Film Review: Invincible Swordsman 笑傲江湖 (2025) - China
Rating - 5/10
2025 Review Count - 50
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Reviewed by Andrew Chan (Film Critics Circle of Australia)
The curse of the remake haunts “Invincible Swordsman”, a film that lunges at the legacy of “The Swordsman II” (1992) with all the grace of a novice stumbling through their first sword form. Directed by novice Luo Yiwei and shepherded by producer Wong Jing—a name synonymous with Hong Kong cinema’s vibrant excess—this reimagining of “The Smiling, Proud Wanderer” saga feels less like a revival and more like a spectral echo of its predecessor. The 1992 original, a wuxia fever dream propelled by Jet Li’s lethal elegance and Brigitte Lin’s gender-bending magnetism, was lightning in a bottle. Here, the bottle is cracked, and the lightning has fizzled into sparks.
Huang Xiyi’s turn as Linghu Chong, the swordsman yearning to escape his bloody trade, lacks the roguish charm and weary gravitas the role demands. Where Jet Li once balanced vulnerability and swagger, Huang delivers a performance as flat as a practice blade. Zhang Yuqi, as the enigmatic Eastern Unbeaten (a gender-swapped riff on the original’s villain/ally), fares better, though her presence is shackled by a script that reduces her to cryptic smirks and billowing robes. The supporting cast—including a gruffly endearing Sammo Hung—flits in and out like extras in a pageant, their potential drowned in a sea of undercooked subplots.
Wong Jing’s fingerprints are evident in the film’s garish spectacle: crimson-drenched sets, whirling CGI swords, and fight sequences choreographed with more enthusiasm than coherence. Yet the chaos lacks the madcap ingenuity of his '90s heyday. The plot, a tangle of sect rivalries and identity twists, feels rushed even at 119 minutes, as though the film itself is desperate to exit the jianghu it so laboriously constructs.
For all its flaws, there are flickers of fun—a delirious tavern brawl, a moonlit duel—that hint at what might have been. But these moments crumble under the weight of comparison. Brigitte Lin Ching-hsia’s iconic Eastern Unbeaten wasn’t just a character; she was a revolution, a symbol of queer defiance etched in scarlet and shadow. Michelle Reis and Rosamund Kwan didn’t just act; they ignited the screen with wit and longing. This remake, by contrast, mistakes nostalgia for ambition, mistaking a pale reflection for a worthy successor.
In the end, “Invincible Swordsman” is less a sword piercing the heart of wuxia than a blade dulled by its own timidity. It asks, “Why remake a classic?” - and offers no answer. (Neo, 2025)