Once upon a time there was a film industry that wasn't dominated by the comic book behemoths of D.C. and Marvel. Where a comic book style movie felt fresh, innovative and where the Hong Kong production line hadn't been stripped bare in the service of mainland blockbusters with a patriotic core. “Black Mask” in many respects is a last hurrah of an industry about to go through immense change. As Eureka Entertainment bring it to blu-ray, it's time to revisit this Frankenstein's monster of a collaborative effort between several unique talents.
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Tsui Chik (Jet Li) is a former member of the 701 Squad, a surgically enhanced team of super soldiers that feel no pain. After their team is shut down he escapes and hides out as a librarian. His only friend is Inspector Shek who knows nothing of his past. A flirtatious co-worker Tracy (Karen Mok) tries to get him interested in her without much success. The remainder of the 701 Squad under the Commander (Patrick Lung) are targeting the drug lords of Hong Kong and seek control. Eventually, all that remains is King Kau (Anthony Wong). An assassination attempt will cause Tsui Chik's past and present to collide and he will have to don the titular black mask to intervene.
“Black Mask” is a frenetic mess of a movie, taking in a whole range of influences before digesting them into an entertaining whole. First up is the Kato style mask from the “Green Hornet”. A reference alluded to in the film itself and a character played by Bruce Lee in the 1960's television show, The 701 Squad could come straight out of a “Universal Soldier” plot or any number of super serum origin stories. The tinted flashbacks give a feel of an old fashioned mad professor monster movie. The influence of producer Tsui Hark is clearly felt in both this and in the rapid fire editing that had become his signature style by this point in his career. Whilst Daniel Lee was no slouch as a director, (see his earlier “What Price Survival”) the visual look is very much Tsui Hark. The use of frequent close ups keeps everything tight before the action kicks in.
When that does happen, we are in the hands of a maestro in Yuen Woo-ping. A frequent collaborator with the producer he gets to cut loose with his imagination. From the use of cds as lethal darts to wrecking balls crashing through walls it's a tour de force of creative brutality. There is bloodshed aplenty and he makes use of the characters imperviousness to pain to provide some unique demises.
Adding to the madness almost naturally is Anthony Wong. Whilst not a Category III film, he delivers a performance worthy of one. His King Kau is a gold toothed sadist quiet prepared to have sex with a bondaged woman in the middle of an assassination attempt on himself!
Jet Li as the lead gives a rather passive performance and underplays. Given what he is up against it is no surprise that his character is the least interesting on display. Tsui Chik is supposed to have no emotions or feel anything and you do get that sense but not through his acting. This, along with his bored looking appearance in “Hitman” suggests he knew his career lay elsewhere. He's outshone by Lau Ching-wan who is grumpy charisma personified as Shek. At one point it's insinuated that Tsui Chik and Shek are in a relationship. Whilst this is simply to generate some cheap laughs, it would make for a more interesting romantic relationship than the one attempted in the film itself.
Karen Mok is a great actress and has brilliant comic timing yet even she can't save the character of Tracy. She is first introduced as she gets dumped and is instantly advised to go after Tsui Chik. Her “capture” by Black Mask and subsequent “Stockholm Syndrome” actions are absurd and the attraction feels both forced and unnecessary. The whole character is essentially just tacked on without ever really connecting to the audience. It's an irritating part and one not worthy of the performers talents. It's Francoise Yip as the protege that re-enters Tsui Chik's life as part of the 701 Squad that has the more interesting female role. A femme fatale both deadly and tragic at the same time.
“Black Mask” is pure undiluted Hong Kong cinematic madness, the sort of alchemy that only the city could produce in its heyday. With star powered talent behind the scenes and a scene stealing performance from Anthony Wong, it is an absolute blast. Ignore some of the central performances and embrace the kind of kinetic, frenzied action that sadly we may not see again in our lifetimes.
