sci-fi by Hong Kong people and Hong Kong company.

I strongly not recommend everyone to watch the IMAX version as this is a fake IMAX movie.

I dont think the movie is taken by imax camera.

The armor looks very good.

Everything they made is really great. Like the cars, the robot, ect

The cg on the beginning of the film is bad.

But the road scenes is great, I can't believe it is made by cg.

Loose plot no memory point Seems put too many time on some unnecessary plot, such as the love line. It really unnecessary, it just like want to to know that two actor is or new actor

Lau Ka Ling's acting skill is bad.

Overall production is great, the story makes relative sense, the characters have some depth to them, the CGI is outstanding. I personally love the overall aesthetic of the movie. Cool suits, freaky aliens, everything an FPS gamer could ever dream of. The biggest problem for me is the pacing is just too fast. I can't appreciate the beautiful scenes long enough, the action sequences are great but it's also ruined by the constant changes of the camera angle which then becomes unwatchable. I was so hyped for this movie, but sadly it's a disappointment that could've been easily fixed with a better director.

Came across this scifi flick by chance. It was a hell of a ride on all parts. The effects were stunning and even as there isn't that much of a real story it was entertaining all the way.

It's a mixture of all kinds, robots fighting, a dictator, friends fighting together, a lost friend becoming a hero, aliens invading, biowar, you see, everything is there.

Luckily it wasn't boring for one minute. From the opening it's fight scenes and it continues to the end. Due the fact that everything as said is in this flick it could be confusing sometimes but in the end it is all explained.

The aliens looked convincing and yes yes, you will be reminded towards a lot of classic scifi flicks even as it wasn't intended. I liked it.

Gore 1/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 5/5 Story 2/5 Comedy 0/5.

No real story, you just get some fight with robots and aliens just to save the already destroyed earth. The camera was moved sometimes so fast you couldn't really feel and see the set. The movie shows you humans, fighting, some cliches and that's it. It's a waste of time. I watched it in English. It was horrible. You wont remember a thing in a few hours. The characters are not well written. I have the feeling that they wanted to copy some crappy western style alien fighting movies, and they copied the bad dialogues and characters auswelle. All in all it's a 5. You can watch it, or leave it in the background but for that purpose you should just put some nice music on.

Normally Chinese movies CGI is terrible as if watching a hollywood B lister or C lister movie quality BUT this movie right here wow the CGI was off the charts! I watched chinese movies growing up n this has to be the best CGI i seen in a chinese movie Ever!

Though some negatives to this movie is not enough backstory go the characters as normally this is common theme plaguing the Hongkong/China movie industry. They often rush for action n visual effects to capture audiences fast but they fail always too understand that the plot story n character interactions is just as important.

The Robots used in this film was amazing quality, I mean i was soo blown away and this movie might just be the stepping point for Chinese CGI to blossom from and beyond and too finally move towards improving to follow Hollywood slowly behind.

Some Fight scenes the camera pans to fast n it often makes it hard to tell whats happening but alot of other scenes are quite visible clearly.

Overall I am excited too see this vast improvement in Quality of visuals from a Chinese film and i look forward too seeing more to come in the future.

I very much enjoy Chinese films and I hardly begrudge them pursuing the occasional formulaic Western-like action film. Unfortunately though, Warriors of the Future takes every soulless trope that Hollywood has to offer and amplifies it with genuinely dreadful execution.

The story is shallow and nothing that we haven't seen a million times over. The characters are hackneyed, hyperbolic and frankly goofy. The script is sophomoric and cringe-inducing. The acting is so bad, so robotic, that it's almost funny at times. The direction and editing are lazy and uninspired. The audio is regularly out of sync. The list goes on and on.

There are redeeming qualities in some of the CGI, moments in the photography and a few action sequences, but nowhere near enough to warrant watching this hot mess. I strongly encourage you to do something else with your time.

The story is nothing new. Humanity has screwed up the planet, alien thing has landed, robots, guns, explosions. Huzzah!

The writing overall is pretty weak. There's some great scenes between the characters, and a lot of the banter is fun. But the movie is pretty predictable. You know who the bad guy is, who's going to live or die, and what all the major plot beats will be right from the start. The movie doesn't do anything new.

That said, what is does, it does in style. The special effects are insanely good. This is the sort of thing that easily gives big Hollywood movies a run for their money. And the action is amazing. The choreography is truly next level, with great editing. And the fights play out well (not the typical Hollywood barrage of a thousand jump cuts).

Grab some popcorn and enjoy a good mindless action filled romp.

I normally do not watch many Asian based movies due to the numerous flaws they have, but this movie wasn't like them. The concept here is modern and likable, and its evident the budget backs it up.

The setup of fighting against aliens for a better planet is more than many in the genres. Yet Warriors of the Future played it uniquely, with a intense adventure in a futuristic setting.

Action wise, this film was impressive in terms of tech and pure CGI. Sure there were some moments it was obvious, moreso it looked realistic to where I shook my head in agreement.

Even while watching in Cantonese, the actors gave it their best. I didn't have any issues with the portrayal of anyone.

With all of this said, the massive issues with this movie lies with the story. Sure we got ourselves an action packed movie with big budgets, but there are more questions asked then answers going around. The terrible lack of interactions between the main characters was a letdown, there was great room for development and scenes that didn't need action.

I will praise the film makers of Hong Kong for crafting an epic movie, the writing just needs more work.

A for effort? Unfortunately effort doesn't do much in this day and age. The all-star veteran cast plays a set of extremely stereotypical characters that are easily forgotten. The dialogues are bland, the action scenes are unmemorable, and there seems to be very few logic behind the settings. The inclusion of the little girl is so painfully stereotypical of such Cantonese films that you feel like you are transported back to the 80s. If this movie is supposed to be Louis Koo's love letter to sci-fi films, its a commendable job as it offers so little in terms of modern sci-fi. And if this movie is supposed to represent Hong Kong's movie industry in the new age, that would be pretty tragic.

The storyline is simple, nothing confusing and out of the box. Just chill and enjoy the movies without thinking too much on the storyline. The CGI in the movies has already reach a standard comparable with US movie, consider that it is a Kong Kong company that makes the CGI. The acting is average for some actor. (e.g when you are in war, why the actor faces are still clean and shinny). It is not a perfect storyline, with loophole and some does not make any sense, but good effort put into this movie hearing that it took years to make. Nevertheless, I did enjoyed the movie for their action & CGI, the explosion and the fights.

This movie is for those looking for adrenaline-pumping action with futuristic touches. It has a fairly simple plot that isn't really relevant, it's just an excuse for the display of visual effects that come by the ton. It is formulaic, hasty, sometimes emotional without any sense. By all accounts, it is a spectacle for the eyes, rather than for the brain.

The performances are so-so, the effects are good on machinery, but bad on natural elements such as fire and the flow of movement of living beings, including the characters. In short, there are many reprehensible details, but exposing them would be superfluous, since it is not a film made to be perfect. It is mere entertainment.

The American film The Tomorrow War is a good parallel. If you enjoyed that movie, you'll like this one.

It's ok, it had some good moments, some boring moments; there are some scenes I just did not understand at all for one reason or the other as they made no sense. Without giving any spoilers, I'll leave it up to you, but it just made no common sense for some to be...where no kids should be.. All 3 female actresses were not very good and may be it wasn't their fault but the fault of the directors and the bad script The story is very cheesey. I don't believe actors were right for this one, it just felt a bit amateurish and cheesy.

Script had a lot of holes.

I get it, it's a Sci-fi, but it should also make at least some basic common sense, and a lot of things did not throughout the whole movie.

5.2/10. Anyone giving it more than a 6 is probably involved in the movie... There are a lot better movies from China and this is not one of them.

The story is predictable. The action sequences are a lot of fun. The CGI is better than anything Disney has done in the last four years.

If you want to watch a fun popcorn flick. This is it. It's a predictable sci-fi story. But. It is done right. And. Today, that is what is lacking in Hollywood, minus a few exceptions such as Top Gun and John Wick. The acting is good enough to convey the emotions and get you to root for the "good guys" Not sure why there are so many low scores. Maybe it's hatred for anything a bit different. Or. Just a lack of wanting to give something credit where it's warranted. The action sequences have a lot of quick cuts. At times, it can get a bit much. But. Again. Better than anything coming out of Hollywood lately. There are times the cgi is noticeable. But. For the most part. It is very impressive. Especially in the alien designs and up close scenes. I hope there will be more like this. Just entertain us. I don't need to be preached too. If I want that. I'll watch a documentary. Again. Just grab some popcorn and be ready to be entertained. Hollywood. Take note.

I mainly decided to leave a review because of the weird subtitles but that is not the reason for the score and I'll try to give a fair review.

Easy to watch if you don't have anything better to watch but leave a lot to be desired. It follows a lot of your standard action movie plot tropes. The cgi is pretty good but I personally don't care about that. I found myself being somewhat engaged with the movie but that was mainly out of frustration with some of the actions of the characters. The very simplified action cliché's are kind of fun but there were a lot of moments where I was like ooooh it would have been badass it they did that. The movie lacks a lot in character development.

Not really worth to write more about it. Don't expect much but if you just want to have something to watch go ahead.

This film is about a time in the near future, when humans have to fight against an alien creature called Pandora.

The story is tense throughout, and there is little down time. The story is pretty good, and the visual effects are convincing. The leads Louis Koo and Carina Lau are good. Though I find the little girl a little contrived and annoying, as she repeats the same line over and over. I understand why she is placed in the film, but I don't find it very effective in driving emotions of the plot. I must say that I watched three Hong Kong films back to back, and I was impressed by all three. It is pleasing to see that a Hong Kong film achieves such high standard!

Absolutely spectacular sci-fi CGI and production quality, absolutely blows most recent Hollywood movies out of the water. Wonderfully refreshing to see such smooth, high quality mecha action as well as power suits used by the leads. No holds barred even for the aliens. Convincing, fast-paced action. Somewhat average storyline, acceptable but uncompelling - a little hard to sympathise with the supposed plight of the Earthlings.

Cast-wise, acceptable performance by the main cast but totally don't understand why two pieces of wood were cast in supporting roles. Would never work for such incompetent and one-dimensional bosses.

A couple of things make this movie at best "watching with friend at home" ...

The plot, very Basic and ilogical.

The bomb that with all that technology, they couldn't make it a bit more specific with the blast radius.

The typical girlfriend in anime that mean or says something like " come back, you haven't fixed my watch yet".

The scene where they chat with the villain and not broadcast that is by far the dumbest thing in this movie.

The ending ... was comedic. No guards near the most important section of the creature. Yes.

The special effects were good, but that's about it.

The emotional scenes felt very cheap.

I saw someone comparing it with the Tomorrow War, no chance. Besides some exoschelets , no similarity.

Warriors of Future: Title sounds lie a bad translation, this is Hong Kong SciFi. A bit like Annihilation but this time in an urban setting. A meteor strikes a city and an an alien plant complex develops, throwing up fauna as well as flora. The eArth has already been ravaged by war and pollution so this is just the icing on the cake, Wait! A scientist has a cunning plan! A bio-bullet which won't just stop the alien organism from developing but will transform it into an atmosphere cleanser! An intrpid force of special soldiers enter the infected zone. But they have more to worry about than aliens. Some great battle scenes between: soldiers and robots, soldiers and alien creatures which look like insectoid Komodo Dragons. Impressive giant plants which attack tilt-wing aircraft. Overall the effects are pretty good. Quite a few cliches thrown in but it's enjoyable SciFi action. Directed by visual effects artist Ng Yuen-fai in his directorial debut, Screenplay by Lau Ho-leung and Mak Tin-shu. On Netflix. 6.5/10.

This movie started with a good story and with the current subjects nowadays it was a good start. Let me just say, I was entertained. The CGI and the special effects were well worked out, but there is room for improvement. Although I could notice here and there that it was sometimes copied from Hollywood movies, but that's okay! It's nice how we got to know more of the relationships and background between the characters . However, the story left us leaves huge holes. There is also a post-creditscene which I didn't quite understand. Or is this perhaps a pre-announcement for a sequel? This movie is definitely worth watching, but don't expect a blockbuster hollywood type of movie.