| What looks like retard kung-fu being briefly demonstrated at the top of The Four Invincible coheres later on into a fun piece of kung-fu entertainment. Ching Lei (Ku Feng) is part of the Hung Clan that has strict punishment for disobedience, including amputation. Kicked out and crippled therefore, we cut to 16 years later where the leader of the clan (Jeng Kei-Ying) and his men roam the town to punish whatever comes in their path. Their tour among other things results in a mute (Hon Gwok-Choi), they blind a local fortune teller (To Siu-Ming) and chop off the arm of the character played by Dai Sai-An (also co-action director). Wanting revenge but possessing no skills, they're taken in by Ching Lei and slowly the crippled men become crippled avengers...
Yes, Crippled Avengers is the film that should spring to mind when watching The Four Invincible but this production has chops of its own. Being quite fierce and brutal in its ways, director Wa Yan uses the concept well and rarely stray outside of moods. The lightness that is allowed makes sense and with the dependable Ku Feng present, the slight dip into personal drama even works. Real martial arts action is let loose very late but is of stellar quality with only the actual handicapped kung-fu being a concept that doesn't fly. Thankfully, the movie doesn't hinge on its inclusion funnily enough. |
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