Invincible Swordsman (2025)

Linghu Chong is expelled from the Huashan Sect for his friendship with the daughter of the leader of the Sun Moon Cult, and destroys his inner strength to prove that he is not a traitor and no threat to them. Grandmaster Feng Qinyang rescues him and transfers Qi to restore his power, and the two retire to a secluded mountain to train and drink wine. When Huashan is attacked by the evil cult, now led by the usurper Invincible Asia, Linghu Chong is sought out and persuaded to come down the mountain to help.

INVINCIBLE SWORDSMAN is a new adaptation of Jin Yong's Laughing Proud Wanderer and basically covers the same events as Swordsman II, though with a few key differences and not at quite as manic a pace. There are some deliberate callbacks to the 1992 film, especially musically, but the style is completely different. The film was written and produced by Wong Jing and has a significant supporting role for Sammo Hung, but stylistically it is closer to contemporary wuxia from the mainland than to 1990's wuxia from the Tsui Hark school.

The film is beautiful in a technical way, with exquisitly rendered digital environments (and some luscious sets) and the kind of elaborate camera movements that motion control supports, but it is very clean - I suppose the word is sterile - compared to the low budget Hong Kong wuxia.

The action basically answers the question "What if Ching Siu-Tung had modern CGI and too much money when he made Swordsman II?". There is plenty of high flying wirework, with the over-the-top wuxia powers deployed by the fighters resulting in massive destruction of the (digital) environment. Whilst impressive in its own way, it lacks the scrappy ingenuity delivered on a shoestring budget of the action in 90's wuxia.

The highlight of the film is a three vs three fight in a forest that makes good use of an actual set with both performers and the camera zipping around on wire rigs, which allows for some nice shots.

Tim Huang is alright as Linghu Chong, though he comes across as rather uptight and doesn't convey the carefree, generous nature of the protagonist particularly well. The role was never a good fit for Jet Li, or for Sam Hui before him for that matter, but at least Jet's boyish charisma marked the character out as being fundamentally different from the other masters vying for dominance of the jianghu.

I think Kitty Zhang Yuqi does a good job as Asia The Invincible, though it's difficult to say because memories of Brigitte Lin's legendary interpretation of the role would constantly play in the background and it's hard to say whether that adds to or detracts from her actual performance. I don't think the fundamental tragedy of Asia's conflicted desires would come across as strongly if Brigitte hadn't already planted the seed, so it would be interesting to see how audiences who haven't seen the 1992 film (preferably at least four times) interpret her character.

Terence Yin is alright as the ousted leader of the Sun Moon Sect, I guess - the role doesn't really call for nuance. He is no Yen Shi-Kwan when it comes to scenery chewing, but he at least gives it a convincing nibble.

The rest of the female cast are fine but rather forgettable - two generic pretty girls and one quirky feisty girl. You could probably have swapped any of the actresses with 1000 others and got much the same result. Same for the supporting male cast to be fair, if not more so - I couldn't pick any of them out of a lineup.

INVINCIBLE SWORDSMAN is interesting as an example of Hong Kong filmmakers exploring how to leverage their past in this new world where mainland China is ascendent. Adopting the technology and aesthetic of the mainland to revisit cinematic classics whilst attempting to adapt the territory's legendary martial arts action for new audiences produces a result that's probably what you'd expect - something is lost in the translation.

Films like this will never occupy the same place in my heart as the Hong Kong wuxia I fell in love with in the 1990's, but I'm happy to see a sizeable role for Sammo Hung again - even if the film does conspire to find ways for his character to be seated as often as possible. I suppose we all need to brace for the day when even a seated Sammo is no longer available, so let's value what we can get before then.