T. Rigney (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} filmfiend) wrote,@ 2006-04-05 17:45:00 |
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Black Mask
It's always the quiet ones.
---
Though I'm a self-proclaimed martial arts/kung fu nutjob, I honestly don't know that much about the genre itself. Anything pre-1990, for instance, is pretty much unknown to me, with the exception of a handful of Bruce Lee, Sonny Chiba, and Jackie Chan films. This is probably due to the fact that I'm mostly drawn to movies that feature lots of flashy choreography and cringe-worthy stunts, as opposed to just watching two guys punch and kick one another for roughly 90 minutes or so. And, much to the dismay of "true" martial arts fans, I don't mind bad English dubbing, especially since I'm not willing to drop a lot of money for a silly kung fu import that I may or may not like. In the case of Jackie Chan, I actually prefer the edited and dubbed versions over the original Hong Kong print, mostly because I find Chan's broken English to be rather charming. So when I purchased Black Mask for a handful of coins back in January, I really didn't mind that it was missing ten minutes and contained what many consider to be "laughably bad overdubbing." In fact, I think the film's quick pace and unintentionally hilarious moments add to its overall entertainment value. I guess I'm just not a real martial arts fan.
Anyway, Jet Li stars as Simon, a quiet little guy who's content with his life as a library assistant, spending his days reading and reshelving books while contending with his nosy little co-workers. When he's not busy with work, he spends his days playing games with his pal Inspector Shek. What his copper friend doesn't know, however, is that Simon is really Michael, and Michael is really Black Mask, an elite superhero who was once a "super soldier" created by the Chinese government. When the powers that be decided it was time to pull the plug on the project, Michael helped his fellow soldiers escape their schedule execution, and they pretty much scattered to the wind. Now they've returned to murder every Hong Kong drug lord in the city, and they're doing a damn good job, too. During an attempt to save the life of one of the last remaining drug barons, Black Mask encounters Cailyn, a member of this rogue band of super soliders and, more importantly, Michael's old flame. Instead of loving hugs and how-ya-been's, Cailyn tells Michael that they can't wait to have him back on board to help them carry out their nefarious plans. Of course, Michael wants no part of it, causing our hero to spend rest of the movie dodging bullets, saving innocent lives, and kicking ass. We're not treading deep water, here.
Now, I can't say for sure, but I think the major problems I have with Black Mask are due to the film's shoddy editing. Some scenes begin and end rather abruptly, while others fade to black shortly after they began. It makes for a weird film experience, for sure, though I doubt those who don't care about such things will notice these minute details. That said, director Daniel Lee (Dragon Squad) does a brilliant job making the picture look like a comic book come to life, turning a rather ho-hum script into a living, breathing, live-action manga. The violence is gratuitous and over-the-top, and the performances stay true to the tone of the action. Then again, it's really hard to accurately judge these actors from the US release, since they've been replaced by voice over talent that would be better suited to, say, Saturday morning cartoons circa 1985.
Since the story is borderline retarded, Black Mask is saved from mediocrity by superstar action director Woo-ping Yuen, best known to western audience as the man who made Keanu look cool in The Matrix. Since the version I saw was trimmed of things like character development and plot points, the action shows up quite often, though this is certainly not a complaint. I dont need a deep story to carry me through a martial arts flick; no, I need lots and lots and LOTS of well-choreographed action. Jet Li shows of his skills as a master of wushu in a number of zany set pieces, including a breath-taking high-altitude showdown between between the titular character and his former flame, played by the gorgeous Francoise Yip (Rumble in the Bronx). There's also an interesting bit between Inspector Shek and Michael/Simon/Black Mask upon the former's realization that his good friend is, in fact, the proverbial thorn in his side. It's a great moment, I think, and could be considered my favorite sequence in the entire movie. Those in need of a gore fix won't be disappointed, either; there's plenty of bloodshed to go around, not to mention some rather uncomfortable dismemberments.
Before I wrap things up, I guess I should mention the overdubbing: it's flat-out terrible. I've seen my fair share of kung fu flicks that feature this questionable American practice, and Black Mask ranks as one of the worst in terms of voice acting. While I understand the need to market these movie to the close-minded westerners who simply will NOT read subtitles, they could at least find someone suitable for the job. The goofball they chose to handle Jet Li's character is the worst offender; it seriously took me a good fifteen minutes or so to digest this glaring problem, one that almost pulled me out of the movie completely He sounds nothing like Li -- NOTHING! -- and for those of us who know what the little guy really sounds like, it's definitely going to be an issue for the harder-to-please fans.
If you can ignore the braindead script and focus on the action, Black Mask is sure to please. It's not a bad superhero flick, really, and I'm rather anxious to dive into the sequel, though I think Jet Li's absence will definitely be felt. I'm not sure if there's a complete version of this one on DVD or not, but I'd be curious to see what it looks and sounds like. It can't be worse than what Artisan has given to Li's Region 1 fans, which includes a wonky disc that stutters, stops, and artifacts every so often. I tried it on three different players, all of which gave me the same results. This proves that, once upon a time, martial arts fans weren't a high priority to those releasing this stuff to its niche audience. I guess their unspoken motto was dub it, dump it, and forget it. Given Li's recent mainstream popularity, I do think it's time for an uncut, original language special edition DVD.
Who's with me?
It's always the quiet ones.
---
Though I'm a self-proclaimed martial arts/kung fu nutjob, I honestly don't know that much about the genre itself. Anything pre-1990, for instance, is pretty much unknown to me, with the exception of a handful of Bruce Lee, Sonny Chiba, and Jackie Chan films. This is probably due to the fact that I'm mostly drawn to movies that feature lots of flashy choreography and cringe-worthy stunts, as opposed to just watching two guys punch and kick one another for roughly 90 minutes or so. And, much to the dismay of "true" martial arts fans, I don't mind bad English dubbing, especially since I'm not willing to drop a lot of money for a silly kung fu import that I may or may not like. In the case of Jackie Chan, I actually prefer the edited and dubbed versions over the original Hong Kong print, mostly because I find Chan's broken English to be rather charming. So when I purchased Black Mask for a handful of coins back in January, I really didn't mind that it was missing ten minutes and contained what many consider to be "laughably bad overdubbing." In fact, I think the film's quick pace and unintentionally hilarious moments add to its overall entertainment value. I guess I'm just not a real martial arts fan.
Anyway, Jet Li stars as Simon, a quiet little guy who's content with his life as a library assistant, spending his days reading and reshelving books while contending with his nosy little co-workers. When he's not busy with work, he spends his days playing games with his pal Inspector Shek. What his copper friend doesn't know, however, is that Simon is really Michael, and Michael is really Black Mask, an elite superhero who was once a "super soldier" created by the Chinese government. When the powers that be decided it was time to pull the plug on the project, Michael helped his fellow soldiers escape their schedule execution, and they pretty much scattered to the wind. Now they've returned to murder every Hong Kong drug lord in the city, and they're doing a damn good job, too. During an attempt to save the life of one of the last remaining drug barons, Black Mask encounters Cailyn, a member of this rogue band of super soliders and, more importantly, Michael's old flame. Instead of loving hugs and how-ya-been's, Cailyn tells Michael that they can't wait to have him back on board to help them carry out their nefarious plans. Of course, Michael wants no part of it, causing our hero to spend rest of the movie dodging bullets, saving innocent lives, and kicking ass. We're not treading deep water, here.
Now, I can't say for sure, but I think the major problems I have with Black Mask are due to the film's shoddy editing. Some scenes begin and end rather abruptly, while others fade to black shortly after they began. It makes for a weird film experience, for sure, though I doubt those who don't care about such things will notice these minute details. That said, director Daniel Lee (Dragon Squad) does a brilliant job making the picture look like a comic book come to life, turning a rather ho-hum script into a living, breathing, live-action manga. The violence is gratuitous and over-the-top, and the performances stay true to the tone of the action. Then again, it's really hard to accurately judge these actors from the US release, since they've been replaced by voice over talent that would be better suited to, say, Saturday morning cartoons circa 1985.
Since the story is borderline retarded, Black Mask is saved from mediocrity by superstar action director Woo-ping Yuen, best known to western audience as the man who made Keanu look cool in The Matrix. Since the version I saw was trimmed of things like character development and plot points, the action shows up quite often, though this is certainly not a complaint. I dont need a deep story to carry me through a martial arts flick; no, I need lots and lots and LOTS of well-choreographed action. Jet Li shows of his skills as a master of wushu in a number of zany set pieces, including a breath-taking high-altitude showdown between between the titular character and his former flame, played by the gorgeous Francoise Yip (Rumble in the Bronx). There's also an interesting bit between Inspector Shek and Michael/Simon/Black Mask upon the former's realization that his good friend is, in fact, the proverbial thorn in his side. It's a great moment, I think, and could be considered my favorite sequence in the entire movie. Those in need of a gore fix won't be disappointed, either; there's plenty of bloodshed to go around, not to mention some rather uncomfortable dismemberments.
Before I wrap things up, I guess I should mention the overdubbing: it's flat-out terrible. I've seen my fair share of kung fu flicks that feature this questionable American practice, and Black Mask ranks as one of the worst in terms of voice acting. While I understand the need to market these movie to the close-minded westerners who simply will NOT read subtitles, they could at least find someone suitable for the job. The goofball they chose to handle Jet Li's character is the worst offender; it seriously took me a good fifteen minutes or so to digest this glaring problem, one that almost pulled me out of the movie completely He sounds nothing like Li -- NOTHING! -- and for those of us who know what the little guy really sounds like, it's definitely going to be an issue for the harder-to-please fans.
If you can ignore the braindead script and focus on the action, Black Mask is sure to please. It's not a bad superhero flick, really, and I'm rather anxious to dive into the sequel, though I think Jet Li's absence will definitely be felt. I'm not sure if there's a complete version of this one on DVD or not, but I'd be curious to see what it looks and sounds like. It can't be worse than what Artisan has given to Li's Region 1 fans, which includes a wonky disc that stutters, stops, and artifacts every so often. I tried it on three different players, all of which gave me the same results. This proves that, once upon a time, martial arts fans weren't a high priority to those releasing this stuff to its niche audience. I guess their unspoken motto was dub it, dump it, and forget it. Given Li's recent mainstream popularity, I do think it's time for an uncut, original language special edition DVD.
Who's with me?
