Black Mask (1996)

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

Director:

Daniel Lee

Writers:

Hark Tsui (screenplay) (as Tsui Hark), Koan Hui (screenplay)

Stars:

Jet Li, Ching Wan Lau, Karen Mok

4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jet Li	...	Tsui Chik / Black Mask
Ching Wan Lau	...	Inspector 'Rock' Shek Wai-Ho (as Lau Ching Wan)
Karen Mok	...	Tracy Lee
Françoise Yip	...	Yeuk Laan (as Françoise C.J. Yip)
Kong Lung	...	Commander Hung (as Patrick Lung)
Anthony Chau-Sang Wong	...	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)
Henry Fong	...	Ricky Tai
Mei-Yee Sze	...	Chief of Library (as Sze Mei Yee)
Roy Szeto	...	Szeto
Suk-Yee Chan	...	Librarian (as Chan Suk Yee)

Storyline

Micheal, a former test subject of a project to create supersoldiers, is forced to escape with his comrades after the project was cancelled. Months later, he is trying to have a quiet life as a librarian with a tough cop as his best friend. However, a string of vicious gangland murders begins that has all the markings of his former compatriots who seem to have turned to violent crime. Realizing that the police are helpless to fight these soldiers, Micheal decides to take them on himself. Donning a mask to protect his identity, Micheal must fight these powerful villians as the mysterious superhero known only as Black Mask.

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Plot Keywords:

first part | mask | hero | superhero | police officer | 

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Genres:

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

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese English

Release Date:

14 May 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Black Mask

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,449,692, 16 May 1999, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$12,491,455, 1 August 1999

Company Credits

Production Co:

Distant Horizon, Film Workshop, Win's Entertainment Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min 89 min (USA)

Sound Mix:

Stereo (Dolby Stereo)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

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."

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Goofs

Safety cable and harness visible during the fight scene on top of the industrial complex

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Quotes

Commander Hung: [to Rock, who's got a bomb strapped to his chest] I'll say one thing, you've got guts. Which will shortly be apparent, when you explode.
Inspector 'Rock' Shek: Eat shit!

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Alternate Versions

The Japanese and French DVD releases are the only versions at the moment that contain the original Cantonese dialog and are completely uncut.

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Connections

References Enter the Dragon (1973)

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Soundtracks

Pain Killers
Performed by Erik Schrody (as Everlast)
Written by Erik Schrody (as E. Schrody) and Siba-Giba (as S. Bardin)
Produced by Siba-Giba for L.A. Vibe Productions & Erik Schrody (as Everlast)
Published by Irish Intellect Music/T-Boy Music L.L.C. (ASCAP) and Lavibe Music (ASCAP)

User Reviews

Dumb, but fun.

Once a part of 701 squad, an elite group of super-soldiers/assassins surgically altered to feel no pain, Tsui Chik (Jet Li) now works as a librarian; but when the remaining members of 701 squad (whose number include the rather gorgeous Francoise Yip) turn to crime, bumping off drug lords to corner the narcotics market and stealing police files to sell to other criminals, Tsui Chik takes on the guise of superhero 'Black Mask' to fight his former comrades.

Black Mask is a frenetic comic-book martial-arts actioner from director Tsui Hark, a rather chaotic film with a plot that makes very little sense but which still succeeds in being highly entertaining thanks to a huge helping of silliness, loads of insane wire-enhanced fighting (choreographed by Yuen Woo Ping), and a fair amount of gore.

Amongst the craziness on offer: characters are blown to pieces, crushed under vehicles, killed by razor edged CDs, and hack off their own limbs to escape capture; Jet Li has a brief but very impressive battle in a graveyard and also performs an jaw-dropping kung fu routine using a high voltage cable as a weapon; and crime-lord King Kau (the brilliant Anthony Wong) is sent his daughter's severed legs in the post!!!

One more thing... if possible, try to find a subtitled version of the film—the dubbing is atrocious.