Watch Black Mask For Free

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

In Hong Kong, an experiment created 701 commandos to battle gang violence. When one of them went crazy, the project was canceled. Michael (Jet Li) sacrificed himself for his fellow soldiers to escape termination. He managed to escape. One year later, he's trying to live a quiet life as librarian Simon. Police Inspector Rock is his friend. Someone is wiping out the drug gangs and planting bombs in their bodies. Michael recognizes the bomb as something from the 701s. One explodes in the hospital. He decides to disguise himself as Black Mask to battle his former comrades.It's a lot of shooting, a lot of explosions, and a lot of fights. It's another Universal Soldier. Karen Mok is fun. Jet Li does good action but his character is wooden. The story is simple. The action is stylized and there's plenty of it. In general, I don't mind these characters and I don't mind lots of action but there isn't much else.

What more could I say? The Americans totally hated it because the U.S. cut was so bad, although you could detect the underlying goodwill in it.Talking about the U.S. theatrical release(along with the newly released Blu-ray Disc version), it's faster and tighter than HK cut, the background musics were all changed from the dark, grim HK musics to Hip-hop musics; and there were a lot of gruesome scenes cut out. Though, the dubbing was a notable job given that they tried to capture the original actor's voice and tone. But, the problem is Hak Hap(Black Mask) the movie was designed and meant to be dark, grim, super-disturbing and totally gruesome. Very unfortunately the U.S. release just skimmed the cream they wanted, which in return completely changed the movie's undertone(HK release was rated 18+) to be even more comical and amateurish.Now let's talk about the original HK release. This movie is like a hidden gem, a prototype for the whole "matrix" tide and era. The fighting scenes are totally awesome even the camera works were a bit "old-school" among HK movies. However the style the movie created was a unique blend of Kungfu and pop culture. With all the leather, black costumes and decorations, this movie features a batman-like superhero in a black mask against a run-of-the-mill gang of multinational super-soldiers lead by a punk heavy metal rock star boss. Yes it sounds like imaginations of a retarded child, but it works. It's so impressive that the whole movie's gonna give you nightmares featuring foreigners fighting a bloodbath battle in leather coats. In year 2002 they made a sequel which had a PG-13 rating, but without Jet Li and Liu Qing Yun. And you know how bad that was because Li and Liu were the core characters in the movie and had strong personalities and an interesting friendship. And, did I happen to mention Francois Yip? Her roundhouse kick was totally cool, even cooler than the villain boss because she didn't use a stuntman for all the fighting. Did I mention she was also smoking hot? Anyway, there are a lot of things to like about the movie.However, the movie also suffered from a lot of problems. First off, it's a mediocre script made at its best potential, which means this production team deserved a better screen-writer. There are a lot climaxes in the entire 100 minutes but they often felt like far-fetched and don't totally make senses to the audiences(US version was even worse because all the character developments were cut). Anyway, you can't ask too much out of a comic-inspired action movie. Also, this movie is entirely improper for children. I won't recommend it to you if you are less than 20 years old. It's saturated with disturbing contents including blood, gore, sado-maso costumes, extreme brutal violence and so on. Along with the style of the movie, it can be called a wet dream for heavy-metal rock music fans and action fans. (the U.S. cut was milder, but if you want to see it, see the HK release for what it is.) 7/10. Status: inspiring, hidden, undervalued, adult.

American audiences saw Asian martial arts superstar Jet Li kick around Mel Gibson and Danny Glover in director Richard Donner's "Lethal Weapon IV." The success of the third "Lethal Weapon" sequel and Jet Li's performance as a resilient Oriental villain prompted Artisan Entertainment t dust off a 1996 cliffhanger that Li had made for executive producer Tsui Hark. Happily, Artisan has provided a new, surprisingly well-synchronized English language dub of the original Chinese dialogue. Of course, most of the voices still sound dubbed, but the words match the lips for the most part. Further, Artisan has saturated the high-octane action with a funky line-up of gangsta/techno rap rhymes that accentuate the rhythm of the movie. Connoisseurs of hyperkinetic Hong Kong actioneers should get a kick out of Jet Li's first starring role in the U.S. Altogether, "Black Mask" qualifies as a must-see melodrama that showcases Jet Li's skills and personality.Basically, "Black Mask" depicts the life and death struggle between a mysterious superhero and the forces of evil in a by-the-numbers, formulaic action thriller. As a member of an elite commando unit, Michael (Jet Li) is a top-secret, super-soldier from Project 701, a scheme designed to turn out biologically enhanced assassins virtually immune to pain. According to the introductory voice-over narration, the Red Chinese have injected these people with serum that triggers some unhappy side effects, such as psychotic rages and an abruptly abbreviated life span. Washing their hands of the ill-fated experiment, the government then tries to kill the warriors. Michael and many of his cohorts escape captivity on mainland China and flee to Hong Kong. At first, Michael believes that nobody, including his old girlfriend, Yuek-lan (Francoise Yip of "Rumble in the Bronx"), had survived the ordeal. Masquerading as Simon, a mousy Clark Kent type librarian, Michael resolves to re-educate himself about all things normal and hides out in the book stalls. Along the way, he befriends a stubborn police detective (Lau Ching Wan) with whom he plays chess.Unfortunately, Michael learns to his chagrin that several 701 survivors have embarked on a murderous killing spree, knocking off high profile Hong Kong drug lords and corrupt government officials. These project 701 ruffians are fortune cookies not easily cracked. They take a licking and keep on ticking. Bullets don't faze them. Their methods appear as unsavory as they are resourceful. One defiant drug dealer shows the authorities a box containing the severed legs of his daughter. Evidently, the hoodlums mailed the box to him to ensure his support. Another crime lord discovers that the villains have implanted a bomb in his chest near his heart. When surgeons try to defuse it, they cannot distinguish between the wires and the arteries. When they do cut the wires, half of the hospital vanishes in an explosion. These fiends plan to blackmail the government into supplying them with the antidote for their illness.Donning a cardboard mask, a fedora, and a chauffeur's suit, Michael retaliates in classic vigilante "Death Wish" style. He relies on his wits, his athletic grace, and his mini-discs which he spins through the air with the same effect as throwing stars. (Anybody remember the 1990 movie "I Come in Peace" where Dolph Lungren faced off with aliens who used compact discs as lethal killing devices?) The bad guys often refer to Michael as 'the compassionate one.' Along the way, Tracy (Karen Mok) finds herself drawn into a vortex of action when she survives a deadly massacre in the library. Michael takes her hostage, but the bizarre relationship takes a turn, and she becomes his girl Friday. Meantime, audiences get to sneer at the devilish Commander Hung, a long-haired psycho villain played to perfection by Patrick Lung Kang.A quartet of scribes has assembled an entertaining but formulaic script that bristles with more action than most Hollywood action franchises. Based on their work here, Tsui Hark, Koan Hui, Teddy Chen, and Joe Ma could have written a better "Batman" epic that the idiots that churned out "Batman Forever" and "Batman and Robin." Admittedly, "Black Mask" looks like a hodgepodge of B-movie protagonists. You can spot the plots of "Batman," "Universal Soldier," "Solo," "Bullitt," and "The Terminator" in the wildly fluctuating storyline. Ostensibly, this rapid-fire yarn look like an Asian version of any Alexander Dumas costume tale about mistaken identities. The scenarists refuse to restrict themselves to one genre. Instead, they shift gears, alternating between a horror chiller, an apocalyptic sci-fi thriller, a comic book superhuman escapade, a screwball romance, and a 1940's neo film noir crime story. Sure, all of this is silly, shallow, and superficial when it isn't drenched in blood and gore. Nevertheless, "Black Mask" delivers these elements with such style and artistry that you cannot help but enjoy it.Martial arts champion Jet Li brings his boyish charm along with a dancer's fluid locomotion to create quite a hero. He combines Jackie Chan's agile athleticism with Chow Yun-Fat's dramatic talent. When he goes into action against the villains, look out! As Michael's pal, Lau Ching Wan turns in a solid performance as a stubborn HK cop named Rock who initially thinks that Michael has nothing to do with Simon. Sophomore HK helmer Daniel ("What Price Survival") Lee slackens the pace occasionally to accommodate a screwball romantic subplot between Karen Mok's ditzy librarian Tracy and Michael. Wisely, Lee never takes these supercharged, adrenaline-laced antics too seriously. The library scenes have a sitcom quality, which differ from other scenes. Several critics have observed the resemblance between Jet Li's Michael and the late Bruce Lee's Kato from the ABC-TV series "The Green Hornet." The filmmakers bring up the same point when Tracy admires Michael.Make no mistake, "Black Mask" is pretty gory stuff. Daniel Lee directs in much the same twister fashion as Michael Bay of "The Rock" and "Armageddon." Lee rarely lets his camera linger on shot. "Black Mask" is outrageously plotted, often campy, but exciting, ultra-violent pulp nonsense.

There are so many things that make this flick worth watching:(1)an exciting script,with large doses of humor and extravagant irony,and also some violence (Tsui Hark is one of the co-authors of this script);(2)the excellent directing and the visual beauty;the photography is exquisite and unusually beautiful;the movie is thrilling and suspenseful,and the pace is very ably kept;the attack of the 701 Squad assassins on the hospital where the inspector "Rock" was guarding the last Hong Kong drug boss ("King Kau") is especially amazing;a quite unconventional treatment of some standard plot;(3)a first-class cast (Jet Li,Ching Wan Lau,Françoise Yip,Karen Mok,Kong Lung);Jet Li ,who has the opportunity to kick some jaws and show his agility and test his Agonistical aptitudes,does indeed give a touch of charming humanity and candor and honesty to many of his significant roles,and this is part of what makes them so endearing (a few days ago,I was telling somebody that I like every movie that Jet Li is in;Hak hap (1996) is no exception);(4)it has Tsui Hark as producer.The visual tastiness of this spectacular and glorious movie is delightful.Hak hap (1996) has a pleasing comic-strips quality,and fun in plenty.The film is fanciful,tonic,intelligent and masterfully done.It is smart stuff.No combat is aimless.The government patronizes a medical experiment that turns soldiers into killing machines:the 701 Squad.The Neurotomy makes them loose their human feelings,by destroying their nervous centers;so takes birth an elite Squad,"elite assassins",designed not to feel the pain and die fighting,headed by an abhorrent,cynical,abominable, smirking villain.A man of this 701 Squad,the Teacher, proves to be not as inhuman as his pals;he does not agree with a life of killings,and leaves the military,refusing to follow the Squad on such paths.Although he lost his feelings by that Neurotomy,he tries to get as human as possible and have a new-life,as a cute,peaceful and tolerant librarian,Tsui;it matches his pacifist convictions.He is considered a helpless man by those who meet him in this new existence of his;they couldn't think that Tsui has the abilities of a killing machine.In his new,non-violent life, he is friends with an inspector,"Rock",that protects him,as Tsui hides his powers and refuses to resort to violence.The Hong Kong's drug lords get killed one after another.The police gets involved;Tsui's pugnacious friend,"Rock",fights the band of killers (i.e.,the 701 Squad,who tries to take over the Asian drug market).Tsui teams up with Tracy,a girl who works at the library and which he rescues from the Squad murderers' hands.The show is a super-hero story with a rather SF premise (the Neurotomy).The Teacher meets a former comrade of his:the comely but cold-hearted Françoise Yip.While each scene is well-crafted,some are exquisitely done.Daniel Lee made a few flicks,one with Sammo Hung Kam-Bo,but Jet Li and Françoise Yip are the best artists he worked with.