One of the earliest releases from the then newly formed Golden Harvest (set up with the intention of rivalling the then domineering Shaw Brothers!), ‘The Invincible Eight’ may not be the best the studio has released but it’s not bad for an early effort and still a heap of fun.

A group of eight men and women (Nora Miao, Lee Kwan, James Tien, Lydia Shum, Angela Mao, Tang Ching, Paul Chang Chung and Patrick Tse) band together to form an elite squad of warriors to go after and ultimately eliminate an evil military general (Hang Ying-Chieh). The group are all gifted fighters but find their skills tested to daunting limits as the General’s army of whip-wielding guards prove incredibly formidable, forcing the eight to find strength and courage they didn’t know they were capable of to defeat the General and his army.

Helmed by Lo Wei (‘The Big Boss’), who Golden Harvest had poached from Shaw Brothers, ‘The Invincible Eight’ is fast and frothy fun enlivened by a great and game cast. The narrative may be relatively slight, though the heroes go through many confrontations with the whip-weaponed bad guys before being able to thwart them in a spectacular showdown. Co-choreographed by a young Sammo Hung (he also plays one of the whip-wielding guards), the epic weapons-based (sword vs whip!) final confrontation is some great old-school action. What comes before is a bit rushed and occasionally sloppy, though the whip-based action does give the movie a unique slant for its fight action.

Of the cast, Nora Miao, Angela Mao and Lydia Shum really shine as the ferocious fighting females of the group and Hang Ying-Chieh (‘New Fist of Fury’) is great as the despicable General. Nicely shot on location with some impressive sets, ‘The Invincible Eight’ looks the part and holds up well in this newly restored version by Eureka. A fun if somewhat forgettable fight film from the early days of Golden Harvest, buoyed by an impressive cast and, come the finale, some great Sammo Hung-flavoured action.