The film's title is a reference to the lethal chemical weapon Ricin-X, dubbed Purple Rain, whose vapors lead to an immediate and excruciating death. A month before Presidents Zhang Zemin and Bill Clinton are due to arrive in Hong Kong to officiate the anniversary of the hand-over of Hong Kong to mainland China, three Khmer Rouge terrorists, led by mastermind Soong (Kam Kwok-Leung) sneak into the SAR after stealing a stock of the gas from North Korea. Their agenda: to use it to leverage their position within the factionalized party after Pol Pot's death.
But while the terrorists are preparing their undersea store of the gas near Hong Kong, law enforcement swoops in, knocking out and capturing Soong's son (Daniel Wu) during the shoot-out. The anti-terrorist squad that holds the young man, led by ATF Officer Ma Li (Emil Chau), tries to reprogram him as an agent of theirs against the terrorists. A police psychologist (Joan Chen) uses hypnosis to create an entirely new — and peaceful — past for him, with a new family history, special agent rank, a furnished apartment, hobbies such as a butterfly collection, and even a girlfriend on the force. Soong's son is made to believe he's a special agent going undercover to bust the terrorists, but he is beset by flashbacks of his true identity and is wrought with doubt about which side he's truly on.....
The storyline is tight, the characters are well defined, and even the violence — which overall is pretty graphic — was cleverly and skillfully staged in this film. Purple Storm is exciting and fast-paced, and though Emil Chau was said to have been cast against type, his performance as the caring but hard-as-nails Officer Ma is outstanding.
