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Reviews & Ratings for
 The Invincible Armour More at IMDbPro »Ying zhao tie bu shan (original title)

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4 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Excellent kung fu movie, 23 September 2000
9/10
Author: Blake Matthews (drngor@yahoo.com) from Stockton, California

John Liu and Hwang Jang Lee once again star together in this Ming Dynasty kung fu epic film. The movie deals with a Ming General being framed for murder. He must fight off soldiers while looking for the real murderer. The movie was choreographed by Yuen Woo Ping (along with Corey Yuen and Yuen Biao) and the fights are great. Liu's kicks are awesome, simply delightful. Hwang Jang Lee mostly uses the eagle's claw technique and doesn't kick as much as he should. However, the choreography isn't as complex and drawn-out as many movies during that time period are. It's fast-paced and very fluid. Overall, a must see for kung fu fans. You won't be disappointed.

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1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Ouch !!, 21 June 2009
4/10
Author: ebiros2 from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Invincible armor is totally old school kung-fu action film, but seems to attract many loyal fans. The title invincible armor comes from the main antagonist being a master of hard chi-kung can transform his body into indestructible armor (there are many martial artists who still practice this style in China. They demonstrate this by bending a spear with its tip on their throat). The protagonist practice one style that can penetrate this armor, but there's a twist. Body must be struck in certain sequence in order to defeat the armor. In this sense, the antagonist is bit like Bai Mei in the Executioners from Shaolin.

The old school part is that one fight scene follows another with little or no story going. Why they have to fight so much, I have no idea. Then it comes to the final show down, and ouch ! the end happens in a very painful way. You have to see it to appreciate it.

I would have like to seen more story than fighting, but that's my preference. It's a classic kung- fu movie format, and is one of the better produced movie of its kind. See it for the fight scenes.

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1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Rotten production values, dubbing, etc...but still fun., 8 July 2007
7/10
Author: InjunNose from Alabama

Those elaborate, Shaw Brothers-style period costumes just don't work against a Poverty Row background like the one we see in "Invincible Armor", but hell...why quibble? Hwang Jang Lee and John Liu, two of the top three kickers in the business (the third being Delon Tam, Liu's instructor), tear up the screen in this film and that's what counts. My only complaint about the fight scenes is that there were too many distracting, split-second shots of shattered eggs every time someone attacked what they thought was Hwang's vulnerable point (his testicles, naturally). Just concentrate on the action, guys, please! Otherwise, this is a fun, straightforward flick that you'll enjoy if Hong Kong kung fu cinema is your thing.

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Worth it just to watch John Liu and Hwang Jang Lee, 23 June 2010
8/10
Author: les6969 from United Kingdom

John Liu and Hwang Jang Lee star together in this excellent kung fu film. The plot deals with a Ming General being framed for murder. He must then fight off soldiers while looking for the real murderer and with both John Liu and Hwang Jang Lee the fights cannot be anything else but great. Liu's kicks are awesome; it is hard to believe that according to his instructor and fellow Kung fu actor Tan Tao Liang, John Liu had problems with flexibility. When you see him holding his leg up as he stand still it is hard to believe this was ever true. Hwang Jang Lee sadly doesn't kick as much as he should and his skills are underused, we see far more in Secret Rivals of his phenomenal ability. The egg part is really funny although I am sure it wasn't intended to be. Having said that, this is great film for all kung fu fans.

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The Longest Day of Kung Fu movies, 10 November 2007
7/10
Author: phillip-58 from United Kingdom

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

This is the Longest Day of Kung Fu movies with Ng See Yuen using some of the top stars of the time in a film that obviously had some money spent on it - the costumes and (Korean) sets are really rather good. He seems to have been trying to recreate the success of his Secret Rivals with stars Hwang Jang Lee, Philip Ko and John Liu all appearing and Tino Wong in a major role. This is helped by Yuen Biao doing many of the stunts and appearing in a (short) fight. Unfortunately the story isn't bad but not brilliant (with rather a cowboy type theme) and John Liu though a brilliant fighter thinks acting consists of a slow smile and a nice character. Tino Wong does his best but is not an absolute top notch fighter and the brilliant Hwang Jang Lee does little kicking, though much protection of his private parts, using Eagle Claw techniques. Philip Ko is heavily disguised but very good as the brother of Hwang, but their fight is rather constrained and doesn't really show their abilities. The final fight against Hwang by John Liu and Tino Wong is reasonable but not outstanding. Watch for the story and the reasonable fights but this could have been better and somehow (like the Longest Day) the sum of the parts doesn't quite add up to a first rate film.

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0 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Brilliant Classic in the Kung Fu-genre., 30 November 2002
10/10
Author: Hussain Abdullah (thelostdragon) from Cologne, Germany

This is my favourite 70's Kung Fu-movie. Hwang Jang Lee might not get to kick around as he could have, but who cares? The fights are so well choreographed, that you are going to love it. The soundtrack is wonderful. As a sidenote, I should mention, that it has been borrowed (or rather said stolen) from an Italo Western called "I Giorni dell´Ira" starring Lee Van Cleef and Giuliano Gemma. Every self-respecting Ng See Yuen-fan should have watched that movie.

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0 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Movie..Invincible Armor, 17 June 2000
Author: montessny

If it's starring Hwang Jang Lee your in for a great movie!This one is a great.This movie is starts out with action and it has very little time to spare with corny comedy like on some kung fu movies.The movies plot is ok.For such a great movie though I thought they could have wrote the movie with a little more drama and twists to keep you guessing on who is good and bad!Great fighting styles,Eagle's claw,Iron finger armor,High leg kicks from John Liu.If you like white long haired masters like me... you will like this movie also.The White haired masters one on one near the end what could be better!The end finishes strong which reminds me of the movie Fist of the white lotus somewhat.Hwang Jang Lee was so strong that you could have thrown a ton brick in his face and he would have still been coming to you!Scary!

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0 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
iron vest kung fu, 6 March 2000
9/10
Author: bomb20 from liverpool, england

hwang yang yee plays three parts in this film, and is put up against another of the kung fu film industries best kickers, john liu. the film is noteable for having a plot (other than 'oi you, didnt you kill my brother') but the scenes are only good when liu is doling out punishment to assorted bystanders. nevertheless, this is one of the few kung fu flicks i would recommend to non-afficionados.

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0 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Awful...but in a good way., 11 July 2002
6/10
Author: fan2210 from Miami, Florida

I saw this movie during the bus ride on a school fieldtrip, and couldn't stop enjoying myself. Don't get me wrong, this movie is a bad movie, but that is where it triumphs. The usual cheesiness of these kung fu films makes us wonder if people actually took them seriously sometime in the 1970s. Definately a film to be seen with a crowd, preferably under whichever influence you prefer, "Invincible Armour" contains all the non-stop action and unintentional laughs one would expect from a B-Kung Fu movie. The soundtrack is reminiscent of an early Nintendo Game and the English dubbing highlights the acting. "Invincible Armour" also has possibly one of the most side-splittingly funny (and abrupt) endings ever seen in its genre (including a great allegory which involves a pair of eggs and a fist).

I recommend this movie for anyone looking for a light-hearted laugh and something to talk about the next day with their friends.

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0 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Great Action, Believable Plot, Cool Characters, 8 September 1999
10/10
Author: DJ_Flair from Omaha, NE

I searched hard on IMDb for this film since it is not primarily listed by it's English name: "Invincible Armor". I work at a video store and was in the mood for a kung-fu movie. I had only seen one kung-fu movie before (Shaolin vs. Lama) and it was pretty cool, so I picked up this one. It was great from the start. They're were some pretty cool training scenes for "eagle claw" and "iron armor" techniques, these scenes made for a great intro to the film. What I found to be the coolest thing of all is that some of the dialogue from the movie is sampled on one of the rap group "Wu-Tang Clan"'s albums. The finale is great too. There is a groin joke in the final fight that I won't reveal. Very funny! All in all a great king-fu flick.

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