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Special Features
- Interactive Game
- Music Video
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Take the art direction and set design from The Crow and Batman. Add a male-bonding element reminiscent of The Killer or Hard-Boiled. Stir in a plot line about some top-secret near-invincible bionic-man superwarriors taking over the drug trade in Hong Kong, with only one man who can stop them. Season with a high body count, lots of explosions and running gun battles, and spectacular hand-to-hand fight sequences. Top off with a soupçon of cheesy comic relief and a generous helping of atrocious dubbing. Bake for too long, then remove from oven and allow to cool until thoroughly stale. The result: Black Mask. Sure, it's a preposterous recipe (bet you didn't know that LED readouts will show up on an X-ray), but it's stylishly prepared and presented, with high-octane editing, wild camera angles, and a neo-Goth feel all around. Of course it's all about the remarkable Jet Li, the fight scenes, and the postindustrial art direction. Those who come expecting a high-concept, intelligent thriller will be left with indigestion, but Hong Kong action fans who live and die for insane stunts and head-spinning martial arts scenes will have their appetites sated by this dish. It's very interesting to see the influence that John Woo's hand continues to have on American and HK action thrillers, years after his seminal films with Chow Yun-fat. It'll be even more interesting to see how films like Black Mask hold up in the future. Just don't take it too seriously and this movie works just fine. Oh, and the title? It comes from when Jet Li switches from his mild-mannered librarian persona to butt-kicking superhero, complete with mask and hat à la The Green Hornet's Cato. --Jerry Renshaw
Product Description
High-energy action saga stars Jet Li as an artificially-enhanced super-soldier who escapes from the military and tries to live a peaceful life as a librarian. When he discovers that some of his former comrades are killing Hong Kong's top druglords and attempting to take over their business, Li becomes a masked vigilante, teaming with his police detective pal to beat the unstoppable killing machines. With Lau Ching Wan, Francoise Yip. 102 min. Widescreen; Soundtrack: English 5.1; Subtitles: English; theatrical trailer; TV spots; music video; scene access.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray
This is a review for the blu-ray version of this Black Mask movie. I was really looking forward to this movie coming out on blu-ray and was very disappointed in it when I finally got the chance to watch it. I loved this movie when it came out on dvd with its "campy" storyline and martial arts action. This blu-ray version is barely an improvement over the dvd. I watched this on a PS3 system and hdtv with an Onkyo TX-SR606 receiver and a decent set of surround sound speakers so I was able to take advantage of the 7.1 DTS HD Master Audio soundtrack available on the disc. The video was very "grainy" looking and barely looked "cleaned up" at all. I put in my standard dvd version of this movie and could hardly see any difference at all between the two. The sound wasn't much of an improvement either. The background music sounded pretty flat throughout the movie and the only improvements were in the explosions and some of the higher action sequences. Whoever did the blu-ray transfer of this film really "dropped the ball" on this one. As far as the movie itself, if you have never seen it, you are in for a treat and a fun ride with this one. For those of you who have seen the movie and were looking for a high-quality upgrade, I would recommend renting it first to see how you like it before shelling out the bucks to purchase a copy.
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
This movie is incomparable. I saw it three times in theaters and each time converted a new, previously sceptical friend. Jet is as endearing as ever, but more importantly, the fight scenes cannot be matched. They had to write Jet's character's superhuman background into the story simply to justify how fast he moves. You won't be disappointed.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I can’t remember ever seeing a superhero Hong Kong action movie. You would think it would be something obvious to do considering the dynamic action styling of Hong Kong action films. Sounds like a good idea? Well The Black Mask delivers on that idea. Combine insane stunt work and martial arts choreography along with a masked crime fighter and you get a superhero movie with action that will put Hollywood to shame.
As with many superhero movies the plot isn’t what you call complex or involved. It is just a simple super-villain-with-a-master-plan kind of affair here. The interesting thing about Black Mask is what they do in between the fight scenes and evil plots. You get a good look at the relationships between our hero and his friends and co-workers. Things like a fledgling romance and conflicts of interest with friends actually work here. After a bit of character development the plot thickens and the bullets start to fly. This isn’t high art on the script side, but then again if you shouldn’t be expecting that in the first place. Hong Kong action films aren’t known for gripping stories, just high-flying action. At least here you get a solid story, solid back story, with all the action goodness.
Okay lets get to the nitty gritty. The Black Mask is a martial arts film at its core, and I gotta tell you the martial arts rock. The choreography done in the fight scenes are not only tight but they are fast and furious. Jet Li definitely shows his stuff on this one along with a few other martial artists. It puts just about every fight scene from Hollywood to shame. This movie obviously pays homage to Bruce Lee’s Kato character from the Green Hornet television shows. The special effects do go crazy at times with all the explosions, blood and body parts flying around. Even crazier are seeing some things like colored smoke for no reason and Silly String (yes… Silly String). The English dubbing isn’t great, but to be honest it’s not any worse than your average foreign film dub.
Basically this movie is for action fans and fans of Hong Kong martial arts movies. It’s an entertaining blend of science fiction, police drama, kung fu and of course superhero genres that make this an enjoyable popcorn movie. Granted it’s not going to look polished for the average viewer, but if you like martial arts and cool superheroes I recommend The Black Mask.
As with many superhero movies the plot isn’t what you call complex or involved. It is just a simple super-villain-with-a-master-plan kind of affair here. The interesting thing about Black Mask is what they do in between the fight scenes and evil plots. You get a good look at the relationships between our hero and his friends and co-workers. Things like a fledgling romance and conflicts of interest with friends actually work here. After a bit of character development the plot thickens and the bullets start to fly. This isn’t high art on the script side, but then again if you shouldn’t be expecting that in the first place. Hong Kong action films aren’t known for gripping stories, just high-flying action. At least here you get a solid story, solid back story, with all the action goodness.
Okay lets get to the nitty gritty. The Black Mask is a martial arts film at its core, and I gotta tell you the martial arts rock. The choreography done in the fight scenes are not only tight but they are fast and furious. Jet Li definitely shows his stuff on this one along with a few other martial artists. It puts just about every fight scene from Hollywood to shame. This movie obviously pays homage to Bruce Lee’s Kato character from the Green Hornet television shows. The special effects do go crazy at times with all the explosions, blood and body parts flying around. Even crazier are seeing some things like colored smoke for no reason and Silly String (yes… Silly String). The English dubbing isn’t great, but to be honest it’s not any worse than your average foreign film dub.
Basically this movie is for action fans and fans of Hong Kong martial arts movies. It’s an entertaining blend of science fiction, police drama, kung fu and of course superhero genres that make this an enjoyable popcorn movie. Granted it’s not going to look polished for the average viewer, but if you like martial arts and cool superheroes I recommend The Black Mask.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Best BD edition of the film
I like this Jet Li film. Enjoyable and violent action scenes. I like the fight scenes. Some of the special effects are dated, but this is how it is. Read more
Published 1 month ago by LoBo
Black Mask
One of the best action movies that Jet Li has done. With his Martial Arts
and sci-fi effects it's very good.
and sci-fi effects it's very good.
Published 21 months ago by Carlos
Jet-Li In Black Mask
This DVD plays one of Jet-li older Movies the BlackMask. The movie come out in the earlyer 1990s in Hong Kong and was released laster in the United States in 2000 dubbed. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Long Underwear Man
Jet Li masked
I like the story of Squad 701, superhuman people. The cop in this film does a real good job. Jet Li does some great martial arts work, as always. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Gladys C. Perkins
AMERICA'S CRITIC
JET LI BRINGS THE LIFE TO THIS FLICK,, JET LI IS JUST INCREDIBLE IF YOU LIKE THIS MOVIE GO CHECK OUT THE DRAGON DYNASTY FILMS AND ALL OTHER JET LI MOVIES THEY ARE ALL ALMOST JUST... Read more
Published 23 months ago by David R. Lingard
Jet Li The Black Mask
This is one of the best films that Jet Li made.
Published on March 10, 2010 by Norman Joya
Classic Jet-Li
If you like Jet-Li you are sure to like this movie. Some people may have a problem with the voice overs. Read more
Published on March 2, 2010 by Eric Sutton
Chinese ozzy takes on jet li! in hi-def? Maybe...
So I enjoyed the dvd version of this movie and saw amazon had the blu-ray on sale for half price so i bit. Read more
Published on January 12, 2010 by Kelly J. Kristek
Jet Li is awesome!!!
Most definitely one of Jet Li's best movies. The things he does in this movie are extraordinary. This man never disappoints, I'm glad to be a fan of his.
Published on October 20, 2009 by Y. Hughes
GREAT FILM FROM JET
Great film,though the transfer reflects the period.
Its pretty accurate to how the film looked in the Chinese Cinema
where I worked a few years ago. Read more
Its pretty accurate to how the film looked in the Chinese Cinema
where I worked a few years ago. Read more
Published on February 5, 2009 by Paul Scott
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