Hak hap (1996)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Daniel Lee

Writers:

Hark Tsui (screenplay) &
Koan Hui (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

14 May 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot:

A survivor of a supersoldier project must fight his former comrades as a masked hero.

Plot Keywords:

Mask | Police | Superhero | Severed Leg | Lasersight

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Jet Li	...	Tsui Chik / Black Mask
Ching Wan Lau	...	Inspector 'Rock' Shek Wai-Ho (as Lau Ching Wan)
Karen Mok	...	Tracy Lee
Françoise Yip	...	Mei Lin (as Francoise C.J. Yip)
Kong Lung	...	Commander Hung (as Patrick Lung)
Anthony Wong Chau-Sang	...	King Kau (as Anthony Wong)
Xin Xin Xiong	...	Jimmy Jimmy
Moses Chan	...	701 Squad Member (as Mouses Chan)
King-fai Chung	...	Police Commissioner (as Chung King Fai)
Ken Lok
Lawrence Ah Mon	...	Operating Room Doctor (as Lawrence Ahmon)
Mei-Yee Sze		(as Sze Mei Yee)
Roy Szeto
Suk-yee Chan		(as Chan Suk Yee)
Nunzio Caponio		(as Caponio Nunzio)

Also Known As:

Black Mask (Hong Kong: English title) (International: English title)
Hei xia (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence including martial arts combat, some sexual content and language.

Runtime:

96 min | USA:102 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

English | Cantonese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Hong Kong:IIB (cut) | Hong Kong:III (original version) | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | South Korea:15 | Finland:K-16 (heavily cut) (2000) | Philippines:PG-13 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R18 | Australia:MA | Canada:18A | Germany:18 | Norway:15 | Singapore:NC-16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 (direct to video) | UK:18 (video premiere) | USA:R (certificate #36739) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Company:

Distant Horizons

Trivia:

The games Tracy plays on the Sega Saturn while locked inside Black Mask's apartment are "Virtua Fighter 2" and "X-men: Children of the Atom."

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Safety cable and harness visible during the fight scene on top of the industrial complex

Quotes:

Commander Hung: [in the gas chamber] I'm touched teacher. You seemed choked up by our reunion.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ancient Evil 2: Guardian of the Underworld (2005) (V)

Soundtrack:

Heavy Metal, Part 2

This movie rocks!!

I have no idea why this flick is getting such a bad rap by so many IMDb users (Some are saying it's his 'worst movie ever.' What?? Haven't any of you seen Cradle 2 The Grave?) My favorite criticism is that the plot is totally stupid, and just an excuse to hang all of the action sequences on. Duh! What the crap were you expecting from a Jet Li movie? Did you honestly believe that someone thought up the story, then just loaded it up with action? Of course not! Black Mask is awesome, wall-to-wall action throughout nearly it's entire running time. It's also deliciously gruesome, and we get plenty of severed limbs, decapitations, and creative ways of watching the bad guys (and quite a few innocent people, too!) get slaughtered. Most of Li's other martial arts films are nursery-school when compared to Black Mask; there is no holding back on the gratuitous violence, bloodshed, or action sequences whatsoever! And that made me a happy camper. Again: if you go into a Jet Li movie expecting magnificent dialog and an intriguing plot, you are going for the wrong reasons. Black Mask is probably my favorite of his movies (though, beware of the horrendous dubbing).