Customer Reviews

Black Mask [VHS]

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(20)
2 star:		(17)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

The effects are really great. However, I don't like the rap-like music. Jet Li plays Tsui Chik (Michael in the American version), an ex-member of the 701 Squad, who has his nervous system removed through surgery, along with the other 701 members. Tsui had excaped from mainland China and moved to Hong Kong under another identity (this movie was filmed in 1996, at that time, Hong Kong still belonged to the UK). That's when he realizes that the 701 Squad has caused devastating crimes there. He realizes that he must do something to stop them, or the whole world is doomed.

My favorite scenery is the one near the end, when Tsui Chik battles the leader of the 701 Squad, the guy with the long hair and dark glasses. As stated earlier, both of their nervous systems were removed, so they fought without pain. Pretty awesome, huh?

If you haven't seen this movie, please see it (despite the fact that it's rated R).

I'm a great fan of Jet Li, and I've seen most of his movies since I love his action scenes and his acting: whether it's serious, hillarious, good, or evil. I own some of his movies, and I recently purchased this movie thinking it would be somewhat like "Batman." Well, my expectation was completely off, but in a negative way. Since I bought a Chinese version, which did not contain the "rap" other people were talking about, the sound effect was ok. It was the plot and action scenes that blew. Jet Li had few fighting scenes throughout the film and those were quite disappointing knowing his abilities from previous movies. The director, Tsui Hark, who also teamed up with Li in OUTIC series, "High Risk," and so on, was able to display great fighting scenes and good plot. This film, which was particularly aimed at American viewers, was a disappointing one. It's not worth buying, but it would not hurt to watch it to see if you want to see Jet Li getting beaten up :) If you want to see Jet Li's good movies, watch "Fong Sai Yuk I & II," "Fist of Legend," "My Father is a Hero," "Bodyguard from Beijing," and the movies mentioned above. Thank you for taking your time viewing my review^^

"Black Mask" is one of several Hong Kong action movies that immediately predates the Matrix trilogy, and influenced the trilogy on a superficial level. It stars Jet Li (who's done much better things) as a superpowered vigillante, and features lots of camera trickery and wirework. The characters tend to wear black trenchcoats, fight kung-fu in midair, and several important showdowns occur on rooftops in the rain (just like in "The Matrix")! I enjoyed this fun film a lot, due to its extremely fast pace and incredibly clever stunts. I would recommend, however, other Jet Li films such as "Once Upon A Time in China" and "Romeo Must Die" if you are new to Jet Li's movies.

I am a huge fan of Jet Li and am disgusted from this movie. Jet Li has so much talent and could do so much better. If you are not a Jet Li fan you may find this movie greatly entertaining, If you are a Jet Li fan you will be nearly sick. There is one good fight scene and it is very short. If you follow Jet Li movies you probably characterize him as some sort of super being. It is quite amusing to see Jet Li preform acrobatic confrontations against people weaker than him and several near equals in a film. In this movie every opponent is a super being. Basically its Jet Li starting a stunt only to be countered by a fifty year old man on wires. The mere sight of a old man kick off a wall, fly twenty feet on wires to kick an immobile Jet Li in the head made me wince. If you want some good martial arts movies buy The Enforcer, and Fist of Legend.

Sometimes I wonder why American studios even try to make action-packed martial arts thrillers; they just cannot compete with the great films churned out by Hong Kong studios. Black Mask is an underappreciated, high octane, exhilarating motion picture. How could it not be, as it combines the untouchable martial arts skills of Jet Li, the directorial genius the great Tsui Hark, the fight choreography of the renowned Yuen Woo Ping, the comparatively high Hong Kong budget of ten million dollars, and virtually nonstop action? Granted, the film was given an audio makeover on its way to America, but the dubbing is very well done and the hip-hop soundtrack keeps your blood pumping even when no one is fighting. This is not to say I would have preferred to see the film in its original format, with subtitles, but Black Mask delivers more bang for the buck than anything coming out of American studios. Originally released in 1996 as Hak Hap, this movie made the jump to America three years later, just after Jet Li had made his American debut in Lethal Weapon IV. The film does have a comic-book superhero feel to it, thanks largely to the Kato-like black mask the hero wears, but the storyline is actually quite impressive and easy to follow (although the master plan of the baddies seems a little out-there) . Some reviewers don't seem to care for Black Mask, but I thought it was terrific.

Jet Li plays Michael, a former member of an elite, genetically enhanced fighting group known as the 701 Squad; after helping his fellow soldiers escape, he wants nothing more to do with killing. Now adopting the name Simon, he is a mild-mannered librarian perfectly content with his new life. Then the killings start. Someone is offing all of the drug lords in Hong Kong, which doesn't necessarily sound like a bad thing, even to Simon's buddy Inspector "Rock" Sheck (Ching Wan Lau). Still, the detective has to put an end to the carnage and becomes the lead man on the case. Simon realizes that his old 701 Squad is carrying out the attacks, and he takes action in order to save his friend Rock. No one else can stop these bad guys, so Simon dons a black mask to hide his identity, and starts laying the smacketh down from one side of the island to the other.

The action never stops, and Tsui Hark does more with ten million dollars than most filmmakers could do with ten times that amount. I'm talking carnage, people - huge explosions, gunfire by the truckload, and incredibly wicked fighting - oftentimes in the most precarious of places. At least half of the police force must get killed as this movie progresses, and the bad guys fare even worse; in one scene, the stiffs are stacked up one on top of the other. Hark is a genius when it comes to presenting incredible action in the most unusual of ways and from the most unconventional of angles, and Jet Li is at his very best, exhibiting the smoothness and rapid-fire movements of the Wushu style he mastered long ago. The supporting characters also bring a lot to the movie, from the delightful love interest Tracy Lee (Karen Mok) to genetically engineered superbabe Cailyn (Francoise Yip) to hard-nosed cop and all-around tough guy "Rock" to the super-evil Commander Hung (Kong Lung) (who, for reasons I can't explain, dresses like Ozzy Osbourne). With a greater than average gore quotient, Black Mask has everything I want in a martial arts film.

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.
A lot of the Chinese Hong Kong films were badley proccessed ,especially the cheaper Production Companys.
The print is quite sharp and looks better on Bluray than the standard release

Its dubbed in English,very good job,though it would be nice to have the Hong Kong and Subs version,which is slightly longer and edited differantly.
I have the Hong Kong VCD.
Reccomended

When they decided to import this video over to amaerica they could have turned off a lot of people to one of the greatest action stars of our time. The import this movie when I can't even buy a copy of "Tai Chi Master"? If you want to see Jet Li don't bother with this movie because it really sucked. Get a hold of "Tai Chi Master", "Iron Monkey"... those are truly great action films.