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Feels longer than Dragon Ball, and could be a lot shorter if not for pride getting in the way, so useful life lesson i guess. Also known as "Invincible Shaolin".
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
Audience Member
I've come to avenge my brother's death.
The Machu continues their march across China taking over the countryside; however, their troops aren't as good as they'd like. The leader of the Manchu sends for three Shaolin masters from the North to come train the soldiers so they can destroy the Shaolin in the south. When the teachers discover the Manchu's goals, they may bring down the Manchu leadership themselves...
"Your friend will get hurt...I'm sure..."
Cheh Chang, director of Five Deadly Venoms, The One-Armed Swordsman, Return of the Five Deadly Venoms, Five Element Ninjas, The Magnificent Ruffians, and The Flag of Iron, delivers Invincible Shaolin. The storyline for this picture is interesting and contains wonderful characters and martial arts choreography. This picture contains the legendary Venoms and this is a perfect display of them at their best.
"They died for the school. They all died young."
This is an all time classic Venom picture that is in my DVD collection and a must own for classic martial arts genre fans. I recently came across this on Netflix and watched again for the first time in a long time just for giggles. I am kind of shocked my review for this isn't already on RottenTomatoes. Nevertheless, this is an all time classic that is worth having in your collection!
"We shall avenge them."
Grade: A
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/19/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Directed by Cheh Chang ("Five Deadly Venoms and "One-Armed Swordsman"), this martial arts film is about a rivalry between Northern and Southern Shaolin masters. The film includes the obligatory rival schools and martial arts training sequences (though I'm a bit baffled at the presence of surgical tubing in turn of the century China being used for resistance training [I won't get into stone barbells]), followed by a climactic and violent showdown at the end. Although the story is certainly nothing new, director Cheh Chang brings above average fighting and training sequences, which makes the film certainly worth watching for fans of old fashioned martial arts films of the 60s and 70s.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/31/23
Full Review
Audience Member
What sets Invincible Shaolin above the usual, old-school theme of good-versus-evil, where some characters are clear-cut good, and others are clear-cut evil, is that every Venom in the movie is a hero. Yes, even Lu Feng, the constant villain in just about every other Venoms movie. But still, these men find themselves in a battle to the death, as the South Shaolin fighters (Kuo Choi, Lo Meng, and Wei Pai) are tricked into believing that the North Shaolin fighters (Lu Feng, Sun Chien, and Chiang Sheng) have killed their classmates. So while the North Shaolin fighters obliviously go about their lives, courting fiancés and upholding virtuousness, the South Shaolin fighters train to kill them.
The training sequences are entertaining, but do slow down the movie. This is the only thing that keeps the film from being perfect, as the pace plods in the middle half. Lo Meng has the best training sequences, learning Mantis Fist. He proves again that he's as equally funny as Chiang Sheng, the Venom normally referred to as "the funny one."
The end fight is both exhilarating and tragic. Driven by their teacher's dying words, Kuo Choi, Wei Pai, and Lo Meng confront the Northern Shaolin masters on Sun Chien's wedding day. As their shocked fiancés watch on, Lu Feng, Sun Chien, and Chang Shieng grudgingly accept the South Shaolin masters' challenge. To make matters worse, a cadre of Ching soldiers show up, making this final battle one of the best in both Venoms and Shaws history.
Though it doesn't feature the outrageous costumes or exotic weapons that are normally associated with Shaw Brothers films, Invincible Shaolin is one of the best movies Chang Cheh and the Venoms were ever part of. For once, the craziness is toned down and the characterization is turned up, way past the usual Shaw Brothers movie. Invincible Shaolin has real heart and soul, and I recommend it entirely.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/06/23
Full Review
Audience Member
The movie has two things going for it: 1) Excellent training techniques and montages, and a swell cast. Too bad the plot is a bit aimless, with three characters doing hardcore training while the other three connect with ladies and don't do much more. Most of the action is in the finale, but it ends on a weird note so it can be tragic and heroic. It ends up seeming kind of forced overall. This one could have been better.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/05/23
Full Review
Audience Member
I saw this movie! It is bad ass
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/20/23
Full Review
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