ENTER THE INVINCIBLE HERO

Have you ever thought of yourself as being some sort of invincible hero? Go on. Be honest about it. Cause if you have, trust me, this bold declaration can't be as brash as this 85-minute movie made in 1981. It was Directed by Godfrey Ho; and Starred: Dragon Lee, Casanova Wong, with Min Kyu Choi.


Enter the Invincible Hero

THE STORY:

Now let me see if I've understood this correctly, Chui Man Fooi (Min Kyu Choi). Your father has given the money belonging to the local townspeople to Master Who, so he and his men can transport it across town to the big-boss himself, Master Pang (Casanova Wong). However, before Who's chaps were able to accomplish this errand, a group of colorful bandits suddenly jumped them and managed to get away with these funds Scott free.

Alright then. That sounds fairly straight forward I suppose. But what do you want me to do about this, Chui? I've had a very busy day of it already. What with kicking the living crap out of whoever crosses my path! I mean, do you want me to force Master Who to pay your father back for services not rendered? Or would you prefer me to join forces with him instead, and transport these monies myself?

Oh! You want me to join forces, because Master Who has compensated your papa previously. Fair enough. I'm sure I'm able to do that. After all, I am the one and only Tai ming (Dragon Lee): The high kicking martial artist with a face of a bull-dog, and a fist of pure iron.

Still. That's most probably why what next transpires all goes to sushi, when a group of colorful bandits jump me, and I'm led to pay a visit to an old pal of mine, Master Pang. As a story is full of mutton - Master Who gets punched in the bellybutton - Chui has a very nice ass - and at the end of the day, a bad-guy's face eventually eats grass.

THE REVIEW:

All in all I'd say that 'Enter the Invincible Hero' was a fairly decent movie. Mind you, it wasn't anything outstanding compared to some of the other Hong Kong films I've watched. Not only did it take quite a bit of time for the story-line to take shape. But in addition to this, on narrative level there's one fundamental flaw where the overall premise is concerned.

Now the whole film hangs on the notion that the townspeople's money needs to be brought to Casanova Wong's character, without any bandits stealing it from them in the process. However, through the coarse of this flick it was shown on three separate occasions this was entirely possible, mainly because Dragon's character and that Master Who character were able see Casanova fairly easily.

Admittedly. This is only a supple gripe of my behalf, and wasn't as bad as the dodgy-dubbing heard in this picture, or it rather philandering story-line. Nonetheless, in places I found this nuance actually dented the film, especially when these three aforementioned moments ultimately arose.  

On the reverse side of this, though, the fight scenes exhibited throughout this movie were truly amazing. And I'd personally go so far as to state they were right up there with Jackie Chan's own efforts during this era, by consistently putting on one hell of a dynamic and vibrant show, that elevated the tone of this adventure quite a lot.

Furthermore, I have to applaud both Dragon and Casanova's labors on this film too. In Dragons case, I really got a kick out of his overt and somewhat mannered facial expressions, because he did look like a man on the edge whilst fighting. And in Casanova's case, I rather enjoyed his supple yet understated performance for exactly the same reasons.

Anyway. I best stop myself there. As I think this is a pretty good time for some filmic-fact. (1) 'Yun Bang Films Company' first screened this production in South Korea on the same day a brand new South Korean telecommunications company was first formed. They're called 'KT Corporation', and the date was the 10th of December, 1981. (2) Loosely translated, this project was entitled 'Secret Bandit of Black Leopard' in South Korea; 'Panthers Fly Off' in Taiwan; and originally it was given the name, 'Heugpyobigaeg'. (3) The director of this film, Godfrey Ho, has directed one hundred and twenty-three films throughout his twenty seven year career. Currently he is in semi-retirement, teaching students how to make movies. (4) Casanova Wong made an appearance in the unmade Bruce Lee classic, 'Game of Death', plus he was given the nickname, 'The Human Tornado', because of the speed of his kicks. (5) This was Min Kyu Choi's last ever known screen role. Previously she had worked with Dragon Lee on such b-grade pictures as 'Kung Fu Fever', 'Dragoneer 5: The Indomitable', and 'Mission for the Dragon'. (6) Dragon Lee shares the same birthday as the actress, Valerie Landsburg, who played Doris Schwartz on the popular television series, 'Fame'. The date was the 12th of August, 1958. (7) When this flick was eventually re-released in America years later, for some unknown reason it was given the alternate title, 'Dragoneer 13 - The Significant'. (8) After this movie mashed it potatoes, Dragon Lee starred in 'The Fierce One'; Casanova Wong starred in 'Ninja Strikes Back'; and Godfrey Ho directed 'Grand Master of Shaolin Kung Fu'.

Overall I'd say 'Enter the Invincible Hero' is a fairly competent film, and much better than what I originally expected. The story-line was flawed. The fight scenes didn't make me board. And the end of the day this flick really did strike a very mean chord.

Hai-Yai! Nuff said.

THE RATING: B-