Tai ji yuan gong

Supervillains in Kung Fu movies are invaribly the coolest parts of the genre, because they are nearly always impervious and superior, both in intelligence and fighting ability, to anyone else. Their power is generated through sheer force and will, and only the hero(es) preternatural lust for revenge usually defeats these awesome Kung Fu menaces.

In BORN INVINCIBLE, you get probably the most bizarre, yet realistic, supervillain in the whole of the genre. Carter Wong's Tai Chi training (a style developed by a woman), starting from a small child, results in iron skin, snow-white hair, and a high, feminine voice. This Tai Chi master becomes an unstoppable thug-chieftain who can fight a deadly duel and, simultaneously, carve a Chinese yin-yang symbol in the earth with his feet. This powerful supervillain operates from a source of disipline that is downright scary; Wong is entirely invincible but for his one weak point. When you see how relentless Wong's killer-master is, you can't help but relate to the terror in the heroes' faces when they have to take him on. Fact is, if not for the honor of their school, which is paramount to the students trying to take revenge for Wong's murder of their teacher, nobody would mess with the Tai Chi master, since it is considered by the most learned monks to be certain death.

What separates Joe Kuo film villains, characters like Wong's and the great Ghost-Faced Killer from MYSTERY OF CHESS BOXING, is that Kuo puts one scene in there to show us the supervillain is also human. Wong's character is stopped from a killing rampage at one point by a white-haired nun, and there's a moment when Wong seems to reflect on what he IS, a killer, as opposed to what he trained to become, an otherworldly kind of priest attuned to nature and the inner forces like the nun. The fact that Wong won't, or can't, stem his bloodlust and sadism is his undoing. There's a lot going on in BORN INVINCIBLE aside from the superior fighting skill of the actors. One of the best Kung Fu films based merely on this unusual depth of character, and a knock-out all the way.

This is one of the rare kungfu movies ever made in Hong Kong. Nothing is boring here : interesting script, direct and efficient scenery, good acting. But what makes this movie so good is the fightscenes that are inventively and beautifully choreographed. Not only it's very good but it's also very hard-to-find. Dammage.

This is one of the best kung-fu films I have seen. The originality, which is common in kung-fu films, is astounding. The characters are great; Carter Wong is awesome as the villain. A classic kung-fu film.

Carter Wong grows a pair of white eyebrows and becomes the most iconic villain of all martial arts movies – the invulnerable white eyebrows character. I have been watching every martial arts movie ever made in chronological order from 1967 and my first notice of a white eyebrows villain was in 1968 in "The Swordsman of All Swordsmen". More famous invulnerable white eyebrows villains include Hwang Jang Lee and Lo Lieh. The rules of the villain also state that he does have one vulnerable spot that he can move around by will according to the time of day. This superpower is associated with a martial arts practice called Taiji Qigong that is an advanced part of the popular kung fu style usually referred to as Tai Chi in the East. None of the fights show real Tai Chi. Technically, a lot more is lost in the translation. The English dub oversimplifies the line "You must strike when he is not himself." The ability to shift one's vulnerable spot is always associated with the time of day. In the movie the shadow of the sword is shown to represent that factor. When he is not himself is not really when he is laughing. Every villain has that same laugh. A more accurate translation would be along the line of "You must strike when he does something a Qigong practitioner would never do – display overconfidence." As a practicing martial artist for most of my life I tend to notice details like this and they usually don't take any enjoyment away from the typical audience. Another thing I have over thought about the invulnerable villain is why no one ever thinks of dropping a net over him. Also the villain acts just like Superman in the old TV series when he stands tall to deflect bullets but then ducks when the empty gun is thrown at him. If he was really invulnerable he would not have to block or avoid any weapon or blow, he could just attack and nothing else. Nobody wants to see that fight choreography though so I will stop now. Many other reviewers have called this the best martial arts movie they have ever seen. I'm happy to read that but I encourage them to see more. I respect your opinion but there are many more movies out there and I am sure you will find other movies that are better.

Born Invincible was the first martial arts film I have ever seen. It has been 16 years ago since I saw it. When I was browsing a DVD sellpoint I noticed they had Born Invincible on DVD. Needless to say that I immediately ordered it because I was curious to see whether it's still good. And yes, it's still that good. The dubbing of the movie is very bad if I look at it realistically but it is very funny. Carter Hwang and his bad guy partner in crime really have ridiculous voices that don't fit with the persons they are portraying. Very cool. The action in the movie is really great. Carter Hwang is really good as the bad guy. He kicks some serious you know what. Sometimes I wonder whether the makers of Terminator looked at Carter Hwang because Carter Hwang really reminds me of the Terminator in the sense that he is nearly unstoppable. If you want a classic Hong Kong movie with great action then Born Invincible is the movie for you. As far as I am concerned the movie stands out among a lot of Hong Kong movies released between 1974 and 1984.