Kung Fu Theater: Invincible Armor (1977)

Posted by The Marksman at 3 August, at 06 : 38 AM Print

Invincible Armor is another movie brought to us by the Shaw Brothers, and is one of the best movies of this genre. What makes invincible armor great is the simple idea; you have an invincible fighter who has one week spot which has to be found by his opponents. The fact that they had to discover the weak spot made for an entertaining last battle, I would recommend this movie to anyone.

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 convinces 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

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, and 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. Which is his testicles, it’s where his weak spot is. Yet he has the ability to draw his testicles in and it’s humorously shown by quickly inserting a reverse shot of two eggs flying up and out of reach of a hand. The penis actually plays a big part in internal kung fu lore. Jang-lee’s character has remained celibate throughout his life which supposedly keeps a martial artist from losing internal power and thus, his Iron Armor is “doubly strong.” Also, kung fu masters supposedly have the ability to reel in their privates, making the traditional weak spot for all men moot.