Ha- try and sue us, DC! This is Black Mask, the 1996 Film with Jet Li in it, to be precise. The Film is a little bit strange, as it definitely wants to be a Superhero Film...but also not quite. It has a Super-Soldier (like Captain America) and Li dresses like Kato from The Green Hornet (which the Film acknowledges). On the other hand, it is all kicking, shooting and...killing Mob Bosses. I've seen Chinese Super-Hero Films and this is...close. Anyhow, this is Jet Li as he made it as a big Star in America. What's funny is that the Trailers on the Disc mention him as 'The Star of Lethal Weapon 4.' That Film came out in 1998. Well, the Films from 1996, so screw you, Trailers that were made later to capitalize on his sudden fame in America! If you like Wuxia (and know what that is), you'll probably like this one, as there are wire spots galore! Sadly, my DVD only has the English Dub on it, so I have to listen to Not Jet Li throughout the Film. To find out what happens in this Film, read on...
Unit 701 are a bunch of Soldiers given experimental treatments to make them super-human.
Under the guide of their Leader (Li), they all escape as the Opening Title literally explodes onto the screen (see above).
About a year later, Li is working in a Library (like some sort of weirdo) and trying to do nothing with his super-skills and power.
In the Dub, his name is Johnny. Sure...
Mob Bosses are suddenly targeted by highly-skilled Military men and killed.
This includes an oddly-dark bit where they use sprinklers that shoot out neon-colored acid that kills the goons. Damn!
Li realizes who is behind it after the next incident- where a bomb is planted inside of the surviving Mob Boss- and knows that he must suit up to stop them.
So he becomes Black Mask, since, you know, he's wearing a black mask.
Creativity is not one of his Super Powers.
The Leader of the group is this Cult Leader-looking guy who has them taking out the Criminals to take over and establish order.
Of course, commit mass murder to create peace. It worked out well for Ozymandius!
Li also has a Love Interest from his job (after a really dated joke about them thinking Li was gay) and she gets caught in the literal crossfire.
He...um, kidnaps her for her own safety...which I guess is okay because he lets her play Sega Saturn.
This Sub-Plot improves over time...
Li gave too much away when he tried to help his Cop friend from the explosion and the tension blows off in a weird fight in a Cemetery.
He convinces him to work together, arguing that the Cop couldn't handle one of him, as opposed to the half-dozen remaining 701 Members.
Of course, the Detective is no match for the bad guys and gets captured.
I mean, he's no Super-Soldier, after all.
It all leads to the big battle between Li and the remaining 701 Members, culminating in a multi-tiered fight against the Boss (like a Video Game where the guy has multiple forms/jumps around).
Naturally, he wins and leaves Hong Kong via Freight Liner to find a cure for his affliction. Oh yeah, his Powers also mean that he'll die sooner...not that it came up much in the Film. The End.
A rather silly, but also serious Film. The whole concept- good Super Soldier stops bad Super Soldier- is solid enough. One issue is that the heavy lifting story-wise is done by Jet Li (or, in this case, his English dub Voice Actor). He's not, you know, the best at dramatic acting. To be fair, as noted, I am watching the Dubbed Version and can only judge *those* Voice Actors and not the original ones. It's hard to imagine that everyone was, you know, Lawrence Olivier in their native Chinese, of course. This Film is all about Action and it certainly delivers. It's just crazy enough to still look real...to a point. With Wire Work, there's sometimes a slight delay when some flips or jumps that takes you out. They mostly avoid it, but there are a few sparing moments that look fake. Less believable are the explosions, which will blow up a whole floor of a Hospital...but only leave a small cut on the Policeman's head. Was he wearing invisible armor?!? Later, a guy blows up while holding onto his shoulder and he barely flinches, so...um, I've got nothing. As I noted before, some attempts at Comedy didn't age too well. One bit has the Cop and Li talking, leading the Co-Workers to just deciding that Li must be Gay. Later on, the Love Interest straight up attacks the Cop- who no-sells it- for 'taking Li.' So yeah...that's a no on that one. All in all though, the Film is loveably-dated in many ways and kind of fun. I'd like to see a non-dubbed version at some point. To see the man behind it all, you just need to actually read the Credits...
Next time, I cover the 2nd Film...again. I've been doing this long enough to be better, so...why not? Stay tuned...
No comments:
Post a Comment