Alexander Fu Sheng and Chi Kuan Chun star in this 1975 Shaw Bros. production, one in a series of Shaolin movies staring the two and directed by Chang Cheh. "Invincible One" is a nominal sequel to "Shaolin Martial Arts" (also starring Fu Sheng and the legendary Gordon Liu).

The fu is sparse in this movie but the story is quite deep for a 70’s fu flick, and the acting (nearly all actors/martial artists with appreciable on-screen time, including Chang Tao and Fung Hak On who play their type-cast baddies, but with brains this outing – think some of On’s roles when he started working for Golden Harvest, e.g., "Warriors Two") is outstanding. Fu Sheng shows real acting chops here as the country bumpkin who learns about himself and his kung fu as he "grows" in the big city (okay, relatively small Shaw Bros back-lot village), while under the tutelage of big brother (Chun).

If you want to see a pure wall-to-wall fu flick with little to no story holding the fight scenes together (I too love such films), go try any of the many Venoms movies, don’t look to "Invincible One" to fulfill this need. But if you want a well-acted tale of the Shaolin-Manchu struggles with a few decent training/fight scenes, "Invincible One" is one of the best of its era.

Solid 4/5 star for story, 4.5/5 for acting, 2.5/5 for fu - overall 3.5/5.

This is a rags to riches story; Fu Sheng coems to town so poor that he can't even afford shoes, his 'brother' Chi Kuan Chun takes him in, gives him food and shoes and warns him not to show his kung fu.

Of course it isn't long before Fu Sheng does in fact show that he knows kung fu, he is promoted as the insturctor at the weaving factor he and Chi Kuan Chun work at. Soon Fu Sheng finds himself as the only defense his company has against Chiang Tao who wants to take over the place. As Fu Sheng's stock rises higher and higher, Chi Kuan Chun can feel the pending doom. And just a note, the owner of the weaving factory played by Lu Ti (I think that's his name) is one cold so and so. When his man, who has stayed loyal to Lu Ti and his company dies at the hands of Chiang Tao's grunts, he coldly refuses to give any money the wife and child his worker left behind saying 'Money is only for the living, not the dead'...nice huh?

Fu Sheng's character in this film is only 19 years old so that pretty much explaines why he walks right into an obvious trap that ends up seriiously injuring him. He seeks out Chiang Tao who hides behind his hordes of grunts until Fu Sheng is so badly injured, that he can no longer defend himself...then Chiang Tao steps forward and delivers the final blow.

Now it is established very early on in the film that Chi Kuan Chun's martial arts is much better than Fu Sheng's so at this point you have to wonder what kind of a finale are we going to have since Chiang Tao couldn't even come close to taking Fu Sheng one on one? Well, it was short, it was sweet and Chi Kuan Chun made his point; he couldn't save Fu Sheng from his fate, but he wasn't about to let his death go unasnwered.

For those of you who like less story and just want wall to wall fights (hey I get in those moods myself) the first half of this film my be a bit too slow and boring for you, but for those of you who like a bit of story with your kung fu, you can't go wrong with this one.

Chang Cheh, the leading director of the Shaw studios' action fare, made this as a part of his Shaolin trilogy. His focus on the two diverse personalities--Fu Sheng's eager young prodigy, and Chi Kuan Chun's older, more reposed, and experienced expert--provide a perfect contrast as the story builds around deception, greed, and morality.

Chang's male characters always seem to reflect a homoerotic attraction/devotion. Women are usually throwaways, hookers or stepovers to the action that follows.

Liu Chai Liang's choreography is paced much faster than Tang Chia's, and the result is more realistic forms featuring the Hung's Fist, and Tiger/Crane.

Fu Sheng was a very charasmatic star, and I would have really loved to see him in an all out serious kung fu film. He seemed to always perform exactly as his director instructed.

The ending of this film is very emotional given the era, and is a classic in terms of performance and action direction. For some reason we do not see enough of Chi Kuan Chun's fighting prowess, however, when he does, it's on!

I rate Disciples of Shaolin a 4 star classic.

The opening 'kata' sequence is 36th Chamber meets Bruce Lee: Fu Sheng is doing a Hung Fist sequence with a noticeable 'little dragon' bowl cut. It seems to go on a bit too long, though.

The story is also a mash-up of The Big Boss and Chinatown Kid: A poor boy sees ownership of material wealth (symbolized by a gold watch) as the ultimate status symbol without seeing the harsh realities of the union vs. owners environment that he works in. His older brother has experienced the reality first hand, and he is reluctant to join his brother on his rise to the top.

The acting is really quite good. In fact, there are only a few really good fight scenes in Invincible One. The characters are played well by the performers. My biggest critique of the movie is that, as usual in this particular genre, the viewer is getting exactly what they've seen many times over. If this is what the viewer wants, then there is no problem. But if you are looking for something unique or innovative, you really won't find it here.

Without spoiling the ending or the plot, you really do have to watch Invincible One's extremely satisfying finale. There's nothing like watching the bad guys get the beatdown they deserve, and the villains play their parts like wrestling's greatest heels. Let's hope that the Shaw catalogue is well-represented for the rest of 2007.