Forced to Fight (1971) User Reviews

I have the power of the Green Eyed Dragon & nothing on Earth can match it, nothing!" So bad it's good?

[poolandrews · 5/10 · 19 November 2006]

Invincible Super Chan starts as the Invincible Super Chan himself pitches up outside the oriental home of May Yan Chung who has been a very naughty boy because he killed the Invincible Super Chan's master & for that transgression he must die. After the Invincible Super Chan has dealt with Chung & his fat bald Brother he becomes the most feared fighter in China. Chung's daughter Ling is understandably upset that her entire family has been wiped out by the Invincible Super Chan & sets about gaining her own revenge, or at least I think that's what happened in this film...

This Hong Kong production was directed by Sun Yan & it is either the biggest piece of crap ever or the most entertaining & hilarious martial arts film I've ever seen, I personally think it's somewhere between the two. The script, by someone whom I can't name-check because there are no credits on Invincible Super Chan, basically has no story other than constant fights involving the Invincible Super Chan & he is invincible for reasons that were never explained. He manages to fight & kill literally 100's of guys during this film in all manner of bizarre ways that have to be seen to be believed. The Invincible Super Chan can also jump over 100 feet up into the air & land on top of a cliff! Your jaw will drop as you watch Invincible Super Chan, it defies logical rationalisation & is certainly a unique way to spend 90 odd minutes. The character's are cardboard cutouts & just about as useful, the dialogue is hilariously bad & the film doesn't make much sense overall but it moves along like a rocket as there is fight after fight after fight before it ends as the Invincible Super Chan rides off on horseback into the sunset minus his left arm.

Director Yan tries to inject plenty of violence, action, fights & bizarre moments in his film although it's quite poorly made at times with some terrible editing, special effects & lacklustre fights. There are scenes where the Invincible Super Chan throws bad guys into trees & they get stuck on the branches, he shoves a rock into some guys mouth & then pushes his face down into the ground so he swallows the rock, he jumps up the face of cliffs, he fights bad guys who have killer springs, one can surf across water on his flag pole (he can also make fish magically disappear) & who can forget the samurai dwarf & his mate who fights with a deadly abacus! Seriously, I'm not joking. All that strangeness along with dozens of silly looking gravity defying jumps, leaps & somersault's can be found in Invincible Super Chan, quite astonishing stuff. The fights aren't that well choreographed & look daft more than anything else. Apparently this was banned in over 30 countries, well maybe back in '72 when it was made but not these days because although there's plenty of fights & a fair amount of blood it's not overly graphic, someone is sliced in two, the Invincible Super Chan has his arm sliced off (not that it bothers him), & there are various impalings but little else as it doesn't come anywhere near the likes of Shogun Assassin (1980).

Technically Invincible Super Chan is a little rough around the edges, there's a hilarious moment where the Invincible Super Chan is talking to his wife against a sunset but the sunset, sky & clouds are a painted backdrop & you can see the actors shadows on the sun! I liked the locations & costumes which looked suitably ancient & oriental. The acting is hard to call as it was shot in Cantonese & badly dubbed into English, Invincible Super Chan is absolutely hilarious to listen too with some really awful dialogue.

Invincible Super Chan is a film which is hard to call, it makes for terrific entertainment but in all honesty it's a poor film in every other regard. Good for some laughs but little else I'm afraid.

Not that this movie needs another review but anyway

[ckormos1 · 5/10 · 14 January 2018]

If my martial arts teacher died because he was unable to defend himself in a fight I would reconsider my own abilities and find a new and much better teacher. That's why they never made one of these movies about me. There are two easy ways to make a bad movie worse. First is failing to get to the point. Chan could have had his revenge in the first scene yet the movie goes on and on introducing new reasons to delay the duel. Second is to take a poorly executed fight sequence and chop it up to make it jerky and missing frames. This happened as a result of the need to placate censorship for violence in different countries. Also two effects need to be avoided. If a sword through the chest needs to be shown then putting the sword in the actor's armpit doesn't fool anybody. And cutting a person in half, top down, always looks stupid. The only good thing I found was that the lead actor, David Tang Wei, though obviously not a martial artist seemed to do all of the action sequences without a stunt double. Some sequences were quite long without a cut but that was misleading because though long there were few actual moves. For me this was a watch it once, write a review, never watch it again experience.

Almost banned martial arts

[zx3 · 31 January 2003]

So they say this movie was banned in several countries. So as I watched I tried to figure out why.. Well this plot is rather weak in that the normal "master" gets killed and the revenge thing happens.. Yet the twist this time is that this guy seems un-stoppable because of this so called sword that he has.. The fight scenes are rather weak and laffable compared to other films of this type.. What sets this one apart from a lot of the others is some of the so called Special Effects in the fights.. one example is when "Super Chan" seems to have a vertical jump of say 50 or 60 feet easily. He fights 100's of men in what seems like some sort of thing to make the movie a lot longer than it should be. You have a small love interest in the film with sad lookin backgrounds. I can on recommend this movie to anyone lookin for something different that they can laff at and poke fun at. AS you can't take it all serious. I think the reason is was banned as some of the fight scenes are pretty violent and bloody with some of these men being killed in really strange ways. I have already added this film to my collection as one to keep.. At least it is not as bad as Kung Pow.. If that is telling you anything..

So bad it is awful

[Angel_Peter · 1/10 · 20 June 2019]

This movie have it all. Bad editing. Bad acting. Bad fighting scenes. Actually I cannot find one redeeming feature about this movie.It is not even short to spare the pain. I am not an expert in so bad it is good movies. But this one I just found trashy in the boring way. Where in many of these Asian fighting movies they are extremely "powerful" this guy is nearly like superman. Maybe you can enjoy that.I did not.

hilarious

[LexLuthor · 7/10 · 12 May 2002]

Lighten up, if you found this page, or this film, then you know what to expect from Invincible Super Chan and films like it. No one wanders into a video store expecting Citizen Kane II from this kind of film.

But if you expect outrageously silly kung-fu action along with nonsense dialogue and awful dubbing, than this is a movie for you. This is the kind of movie that you rent on a night with nothing to do, drink some beers, and laugh yourself silly as you watch ISC (as you will learn to refer to him) fly over mountains and generally whoop the bad dudes.

Fun film

Mack Sennett meets Tsui Hark

[winner55 · 8/10 · 29 July 2006]

The packaging says this was banned in Asia for its violence; however, what we have here in the American dubbed release appears to be a censoring re-edit, because I've seen worse violence in films, and the editing in action sequences here seem intended to pare away pro-longed blood-letting.

Not that the uncensored edits are any much better; still, I continue to hope that one day I will be able to see this film in all its original pristine gore.

How bad is this film, just as a film? well, the hero and his wife are standing at the grave of the hero's teacher at sunset - at least, the painted backdrop behind them appears to be that of the setting sun - how do we know it's a painted backdrop? because when the hero walks in front of it, the spotlight casts his shadow ON the sun! They just don't make suns like they used to, I guess.

Actually, one has to get into a kind of weird "Mack Sennett meets Tsui Hark" kind of groove to enjoy this film. It's definitely a silent movie that somehow got made in the sound-film era; and it's definitely a wild wire-works ride through the realm of magical sword-fighting in ancient China - you can even see the wires attached to mannequins flying about pretending to be sword-fighters.

Oh, well, I might as well admit that I just have a soft spot for cinematic moments when people are killed by having rocks shoved down their throats.

Eight stars for entertainment value, but only for real connoisseurs.

Strangely Compelling

[masercot · 8/10 · 24 October 2005]

Many will condemn this movie for its poor quality, bad editing and sporadic plot; however, those who do cannot understand the beauty of a truly bad movie. This is a truly bad movie. So bad that I have seen it a half dozen times.

Somebody killed Chan's teacher. Chan wants revenge. The only thing that stands between himself and that noble goal is about five hundred people, variously armed. After he gets his revenge, he still has to defeat a man brandishing a slinky.

Nothing is good about the movie: Chan is a non-dynamic character whose fighting ability is less Jackie Chan than it is Jackie Onasis. It looks as if, at a certain point in the movie, the editor simply gives up and goes home, leaving editing in the capable hands of pure random chance. The women are as ugly as mud fences that have been painstakingly sculpted to look like really ugly Chinese women. The villains are gay, frail or just plain stupid.

But, like a cryptogram, you realize that there must be something hidden in this movie...something deep...the key to the meaning of life, perhaps.

I let my twelve year old watch it for the first time this weekend. Between the two of us and several watchings, we should get it figured out...

Under rated

[TheBodyHammer · 8/10 · 31 May 2007]

I first watched Invincible Super Chan when I was roughly 14 years old, and it was one of the earlier wuxia films I bought. I've seen many, many more now, and yet years later I always go back to this one. Maybe its the fact that it was banned in 34 countries. Maybe its the fact that human beings are randomly brutalized in multiple forms of bloody dismemberment. I think what really keeps me interested are the special effects: for 1970 this one really is quite technically impressive. Chan seamlessly jumps off cliffs while throwing bombs at hordes of baddies, he teleports, and his arch nemesis even surfs across a river on a flag! It ultimately ends with him beheading him, and yet somehow his head keeps functioning while its on the sand! How'd they do it?!

So bad its awesome

[paytejeremiah · 8/10 · 28 January 2016]

Its so bad its good. Recommend you watch it with friends and/ or adult beverages. Bad acting. Bad filming. Bad plot. Bad script. Bad effects. its truly one for the record books.Its so bad its good.

It follows a vengeful fighter who swares revenge on his teachers killer. once he kills him he is conciderd the greatest figher of all, therefore he is challenged by others till his family is attacked and he is forced to fight what seems to be his final fight. The death toll is sky high with Chan killing about 100 men in one battle. But besides the over all slaughter, the martial arts seemed slow, and there were no fancy techniques or shapes, it just seemed like a bunch of angry drunk guys kicking and punching. It's worth watching just to say you saw it, but i don't think it's classic material. then again, it may be what your lookin for, all you can do is watch:)