Black Mask poster & wallpaper

Jet Li, Ching Wan Lau, Karen Mok

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-secr...( read more  read more... )et 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

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56% liked it

18,862 ratings

R, 102 min.

Directed by: Daniel Lee

Release Date: December 31, 1998

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DVD Release Date: November 30, 1999

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Flixster Reviews (522)

  • DragonEyeMorrison
    October 16, 2007
    DragonEyeMorrison
    Cheesy fun, just avoid the sequel.
  • ktravis
    September 19, 2006
    ktravis
    You just can't beat the moves of Jet Li. Unless, of course, you're a Bruce Lee follower, then.... well....
  • garystev
    September 1, 2006
    garystev
    Very dark (lighting wise), but fun and feels like an episode of the Green Hornet. Action is good.
  • KhrisP
    July 25, 2006
    KhrisP
    Cool!!! - despite the drab story and settings - the action rocks!
  • alanjayh
    June 1, 2008
    alanjayh
    earliest jet li movie I saw...enjoyable martial arts fare..not to oserious subject matter..just watch and marvel at li's fighting skills...
  • zakaryasx
    November 19, 2009
    zakaryasx
    BEEN AWHILE SINCE I SAW THIS, BUT I REMEMBER IT BEING PRETTY UNIQUE AND COOL
  • GhostShadowX
    October 29, 2009
    GhostShadowX
    Enjoyable action/martial arts movie.
  • Jason0047
    September 7, 2009
    Jason0047
    Black Mask is still my favorite movie starring Jet Li. Great character and action.
  • JimG944
    August 25, 2009
    JimG944
    3.5 stars of 5 for Black Mask. This Jet Li movie is interesting, high action and a good story. Plenty of Hong Kong wire-work fight scenes. A small tribute to Bruce Lee's "Kato" character of the Green Hornet fame. What can you say, it is a Jet Li movie and I like Jet Li! Oh, this ...( read more)movie was filmed in Hong Kong and looks like it was originally in Chinese and redubed into English. It is worth the time to watch and I will likely watch it again in the future.
  • daleyson
    August 10, 2009
    daleyson
    I love this moves 2 thums up

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