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:

Continuity: When Jimmy Jimmy and King Kau's gang notices the fuse which is heading towards the powerboard, Jimmy Jimmy is smoking a cigarette. When Jimmy Jimmy gets the fire extinguisher and climbs the ladder to extinguish the fuse, he no longer has a cigarette.

Quotes:

Kau's Man: Someone's attacking! Go Go! Mr Kau, you better hide!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in War (2007)

Soundtrack:

Heavy Metal, Part 2

Certainly not Jet Li's best

I can't understand why they decided to release this film to introduce the American audience to the dynamo that is Jet Li. Fist of Legend would have been a much better choice. Anyway, Black Mask isn't terrible, but it certainly isn't great either. The final fight sequence is well staged by Yuen Woo Ping who went on to coordinate The Matrix. But the English release suffers from rough editing and dubbing. (I'm begging the Hollywood studios to release these films uncut with subtitles.)Jet Li shows his characteristic charisma in the title role and Francoise Yip has a cool but brief role as the female 701.

Black Mask has a strange goth style that adds some interest but it is overloaded with gun battles and explosions. More focus on Li's fantastic physical skills were in order. Black Mask is a decent film but do yourself a favor and pick up Fist of Legend if you want to see a tremendous film that really shows Li's skills.