Sci-fi spectacle and massive action collide in this mega budget blockbuster that puts chaotic carnage and ample amounts of CGI madness front and centre in this tale of a future ravaged by endless technologically advanced wars, gone berserk robots, and a meteor that crash lands unleashing a killer plant (!) called Pandora. The future ain’t bright and it’s looking a lot worse when an upcoming massive storm is set to put Pandora on a path of colossal devastation. So, it’s up to cool future super-soldiers Tyler (Koo) and Cheng (Ching-Wan) to lead a rag-tag mission into the heart of a ravaged city (Hong Kong!) to set off explosive devices called ‘gene bullets(!)’ that will end the rampaging plant’s reign and make the city habitable once again. There’s also alien mutant bugs, killer robots, and an orphaned child to contend with!

Finally arriving after those teaser trailers taunted us with big-budget rampaging robot action (the film was apparently shot back in 2017!), ‘Warriors of Future’ may not quite live up to its barmy high concept, but it gives it a good go. Story and character certainly take second place in visual effects whizz turned director Ng Yuen-Fai’s big budget sci-fi hodge-podge but when it focuses on elaborate action, robot carnage and effects that rival Hollywood budgets, ‘Warriors of Future’ is some rip-snorting fun. The effects and action are huge and while the film is slathered in CGI excess the years spent rendering it has paid off to create an elaborate and detailed ravaged future world for the leads to run riot in. The mission and the wider narrative rarely matter as at just over 90 minutes the film packs in a lot of intricate and sustained set-pieces. The earlier battles with nicely designed alien insectoids are a little rushed and overedited but the escape through a collapsing building and the freeway chase/robot battle (featured heavily in the trailers) are great stuff, ramping up tension and mixing practical action and CGI with aplomb.

As such the action eclipses the narrative and means the likes of Carina Lau and Nick Cheung (as the so obvious it hurts bad guy!) get short-changed somewhat so Koo and Ching-Wan can run rampant saving the day. Koo, who also produces here, gets lumbered with the whole his-daughter-died-so-he-will-do-anything-to-protect-the-orphan-they-rescue cliched subplot which drags proceedings down somewhat, but Lau Ching-Wan and Phillip Keung save the day as the more likeable and personality infused heroes. Thankfully there is little downtime for too much melodrama and groan-inducing heroic speeches that have marred some recent Chinese blockbusters as Ng Yuen-Fai moves everything at a clip to get to the next future enhanced exo-suit battle with marauding giant mech.

On those simple terms, ‘Warriors of Future’ is a fun ride. One may be left a little unsatisfied with the lack of plot/character to chew on and the flick does smack of being edited down from a longer running time (though it does set things up for a sequel where the team are seemingly sent to the moon to thwart a new threat – cool!) but for blockbusting action and futuristic CGI enhanced stylings, ‘Warriors of Future’ provides decent bombastic entertainment.