Ma Ho-tin, So Kin-chow and Cheung Tsz-wai are good brothers who grew up together. When they grew up, they were stationed in the Narcotics Bureau of the Hong Kong Police Force. Among them, Chow has been undercover for a long time in the drug trafficking group. He can't live a normal life and make him extremely annoyed. Big brother Tin and his detective brother Wai often persuade him that he can return to the team after catching the last big drug lord. The high-level police force asked Chow to follow up to catch a long line to catch big fish. Chow was deeply dissatisfied. The last three brothers decided to go to Thailand to catch the big poisonous eight-faced Buddha and help Chow to escape. However, due to the safety concerns of Chow, he was reluctant to conduct a fake drug transaction with the Eight-faced Buddha. He secretly used the telephone to contact the other party and said that the transaction was cancelled, which led to the suspicion that the Eight-faced Buddha had bought the drug party Chow and others. After the war, the two sides forced Tin to choose a rescue between Chow and Wai. Finally, Tin chose to save Chow, and Wai was shot in the crocodile pool. Wai’s death made both Tin and Chow deeply embarrassed. The two also took care of Cheung’s mother who was hospitalized for her illness and amnesia. Chow’s wife broke up with him after giving birth to his daughter. Five years later, the son of the Eight-faced Buddha was killed in Hong Kong by the gang of the Tsim Sha Tsui gang. Chow and Tin found out that Wai is alive when he investigated the incident. He also married Mina and became the son-in-law of the Eight-faced Buddha. The trio was tied up by the daughter of Chow, and finally resolved the resentment between each other. The brotherhood was reborn again, and Chow reconciled with his wife and daughter. He learned that Wai and Duan Kun had killed the son of Eight-faced Buddha. In the night when Eight-faced Buddha mourns his dead son, the three brothers chose to fight with the Eight-faced Buddha. Wai, who had been suspected by the Eight-faced Buddha, was forced to cut off one of his own hands. After the fierce gun battle, only Chow, Tin and Eight-faced Buddha survived, and in the case of insufficient bullets, Tin uses his body as a shield to make sacrifices, and the Eight-faced Buddha was finally killed by Chow.
Elanne Kong as Angela, her scene was cut from the film
Critical response
Andrew Chan of the Film Critics Circle of Australia writes, "“The White Storm” is easily the most entertaining film of the year, an edge of the seat thriller, smash buckling action affair and a powerhouse of acting experience. "
Awards and nominations
Sequel
On 16 March 2018, Universe Entertainment announced that a sequel of the film, titled The White Storm 2 - Drug Lords, would start shooting during the summer and unveiled its teaser film poster. Being a sequel in name only with a similar thematic but a new storyline, Louis Koo returned playing a different role, making him the only returning cast member. Andy Lau joined the cast and also served as the film's producer, while Herman Yau replaced Benny Chan as the director for the sequel. Filming for The White Storm 2: Drug Lords took place in Hong Kong and the Philippines and the budget of the film was over HK$200 million. Production for The White Storm 2 - Drug Lords began on 23 June 2018 and was released on 16 July 2019.
