Synopsis: Here Lo Lieh (future international star of King Boxer) plays a dedicated chief constable for Tsang Chou village, who falls in love with the blind daughter of a bandit who is wreaking havoc. (93 Mins)

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Views: The opening credits to this Chang Cheh epic, would lead you to believe that The Invincible Fist had some sort of horror element to it. As a band of ninja-esque assassins slaughter a whole household in order to rob it, the screen is halved with some spooky green credits backed by an eerie score that tricks its viewers. Its a minor gripe, as the violent action hooks you right away. Jumping instantly to a tea house in the middle of the countryside, we meet chief constable Lo Lieh and his team – one of who is a young David Chiang. Soon after they leave, we learn that one of the robbers (Chen Sing) had been sitting close by. When his identity is revealed, Chen fights his way through everyone to escape, but leaves a bloody mess behind as he runs. Unfortunately for him, Chen soon bumps into Lo Lieh as well as his gang brother Peng Yun Chiang (Shaw's star Ku Feng), and we are treated to the third bout of action in under 15 minutes that leaves Chen Sing dead!

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The Invincible Fist seems to receive a bit of a mixed bag of reviews, with many saying how its got too much fighting and not enough enough story, but I really like it. Chang Cheh made 5 films in 1969, with this being one of them, so I'd be happy enough to forgive the man for wanting to do a more low-key, straight-forward film with a less convoluted plot. A tale of a dedicated police chief determined to find some murderous bandits, while falling in love with the bandit leaders' blind daughter hardly makes for a boring time. The film features some beautiful cinematography making great use of the Shaw Brothers sets as well as some great location shots courtesy of Japanese cinematographer, Miyaki Yukio who shot a number of their classics such as Return Of The One Armed Swordsman, Heroes Two, and Chinatown Kid. The action is handled by Tong Gaai and the legendary Lau Kar Leung, both of which had been working at Shaw's for some time already. Between them, they deliver a host of fast and furious, violent action that doesn't disappoint, although don't be expecting any cool shapes here. While called The Invincible Fist, the majority (if not all) of the action here is swordplay along with an array of crazed weapons that the bad guys use such as, the Golden Abacus, bird-shaped throwing darts, a bladed umbrella, and what looks like a writing brush that shoots out on a chain allowing the user to pull his victim closer. It seems to have been the running theme for Chang Cheh during this period after the success of his One Armed Swordsman a couple of years prior, along with other Jimmy Wang Yu swordplay epics like The Trail Of The Broken Blade, The Assassin, and Golden Swallow also starring Cheng Pei Pei. And while a lot of the fighting is pretty grounded, there are a number of moves enhanced by some wire-work; something perhaps that the team were still experimenting with...

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The great David Chiang doesn't get much in the way of character development, but does get to take part in a number of exciting fight sequences before suffering a brutal death against a gang of bandits. It would be at least another year before he would become the Shaw Brothers star we know, but still makes enough of an impression here keeping fans happy. Be sure to watch out for a host of other familiar faces such as the famous Yuen brothers, a young Cliff Lok and fan-favourite Wu Ma, who also served as an assistant director to Cheh. I must also add that it amazes me to see just how much Yuen Woo Ping, Yuen Cheung Yan and brothers appear in these early Shaw Brothers movies, and more-so, under the direction of Lau Kar Leung in terms of the fight scenes. Its not an influence we often think about when looking at the success of the Yuen Clan, but its quite clear that Lau Kar Leung gave more to the Hong Kong film world than we actually realise.

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While the wonderful Lee Ching and the storyline between her and Lo Lieh doesn't really come in until after the 1 hour mark, it still proves effective given the tension between Lieh and the blind girl's father, played by veteran actor Fang Mien. Of course, when the father returns home to find his daughter looking after the wounded constable, he can only be nice to Lieh in offering that final challenge so as not to upset her or let her know what a bad man he really is. Stepping outside to a misty swamp area, Lieh and Fang Mien deliver their final blows in an exciting battle, resulting in a heavily wounded hero returning to his new love after promising her father to keep his secret and look after her!

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Overall: Classic old-school, The Invincible Fist is highly entertaining with plenty of swordplay action and Chang Cheh violence!