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| Directed by Daniel Lee; Starring Jet Li, Karen Mok, Francoise Yip, Lau Ching Wan, Françoise Yip, and Xin Xin Xong |
I’m sure that this film is perfect for fans of Hong Kong action films or anime films, but this far from met my fancy. Black Mask (Hong Kong title: Hak Hap) looks about as cheesy as a Roger Corman film during the sixties. The only difference is that Corman’s films were fun due to their cheesiness, Black Mask is just stupid due to it.
Jet Li plays Simon, a Terminator-esque cyborg/man that escaped his makers and now must stay free from them while, and I’m sure you’d never see this coming, making the world safer from the evils of man. He dresses in the biggest homage to Bruce Lee’s Kato character in The Green Hornet ever, by going as far as even wearing the same hat and suit. When an ex-lover of his who is also a half man/half robot finds him and attempts to bring him to the, I guess, cyborg underground, he must save himself and a local librarian that loves him from the wraith of his maker and ex-lover.
The at times well done martial arts scenes are the only reason I’m taking this film above the F rating. Those little assets are tarnished by the hilariously awful special effects. I’m sure that this film would have never made its way to wide American release if it was not for his less than enthralling American debut in Lethal Weapon 4 (the success of which still leaves me with shame at the American viewing audience). If you have some big yearning for a non-comedic, non-Jackie Chan Hong Kong film, take my advice and rent Beat Takeshi’s Hana-Bi (Fireworks).
