The Invincible

縱
橫
天
下
Zòng héng tiān xià
The Invincible

A swordsman's quest to kill a Mongol leader
becomes complicated when he falls in love
with the demented despot's sister.

Sit Hon

There are many lunatic elements in this wǔxiápiàn.
For example, the silly sped-up scenes of Wang Yu
galloping around like Gene Autry or The Lone Ranger.
And even to those who have resigned themselves to hearing
spaghetti western music in wǔxiápiàn,
the use of the theme from Shaft simply goes too far beyond
what is sense, sanity, and sound.

The true Wang Yu fan will filter out these bizarre bits,
and concentrate on the solid and substantial.
Aside from the riding scenes,
Wang Yu's portrayal of a hero is perfectly fine.
Moreover, there are outstanding performances
by Sit Hon and Ma Kei.

Ma Kei

The best reason to watch this movie? The romance.

Gǔ qín.

Indeed, it's worth weathering the weird parts
just to witness the look on Helen Ma's face
when the lovers get a chance
to see each other again, in a bamboo grove.
And it's best to turn off the movie at this happy point,
to avoid the needlessly tragic ending.