Director: Daniel Lee
Cast: Jet Li, Lau Ching Wan, Karen Mok, Francoise Yip, Patrick Lung, Anthong Wong, Michael Ian Lambert.
SPECIAL NOTE: This review pertains to the 1999 American version of Black Mask.
Before taking the US by storm with a killer performance as Wah Sing Ku in the action blockbuster Lethal Weapon 4, Jet Li has already established himself as a martial arts legend in Asia. Jet Li fans may remember him as Jacky Cheung’s fearless bodyguard in High Risk and/or as a father who is an undercover agent in My Father is a Hero. Some of Li’s other memorable roles included his performance as Chen Zhen, a student who must defend his master’s honor in Fist of Legend, as well as portraying Junbao, an exiled Shaolin monk in Twin Warriors (originally titled The Tai-Chi Master ). Now, in Black Mask ( Hak hap ), Jet Li stars as a superhero weapon who must defend mankind against corrupt (and badly dubbed) martial artists known as the “701 Squad.” (What an original concept!)
Being a huge Jet Li fan, I have always admired his phenomenal martial arts skills. If nothing else, I enjoy watching his movies because I know that the Jet can put on a one-man show. He displays some of the most graceful and magnificent martial arts skills ever seen by the human eye—with little or no noticeable use of wiring work. So naturally, (as was the case with Romeo Must Die, ) I had fairly high expectations of Black Mask prior to seeing it; therefore, after seeing this film, I was somewhat disappointed with the overall product. True, Black Mask delivers a few terrific, heart-pounding action scenes. However, Black Mask has committed a number of heinous cinema crimes including: bad dubbing, a soundtrack that is not music to my ears, an unimaginative plot, and tepid performances. I have certainly seen worse martial arts films in my life, but I found Black Mask to be a not-too-thrilling thrill-ride.
The Plot
Sometime in the apocalyptic future, crime in Hong Kong has risen by a couple hundred percent. As noted, the government is overwhelmed with crime running rampant in the city so they have decided to utilize a top-secret experiment. Several human guinea pigs have been injected with a special serum that will grant them superhuman capabilities such as enhanced strength and agility. As well, these guys will also receive “immunity” from pain. These guinea pigs are to become known as the 701 Squad, the government’s newest weapon against crime. Of course, being that this is a scientific experiment, side effects are bound to take place. Eventually, one of the 701 Squad members has gone berserk, killing several people for no apparent reason. The government, being as it is, decides to abort the experiment and orders the 701 Squad soldiers to be forever silenced...
The 701 Squad commandos realize that their precious lives are about to be terminated so they decide to enlist one of their own men, Michael (Jet Li) to divert the security guards while the rest of the squad escapes. Well, lucky for him, he manages to escape from the lab facility, but not without killing several slow-minded guards in the process. Unlike the rest of the squad members, Michael is the only one who has a semblance of a conscious. He hopes to leave his “past” behind him for the rest of his life, but apparently, destiny takes no prisoners...
Michael eventually starts a whole new life, working as a librarian under the alias “Simon.” He has also befriended Inspector Rock (Lau Ching Wan), who can be aptly described as the typical hard-@$$ cop. To make Simon’s life even more interesting, a goofy librarian named Tracy (Karen Mok) may or may not have a crush on Simon.
Meanwhile, drug lords left and right are being decimated by a mysterious force. Gee whiz, who can be the guys behind the brutal slaughter of these criminals and drug kingpins? Of course, once word spreads about the grisly murders of various drug lords, Simon realizes that his past has come back to haunt him. The 701 Squad—comprising of badly dubbed martial arts experts—is at it again, this time killing off a number of drug cartels in order to prove how powerful they are. No longer can Simon try to hide from his past; he must confront it with honor. Simon realizes that his destiny is to stop the 701 Squad before they kill again.
Eventually, Simon dons a slick trench-coat, dark clothing, and an enigmatic black mask. He is the newest, latest superhero...he is the legendary Black Mask!
Where Do I Begin?
Well, overall I was rather displeased with what I saw. I know, I know, Black Mask does contain some tremendous action scenes. However, you should realize that an action film cannot rely solely on the action scenes. In addition to strong action scenes, an action film needs a number of essential qualities including decent (note that I only ask for decent, NOT professional) acting, an awesome soundtrack (that consists of more than listless beats), and an adequate plot that will at least keep you interested. Unfortunately, with a couple of minor exceptions, Black Mask offers nothing other than a chance to allow experts to showcase their martial arts talents. I might as well establish the necessary rules to making a quality action film and explain whether Black Mask satisfied the criteria or not. (Despite the numerical sequence, the rules are not in any particular order.)
Rule #1: Acting is IMPORTANT!
Yes, you heard me, a half-decent action film needs to have some solid acting so that the audiences can at least care about the characters. Unfortunately, that does not seem to be the case for Black Mask. Maybe it was due to the dubbed voices, but I thought that the acting in Black Mask was just flat. In all honesty, it is tough judge the acting in this movie since the voice dubbing does take away from the acting itself, but I will try. While Jet Li is an extraordinary martial artist, he could be a much better actor. The problem here is that his character, Simon, was just unsympathetic. I know that Simon is suppose to be deprived of emotions and such, but with that in mind, this renders his character unmoving and uninteresting. Had Jet Li been a better actor, maybe his character would have been a little more sympathetic, but quite frankly, I just did not find myself rooting for the Black Mask that much—even when he was kicking butt. A flat character plus flat acting equals complete boredom.
As well, the main villain, Commander Hung (Patrick Lung) must also be one of the tamest villains ever seen on screen. The Commander could have been an intriguing character, but actor Patrick Lung sadly gave a lifeless performance. He failed to add intensity and vigor into his character. I did not see him as a manifestation of pure evil; rather, I saw him acting asinine with idealistic goals. Do not even get me started about Karen Mok’s character. She acts like a real brat! Although I admit that she is kind of cute (stop laughing), I am quite amazed at how she managed not to get on Simon’s nerves that much.
Even Anthony Wong, who usually delivers high voltage performances (see The Untold Story and Hard Boiled ), is basically in this movie only to become bait for the 701 Squad. His character, King Kau, is supposed to be sadistic and eccentric, but I ended up chuckling when he was trying to do the nasty with “Cailyn” (Francoise Yip). Speaking of Francoise Yip, I thought that she was one of the better performers in Black Mask. I was crestfallen that she did not have a better role in this film, but I felt that she delivered a strong performance as Simon’s former love interest whose loyalties may still stand with the 701 Squad. Besides, she is sexy in a sultry way!
The only performer who gave a commendable performance was Lau Ching Wan as Inspector Rock. Granted, “Rock” is the typical Dirty Harry-type cop who often uses brute force. However, the actor manages to do the impossible by making his character quite believable. Yes, Rock tends to do irrational acts, but unlike most of the other characters in this film, at least we can commiserate with him. We can understand the frustration he is going through sometimes when dealing with the murders committed by the elusive 701 Squad or dealing with the Commissioner, who can act like a real jerk. Rock character’s is actually the most interesting of the bunch. Lau Ching Wan does a good job in being able to inject life into his character; he helps shape Inspector Rock to be more like a person rather than a stock supporting character.
Overall though, the acting was sub-par, with the notable exception of Inspector Rock, and this is turn weakens Black Mask.
Rule #2: Never EVER Watch a Movie Featuring Dubbed Voices!
What is really sad is that I actually invited my girlfriend to see this movie since she happens to be a huge Jet Li fan. (It’s a long story, do not ask.) However, once she realizes (well, she knew from the start) that the voices were not matching the movement of the lips, she was just as upset as I was. However, the fact that the actor’s mouths do not match what they say is not the part that bothered me so much. Rather, it is that the dubbed voices are so damn static; these guys ought to learn how to “enunciate” so that they can convey some emotion. Never before have I ever heard a line such as, “And don’t worry Cailyn, if I don’t get out with the rest, at least I have died...on my own terms.” being delivered in such an unenthusiastic, monotone voice.
Still, if it is a way for me to comfort myself, the dubbed voices were quite funny, but very distracting. Once we were use to hearing the atrocious dubbing, my girlfriend and I ended up butchering the film, MST3k style. I must warn you though that you will end up spending a lot of your time laughing hysterically at the stupidity of hearing and seeing those pathetic dubbed voices. Personally though, I would prefer to see the original version WITH subtitles.
Rule #3: A Vibrant Musical Score is Needed to Get the Energy Flowing
What the hell happened to the soundtrack? It is bad enough that we have to suffer hearing horrendously dubbed voices. What is the point of torturing us action fans by utilizing a dreary soundtrack? As you probably realized, Black Mask contains some of the WORST music I have ever heard in my life. I like hip-hop music as much as the next guy, but the rap music in Black Mask was simply inappropriate. How can I best describe the soundtrack? It is nothing more than a melange of beats and scratches claming to be “techno” music. Occasionally, you may have the opportunity to hear a god-awful rap song that has absolutely no style. Did these guys improvise the simplistic lyrics? Anyway, the anemic music has the power to put you to sleep! That is how repellent the rap music sounds.
Unfortunately, Black Mask receives a big fat grade of “F” for providing one of the most repulsive soundtracks ever heard on film. A good action film needs a strong musical score. Take for example, the 1996 alien invasion film The Silencers. I enjoyed the action scenes even more thanks to an excellent musical score composed by Louis Febre. Had Black Mask included a more stylish, techno-style soundtrack that can correspond to the action choreography, I definitely would have enjoyed Black Mask much more significantly. Instead, the movie provides a soundtrack that is more “energy draining” rather than “energy inducing.”
Rule #4: Strong Action Scenes Are a Must!
To be fair, Black Mask includes a number of incredible action and combat scenes. The death-defying escape in the beginning, the one-on-one matches between Black Mask and Cailyn, and the violent battle scene taking place in a hospital are all worthy highlights. The production values are pretty high too, with decent sets and lots of well-timed explosions. Yet, why did the filmmakers resort to “editing” the viciously choreographed action scenes? I do not know at all, but I do know that when the “editing” takes place, the action jumps abruptly from a martial artist pulling off an impressive stunt to the opponent receiving a blow from that stunt. As well, with the “refined” editing, the focus here seems to be more on the violence and damage inflicted by the individual hits and blows rather than the artistry of the martial arts experts. A good martial arts film should not rely so much on editing; rather, they should allow the martial arts to gracefully show-off their natural talents without interference. An over-reliance on special effects and editing tricks do not make a martial arts film great; on the contrary, these effects can make the action look ersatz.
Speaking of “special effects,” if the wiring work is too conspicuous, you know you are in trouble. The action scenes in Black Mask are coordinated by Yuen Woo Ping, and indeed, he has done a marvelous job creating some of the most elaborate fight scenes ever on film. However, I do wonder if all of the wiring work is really that necessary? At times, I could actually see the wires doing some of the fight scenes! In one instance, the wires were very visible when Francoise Yip was fighting Jet Li in the warehouse. In any case, I do feel that relying too much on wires to “enhance” the look of the battle scenes can, in turn, diminish the style and flair of the choreography itself. There are plenty of strings attached here, folks!
Rule #5: It Helps to Have a Creative Plot, Imaginative Characterization, and a Good Sense of Humor.
Granted, nobody watches these movies for intricate plots, but it does help if the movie’s plot was a bit more original. The plot in Black Mask liberally borrows from Batman, T-Force, and The Green Hornet (it must be the “Kato” mask!). Ideas are sporadically thrown around, but none of them really develop into true coherence. Also, the characterizations in this film were bottom-of-the-barrel, which is attributed to fourth-rate acting. Black Mask has a few trudging moments, but the pacing is okay. As for the film’s sense of humor, it was very poor. I find it pathetic when a film has to rely on homophobic jokes and a visual gag involving a severed arm in order to elicit laughs. Still, witnessing dubbed voices always manages to make me guffaw.
Rule #6: Gratuitous Violence Does Not (Always) Make a Film Entertaining
Director Daniel Lee ostensibly tries to emulate the “aesthetic violence” portrayed in John Woo’s movies by including sick violence and lots of gore. Indeed, Black Mask includes lots of severed body parts, mouths spitting blood when punched, and machine gun mayhem. However, the violence in this film is done in such a pointless yet mawkish fashion that it gives you the feeling of watching some “splatter” movie made by Herschell Gordon Lewis; that is how much of a bad taste the violence in this film leaves in your mouth.
What Is Good About This Film
Well, since I am a nice guy, I will say that director Daniel Lee does try to incorporate some visual flair. As I said before, the settings are decent, the explosions are pretty cool, and there is plenty of ballistic martial arts action. As well, Jet Li is a visual asset. The camera just loves this guy...and so will the audience. He knows how to make the audiences’ jaws drop in amazement with his fantastic aerobatic moves. Li and martial arts choreographer Yuen Woo Ping are a killer combination.
In Conclusion...
Black Mask is nowhere near as good as some of Li’s earlier films including Once Upon a Time in China and the aforementioned Fist of Legend and Twin Warriors. Again, too much reliance on editing and tricky special effects lessen the impact of some of the martial arts in this movie. Also, while the action scenes in Black Mask were hot—despite what has been done to them—everything else was not. Black Mask is not a great film at all and Jet Li fans may be disappointed. However, I can recommend this film to die-hard fans of macho, head smashing action films. My advice is this: if you desperately want to kill time and you desperately want to see this movie, then go ahead. Just pop in the tape in the VCR, press the mute button, and enjoy watching mindless action!
RANDOM THOUGHT: I cannot help but notice that one of the 701 Squad members in this movie looks a lot like Nick Carter from the Backstreet Boys...
RATING: ** out of ****.