INVINCIBLE ARMOUR begins with a remarkable opening sequence. Hwang Jang Li (minus white wig and eyebrows) impressively practices the fictional Invincible Armour technique, and then the real-life Eagle’s Claw form while the following narration is heard:

"Iron Armour, of all the known Kung Fu techniques, is the most mysterious. With it, one can withstand blows from swords and stabbings from spears—one is invulnerable. It involves strenuous breath control and of old techniques it’s the most difficult. The human body has 108 pressure points; 36 of these can be fatal--the remainder paralyzing. To learn Iron Armour, one starts with the breathing for controlling the pressure of one’s breath. There are 8 methods; when one has mastered all these, one can then control the air circulation at any point within the whole of the body. Then the body is completely protected. However, there must always remain a breath gate—one unprotected point. "

"The Eagle Claw was devised by Yu Fwei in the Ming period. It has 108 patterns; these were developed from 50 basic attacks. This fighting style concentrates on the bones, muscles, sinews and the more fragile joints. All of the technique's power lies in the finger tips. The touch must be gentle, yet like an iron vice. The tactics in the Eagle Claw is to wait until the antagonist pauses. At that point he will change his breath control and that’s when the Eagle’s Claw strikes; that is what he is waiting for. The Eagle Claw is the deadliest of all techniques. "

General Chow Lu Fung (John Liu) witnesses a pack of bandits chasing a man named Hu Lung (Lee Hoi San). Chow watches as Hu Lung impressively fights off his attackers, who are trying to take away his precious sword. When the bandits flee, Hu Lung begs Chow not to arrest him. Instead, Chow reveals to the man that he is seeking to recruit fighters into the Ming underground. Hu Lung agrees and Chow takes him to the elder leader of the rebels, Mr Liu. Chow convices his master to that Hu Lung will be a great asset to their cause. Mr. Liu agrees, but states that Hu Lung must prove his worthiness by facing Mr. Liu one-on-one. Chow watches as Hu Lung takes on Mr. Liu in a friendly test of martial arts skill. During the fight, Hu Lung whips out his sword, and plunges it into Mr. Liu’s jugular. Chow cannot believe what has transpired, and rushes over to assist his dying master while Hu Lung leaps over the wall. Chow is outraged; it was all a setup that he unwittingly fell for. Mr. Liu’s second-in-command, General Wei, comes around the corner and sees Chow standing over the body over his fallen master, both of them covered with blood. He blames Chow for the death of Mr. Liu, and hauls him off to the Royal Court. Chow explains to his compatriots that it was a planned assassination attempt that killed Mr. Liu, but no one believes him. The verdict is death, and the guards close in on Chow to finish him right then and there. Chow grabs the guard closest to him and holds the man’s own blade to his throat, prompting the others to back off. Chow swears to the others that he is innocent, and vows to bring the assassin to justice before leaping away like a jack-rabbit. Chow is now considered a fugitive, and he must trust no one on his self-appointed task of clearing his name.

The Emperor’s Minister of State, Cheng (Hwang Jang Li in white beard and eyebrow appliances) decrees that all his forces hunt down and destroy the renegade General Chow. Cheng sends for his best and most faithful government enforcer Shen Yu (Tino Wong) to personally track down Chow and execute him. Shen Yu informs his superior to consider it done. After weeks of searching for the killer, Chow finally tracks down Hu Lung, and thrashes him mercilessly. Chow lets him live though, because he wants him to stand trial. Suddenly Shen Yu shows up and tells Chow that he is taking him back to the court. Chow resists and the two men begin a very evenly matched duel. Their contest quickly becomes a three-way tryst when a mysterious bearded old man (Philip Ko) shows up and insists on getting involved. In the confusion, Chow slips away much like his quarry Hu Lung did minutes earlier. Meanwhile, a nervous Hu Lung returns to his masters lair, whom we discover is same old man who interjected himself into the previous duel. Hu Lung confesses to his master that the Minister of State Cheng is the one who put him up to the murder of Mr. Liu. Chow goes on and meets up with a young kid and his sister on their private property. It seems the kid’s grandfather perfected the Iron Armour technique (which renders it’s user impervious to pain or injury) and trained the kid before the old man died. The kid and Chow quickly become friends, and the kid volunteers to reveal to Chow the secret of the Iron Armour technique in exchange for regular martial arts training. Shen Yu, ever on the lookout for Chow, overhears that he is staying with a brother and sister at their villa. Shen Yu goes there and questions them, and they go about telling Shen Yu how noble Chow is. Suddenly Chow comes along, and tries to persuade Shen Yu that he is innocent. Shen Yu suspects that Chow is as honorable as the kid says he is, but he is not fully convinced. Chow asks Shen Yu for more three days to catch the killer or he will turn himself in. The kid manages to slip Chow the scrolls that contain the secrets of the Iron Finger technique—the only thing that can counter the Iron Armor technique.

Cheng and his brother meet up to discuss the situation with Hu Lung. Cheng reveals his plans to his brother and informs him that he is going to kill Hu Lung personally (the only one who knows he was involved with the murder). Cheng’s brother returns to his home where Hu Lung is hiding out. He informs Hu Lung that Cheng plans to kill him. The brother suggests they set a trap for Cheng and kill him by taking advantage of his weak spot on his neck. The next day, Cheng’s brother and Hu Lung put their plan into effect. Hu Lung is (loosely) tied down with hidden daggers which he plans to bury in Cheng’s throat when he comes to finish the job. Sure enough, the evil Cheng meanders his way down the street threatening to end Hu Lung’s wretched life. Just as Cheng is about to deliver the death blow to his supposedly-helpless victim, Hu Lung breaks free and buries his blade deep into the master’s throat. Cheng’s brother seemingly appears out of nowhere, believing his wicked brother has met his end. Cheng reels back, but does not perish. His brother is shocked when Cheng reveals that his throat is no longer his weak point! As the two brothers join in mortal combat, Chow shows up and sees Hung Lu watching the action like a vulture. Chow chases Hung Lu off into the woods. The invulnerable Cheng vanquishes his own brother and moves on. Chow corners Hu Lung and prepares to apprehend him when a band of killers show up called The Gang of Three. One of the gang members is Hu Lung’s brother who orders him to go to their home and wait for him. The Gang of Three prepare to silence Chow for good, but Shen Yu arrives to even the odds. Chow and Shen Yu send the Gang of Three members to meet their masters, then head to Hu Lung’s home to finally apprehend him. They arrive to find that Cheng was there waiting for Hu Lung and disposed of him. With no one to rectify the situation, Chow mourns his freedom. Shen Yu now knows that Chow is indeed honorable and not the murderer, so he frees him from custody. The two set out to Cheng’s palace, which is now armed to the teeth with Ninja warriors. Shen Yu uses a spear to shred his opponents, but is unable to get the best of Cheng, who thinks he has the upper hand in the situation. Cheng is unaware that Chow knows the Iron Finger style, the only technique that can counter the Invincible Armour. But first, Chow and Shen Yu must fight through Cheng’s lethal Eagle Claw style if they are to get close enough to discover the man’s weak spot...

INVINCIBLE ARMOUR benefits from the complex scripting and tight direction of Ng See Yuen. While most martial arts films offer little in terms of plotting, Yuen’s script conveys an abundance of tension and intrigue. The movie has more twists and surprises than any by Shaw Brothers scripter I. Kuang. What makes the movie work so well, is that at the core INVINCIBLE ARMOUR is a conspiracy film. The audience witnesses the narrative unfold through the perspective of the main characters, who are all pawns in a much bigger scheme. Yuen brilliantly plays up the relationship between the characters, including Hwang Jang Li and Philip Ko in the guise of rival brothers. The same can be said for the relationship between John Liu and Tino Wang. When their characters first meet, they are on the opposite ends of the spectrum. As their paths cross thoughout the movie, the audience learns that Tino Wang is no mere lackey; that he is indeed a man of character. His opinion of John Liu changes when he learns about Liu’s true nature. These two actors share terrific scenes together, and carry this momentum to the climatic ending where both men challenge the might of the invulnerable Hwang Jang Li. Yuen’s script slows down in the middle portion of INVINCIBLE ARMOUR for about 5 minutes, when the training scenes ensue between John Liu and the kid (who teaches him the Iron Finger technique). The camera does not linger on these training scenes, and they are necessary to further the plot. Yuen also injects into the movie a sense of urgency and dread to match the violence and large body count.

Hwang Jang Li makes for a memorable villain in every movie he’s in, and INVINCIBLE ARMOUR further solidifies his reputation. The Korean-born Taekwando master displays the most versatility we’ve seen from him yet. He doesn’t rely on his high kicking ability as much, and he incorporates the most fully balanced displays of martial arts that he’s done. John Liu, a very underrated performer, delivers his best acting yet. His character is not driven by revenge or vice; what drives him is honor and the desire to clear his name. This creates many opportunities for Liu to convey the nervous feelings of life on the run, and the exultant feeling of achieving your goal (capturing the real killer), only to have your goal stripped away again (the killer escapes). INVINCIBLE ARMOUR showcases some great supporting performances by Tino Wong (PRODIGAL BOXER, INHERITOR OF KUNG FU, HITMAN IN THE HAND OF BUDDHA), Philip Ko (THE HOT THE COOL THE VICIOUS, FURY IN THE SHAOLIN TEMPLE, REVENGEFUL SWORDSWOMAN), and Lee Hoi San (EXECUTIONERS FROM SHAOLIN, KUNG FU GENIUS, THE BUDDHIST FIST). Tino Wong is so good and convincing in his role that at times he overshadows star John Liu. The fight choreography by the Yuen Clan (Corey, Baio, etc) is superb with only momentary lapses into absurdity, with some reverse photography to portray cast members leaping over houses and in (and out) of the scenes. The fights themselves are filmed in real time for that natural fluid look that all martial arts movies should have. No over-choreographing here.

SIGHT
Ng See Yuen filmed INVINCIBLE ARMOUR in the aspect ratio of 2.35.1, something that is sorely lacking here. The movie utilizes some decent production values (for an independent) that are affected in the cropped cinematography. The full frame transfer utilized by PanMedia International for this DVD is clearly a dubious VHS source. There are many speckles, scratches, and other blemishes, and grain is prevalent throughout the picture. The color is often horribly faded, and the detail level offers little true detail. That being said, this transfer is nowhere near as abysmal as PanMedia’s THE KUNG FU INSTRUCTOR disc. And it is far better than anything put out by Beverly-Wilshire Cheapworks (like on their FLYING GUILLOTINE, MARTIAL MONKS OF THE SHAOLIN TEMPLE, or SNAKE IN EAGLE’S SHADOW discs). PanMedia’s transfer does offer up some truly deep blacks to canvas the colors and contrast levels. The awesome fight choreography, though tight, is still quite potent and won’t fail to blow you away. INVINCIBLE ARMOUR certainly deserves better than this, but the transfer is tolerable--just don’t expect it to have as much polish as some of the titles from Crash Cinema or Tai Seng.

SOUND
The two-channel mono soundtrack serves this movie well. Though the video quality is lacking, the sound is pleasing and good enough to pass for anything that comes from Tai Seng, Ground Zero, etc. INVINCIBLE ARMOUR uses exposition for plot progression, and the English dubbed dialog gets the job done. There is no pops, drop-outs, or hiss, and very little background noise. The action sequences utilize lots of sound effects that help drive the movie, and all are delivered clearly and without distortion. Nearly all of John Liu’s movies feature a rousing Spaghetti Western score, and INVINCIBLE ARMOUR is no different. At times the score gets a little redundant, but you can’t complain about the sound quality of the music or any other sound elements, for that matter.

FEATURES
None. Does not even contain basic menus or chapter selection!

CONCLUSION
INVINCIBLE ARMOUR is a cream-of-the-crop martial arts film which features the stars in the peak of their careers. This is easily the best film John Liu and Tino Wong have appeared in. I also believe this is Hwang Jang Li’s best effort (and that is saying a lot). Ng See Yuen directed some good stuff, but this is in my opinion his best work. And with action choreography from the likes of Corey Yuen and Yuen Biao, you can’t go wrong with that. This DVD is a bit disappointing in terms of picture quality and extras, but if this is the only way to see INVINCIBLE ARMOUR on DVD, we’ll take it. U.K.-based Hong Kong Legends supposedly has the distribution rights for the Seasonal Films catalog, so it’s not out of realm of possibility that we may see a INVINCIBLE ARMOUR widescreen special edition someday. There’s nothing on their schedule though, and H.K. Legends tends to mostly deal with trendy films anyway; so I wouldn’t expect it (if at all) for several years. You may be best served by picking up PanMedia’s INVINCIBLE ARMOUR now before it goes out of print.

Hwang Jang Lee plays a corrupt government official who frames army general John Liu for murder. Hwang Jang Lee's character is an expert in the 'Iron Armour' and 'Eagles Claw' styles making him an awesome foe. John Liu becomes a fugitive and sets out to find the real killer (Lee Hoi San) in order to clear his name. On his trail is court appointed investigator Tino Wong who soon comes to realise that things are not as they seem. Phillip Kao also enters the fray as Hwang Jang Lee's oldest enemy. Yuen Biao and Yuen Shun Yi appear in bit part roles in some of the fight scenes.

The film is one of the most action packed kung fu movies I've seen. The first and last half hours are practically all fighting with the middle section seeing John Liu train in the 'Iron Finger' technique. There's also some plot development stuff going on here as John Liu tries to find evidence to clear his name and Hwang Jang Lee's plot is uncovered.

The fight choreography is all top notch, as you'd expect. John Liu and Hwang Jang Lee again set the screen alight with their fantastic kicking techniques. In the final showdown John Liu and Tino Wong join forces in a must see final showdown. Excellent stuff.