Invincible Swordsman review by Bobby Blakey
Well Go USA continues to be the premiere distributor for Asian cinema. Their martial arts library alone is outstanding and shows no signs of slowing down. Their latest film Invincible Swordsman looks to keep the hits coming and stars Zhang Yuqi, Tim Huang, Terrence Yin, Xuan Lu, Yun Qianqian, Zhang Lu, Cai Xiangyu and Sammo Hung from director Luo Yiwei. Does this film bring the martial arts action it promises, or will it fail to capture the magic of the genre?
Invincible Swordsman follows fabled swordsman Linghu Chong was ready to retire his sword when a chance encounter with a dangerous cult leader forced him back into action. As the evil Invincible East threatens the peaceful realm of Jianghu with her demon cult, Chong picks up his weapon and defends the land with a ragtag crew of misfit warriors in this mystical wuxia throwback.
When they refer to this film as a wuxia throwback that is the perfect description. The film wastes no time diving right in and showcasing the wire work and supernatural martial arts abilities to let you know the kind of film we are in for. I love the old school Wuxia films when done right, but the issue with some of them is they get too caught up in the powers and wire work and looks that martial arts magic. This film fully embraces it and it works for the story they are telling but it did sacrifice the classic fighting styles.
It's a beautifully shot film that delivers on the classic styles and action. They waste no time getting to as many action pieces as possible I just wish they had had more straight forward martial arts fights without the fantastical elements. I am all for the wire work enhancements to the fighting, but I don’t feel anyone really got to straight up shine in the fights due to the focus being more on the other stuff.
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It still works well enough once you accept the kind of film you are watching but does get bogged down by the slow pace and story that is often all over the place. It finds its way back on track most of the time, but that slow pacing makes it hard to stick with sometimes. In the end the film still delivers what it sets out to do and if you are a fan of the old school Wuxia films then you will no doubt enjoy this as well.
Decide for yourself and check out Invincible Swordsman when it hits digital on August 19th from Well Go USA.