Black Mask 2: City of Masks

Not the worst film I have ever seen. The acting is not up to much. Traci Lords is a bit better than most of the others. The action is okay though although Lords is invisible for most of her action sequences. The story has a good anti drugs message for kids even though some of it may not be that suitable for all youngsters. Watch out for WWE wrestler Rob Van Damm, his acting is terrible!

The original "Black Mask" was a gritty HK action film starring Jet Li. For the sake of Part 2, "City Of Masks", the exclusion of Li can be forgiven. Nothing ELSE can be, though.

First of all, the main plot consists of Black Mask (even though he GAVE UP crimefighting at the end of the first film) taking on a bunch of Pro-Wrestlers - yes, Pro Wrestlers - who have been infused with the DNA of animals... like a squid. No, I'm not kidding about the squid!

You would expect really fast-paced Martial Arts along the lines of those found in the first, but what you find instead are a bunch of oddly designed fight scenes involving animalistic people. In other words, people with semi-human bodies and prosthetic animal heads.

Tsui Hark and Yuen Wo-Ping were helming this project, which is really a major letdown considering that Hark is responsible for great movies like "Time and Tide" and "The Legend Of Zu". Wo-Ping is probably best known for his fight coreography on "The Matrix." The main problem here is that you have two great HK directors trying to do what they can with a poorly slapped-together American Movie idea. Simple as that.

Don't watch Black Mask 2. Please. If you did, I would hurt you - but odds are the movie beat me to it.

I had pretty much heard nothing good about Tsui Hark's English language sequel to the Jet Li vehicle Black Mask. That coupled with the fact that most of Tsui Hark's films since Chinese Feast have been disappointing and largely incoherent, there wasn't much reason for optimism. (I used to be a huge fan of Hark's films but I couldn't even sit through Legend of Zu). Black Mask 2 is a comic book flick that recalls, sometimes self-consciously, other bigger budget Hollywood flicks such as X-Men, Spiderman and The Crow. I don't see any reason why fans of the genre wouldn't enjoy this. It's very fast paced, genuinely goofy and mostly fun. It's even got a decent script, at least compared with the impossible to follow Time and Tide and Legend of Zu, which made me think Hark had completely lost any story-telling abilities he had once possessed. The wrestlers turning into monsters might make more sophisticated viewers wince, but this seems to be aimed at a solidly adolescent audience, and anyone who finds entertainment value in pro wrestling or in rubber monster fare like ULtraman or Power Rangers should get a huge kick out of this. Don't watch expecting a classic like Once Upon A Time IN China and you will likely have a good time.

Not really sure if I like this one or not, so I gave it 5/10.

There were some well choreographed fight scenes and some nice CG environments involved, but on the other hand there were some really poorly strung together stunts (where you could actually still see the safety lines attached to the actors) and some quite appalling CG work on some of the monster shots. The sometimes bad incorporation of some half hearted GC work really put the film down when they could have spent a little more time tidying up the film. One thing to mention as you've probably heard is that RVD is in this film, which is pretty cool, although he doesn't say an awful lot he seems to act better than expected. Shame they gave him such a stupid name really (The Claw) - isn't that what Jim Carrey was in Liar, Liar? You may also spot Tyler Mane (of X-Men fame) in there too. Andy On, does a fairly good job of taking over from Jet Li, but it's always hard trying to carry a sequel on your own, let alone carry on a sequel whilst replacing someone with a lot of Hollywood exposure. There was some pretty crappy acting in some parts, mostly from extras trying to react to what was on screen, but most of the main actors did ok (including all wrestlers). Overall, I'd say if you are expecting Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, go someplace else, if you want an entertaining light hearted attempt at the Super Hero genre (Green Hornett) then sure rent this out and have a laugh.

"Crashman 79" Jan 30 2003...and I quote.."All in all, the movie was excellent." What can ANY straight-thinking, HALF intelligent person say to that?

We're talking here arguably about one of the worst, insultingly stupid, juvenile, cruddy movies of all time! Little wonder Jet Li took a look at the script and said "You're kidding?" As a follow up to BLACK MASK (itself no Oscar contender) Hark has more than a LOT to answer for. Not far removed from a Japanese children's actioner of the 60's, this incomprehensible piece of CGI-enhanced buffoonery has no place even calling itself a "film," let alone a sequel. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the original...except for Tsui Hark's involvement. A few mutated world-wrestlers do not a storyline premise make. What the f---was Hark thinking? "Hey, this is a grabber?"

This is one film WORTH a zero rating!