Invincible Shaolin - DVD Review

"Invincible Shaolin", another Hong Kong entry from the Shaw Brothers Studio via Funimation, continues to show the inherent influence certain sequences seem to have on Western directors and beyond. While the plot itself in a subsequent outing revolved around a defeated Opium Master who had to weather himself off the drug to revenge his student, this picture revolves around a competition between the North & South Shaolin schools who are deceived into thinking one sect killed each other with their special learned talents of Kung Fu. The modern reference of Shaolin are seen in some of the recent films of Stephen Chow in terms of current Asian cinema reference. In this picture, the kung fu involves ideas like The Mantis which pushes the body to achieve supernatural power by doing more than it should. Doing push ups over a well with a boulder on your back with just your thumbs will do that. The main reason the trainee does it beyond revenge? He doesn't want to eat any more of his masters spilt eggs. The training sequences have parallels in "Kill Bill Vol. 2" but more specifically in the original "Karate Kid" with Mr. Miyagi. It uses the same structure of seemingly unrelated tasks to create repetition and defense against attackers. The paradox is that the two opposing teams are not real bad on either side. It is the owner of the house who hold back his own mastery of the art. Like The Emperor in "Star Wars" he sits back and watches until the very last minute and then jumps into the fray.While some of the sequences are very specific and matches again certain elements seen only two years later by John Carpenter in "Big Trouble In Little China", some confusion does arise in the aspect of three of the defeated Shaolin students going through training. By the way the story is constructed one is made to think it is just the son of the dojo master going to avenge his father's honor and his brother's death. However at one point, three of them come into the room. The inherent problem is that all three men look alike with the same hairstyle structure. It creates a bit of a differentiation problem when the point of each individual ending fight is presented. That said though, the picture is very entertaining and not as brooding as "Opium Master". In terms of trailers, the more mood oriented "Mushi" seems to make an impact with "Ghost Train" seems to go for too much forward momentum. "Love & Honor" is the most affecting but will be a harder sell for genre fans. "Invincible Shaolin" continues to show the line structure of Shaw and why 25 years after despite any flaws, the genius of some of their possibilities still resonates. Out of 5 I give it a 2 1/2.