The Invincible Armour (1977)

This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Good concept, poorly executed.

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

The story is a typical Martial Arts one. The brilliant Hwang Jang Lee plays a corrupt Ming guard who frames Hig Kicking John Liu for murder. As a wanted fugitive, John hides out with a teenager who is an expert in the infamous Iron Armor technique, a technique that means the expert can withstand anything. However, Hwang is an expert in it as well as the Eagle Claw. I won't give it away completely but the ending made many in the cinema laugh and some of the men cross their legs.For my money any film with both Hwang Jang Le and John Liu is worth a watch. This is not as good a film as the excellent Secret Rivals part 1 but still up there as one of the great Kung Fu films of the golden era.

Often times I find old school kung fu movies that have terrible plot or bad fighting. If I can excuse the bad plot I can watch it for the fight scenes, but a movie that does a good job on both is a real gem. The movie goes into great detail about the fighting techniques involved. Even if it is fantastical like magic, it is nice to see that the film makers took that extra effort to design choreography around the mythology of the specific kung fu style. The master of the Iron armor certainly shows off his invulnerability by trading blows with his opponent. Chow's fancy footwork was fun to behold. Shen was also able to demonstrate his unique double spear tipped Tonfa. Instead of having 3-4 major action scenes, the movie is well paced with 6+ fights leading up to the finale. A good balance of plot and action keeps me interested in the movie as an action movie, while I can still appreciate the reason behind all the fighting.

John Liu and Hwang Jang Lee star together in this excellent kung fu film. The plot deals with a Ming General being framed for murder. He must then fight off soldiers while looking for the real murderer and with both John Liu and Hwang Jang Lee the fights cannot be anything else but great. Liu's kicks are awesome; it is hard to believe that according to his instructor and fellow Kung fu actor Tan Tao Liang, John Liu had problems with flexibility. When you see him holding his leg up as he stand still it is hard to believe this was ever true. Hwang Jang Lee sadly doesn't kick as much as he should and his skills are underused, we see far more in Secret Rivals of his phenomenal ability. The egg part is really funny although I am sure it wasn't intended to be. Having said that, this is great film for all kung fu fans.

Those elaborate, Shaw Brothers-style period costumes just don't work against a Poverty Row background like the one we see in "Invincible Armor", but hell...why quibble? Hwang Jang Lee and John Liu, two of the top three kickers in the business (the third being Delon Tam, Liu's instructor), tear up the screen in this film and that's what counts. My only complaint about the fight scenes is that there were too many distracting, split-second shots of shattered eggs every time someone attacked what they thought was Hwang's vulnerable point (his testicles, naturally). Just concentrate on the action, guys, please! Otherwise, this is a fun, straightforward flick that you'll enjoy if Hong Kong kung fu cinema is your thing.