Louis Cha’s ‘The Smiling, Proud Wanderer’ gets another loose adaptation with ‘Invincible Swordsman’. It’s only director Luo Yiwei’s second film as director – what a story to adapt as your sophomore effort – and the results are surprisingly good.
Linghu Chong and his contemporaries are happy to live their life in relative solitude on Hua Mountain, far from the complications of the martial world. Unfortunately, such separation is not possible and the clan is drawn into a battle between an evil cult and the rest of the martial world on the side of the latter. Linghu befriends a beautiful woman on his travels, unaware that she is the notorious Invincible East, leader of the cult, while his allies plan to free the one man who might be able to challenge the encroaching villainy, namely imprisoned leader Ren Woxing. Yet Linghu learns that the situation is far from straightforward and that those he fights for might have their own dark agenda.
Quite by accident, I rewatched the Ching Siu-Tung/Jet Li masterpiece ‘Swordsman II’ a few weeks ago. It had been a decade since I last watched it and, perhaps after being beaten down by what cinema has become, I appreciated it even more. The look, the style, the action and the performances – everything combined perfectly to create a wonderful piece of swordplay cinema, a reminder of just how great Hong Kong cinema was in its heyday. ‘Invincible Swordsman’ is not ‘Swordsman II’ – the latter being fresh in my mind throughout assured me of this – yet it is a very decent take on the story.
I say ‘very decent take on the story’ but ‘Invincible Swordsman’ is more a remake of ‘Swordsman II’ than a faithful adaptation of the Louis Cha novel; I haven’t read it, but a quick look through a synopsis of ‘The Smiling, Proud Wanderer’ assures me of that. And while this modern remake lacks the greatness of the Jet Li film, it is peppered with quality throughout. The action is slick and just about gets the balance right between computer effects and practical choreography, while the cast are appealing; Zhang Yiqi isn’t the iconic Brigitte Lin but is certainly bewitching in her own way. ‘Invincible Swordsman’ tells a complex story efficiently and, though computer backdrops are, sadly, prevalent, there are some arresting outdoor scenes.
The problem with ‘Invincible Swordsman’ is that it isn’t ‘Swordsman II’ and this is quite a problem when the former is so keen to ape the latter. Scenes are played exactly the same beat-for-beat, twists occur at exactly the same time and even some of the cast are prone to caricature the performances of the original players rather than make the role their own (Terence Yin is a bit too eager to be Yen Shi-Kwan). ‘Invincible Swordsman’ also lacks that exquisite visual style that ‘Swordsman II’ had and the complete contrast is a sad reminder that most modern cinema will never aspire to look as beautiful as the classics. It’s easier to get the post production to do most of the work than set up long, luxurious camera shots utilising lighting, filters and artistry. That isn’t a slight on director Luo Yiwei who presents results that exceeded my expectations, more of a comment about how films look today.
The other problem with what is a film I would otherwise recommend is perhaps bias on my part. However good the cast is, they aren’t Jet Li, Rosamund Kwan, Brigitte Lin, Yen Shi-Kwan and so on. These are generational actors, ones who are woven into the fabric of the greatest era of Hong Kong cinema and, for many of us, are unlikely to be matched. Alongside this, the action, as diverting as it is, can never be that majestic mix of wirework, flowing camera work and genuine physical aptitude; ‘Swordsman II’ is still breathtaking and contains sequences that can never be forgotten. Nevertheless, despite these criticisms, ‘Invincible Swordsman’ is an above average, entertaining and exciting take on the classic story. Worth watching and, on a side note after Shout Factory recently acquired the Cinema City/Golden Princess catalogue, let’s hope we get a gorgeous 4k release of the Swordsman trilogy soon.
Well Go USA will release ‘Invincible Swordsman’ on US Blu-ray, DVD and Digital on August 19, 2025. You can order it now from Amazon.com and Hi-YAH!.
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