DVD Corner

Black Mask Blu-ray Review

“Black Mask” gets an ultimate edition Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.

1996’s comic book inspired “Black Mask” is sort of the Hong Kong version of “Universal Soldier.” The story revolves around a former supersoldier that was part of Squad 701 who now works in a library under the name Tsui Chik. The program was considered a failure and was shut down. The subjects were to be eliminated, but Tsui and others managed to escape death. Tsui attempts to lead a normal and quiet life at the library. He socializes with a Police Inspector Shek and eventually a woman with bad dating luck (Tracy). When Tsui gets wind that drug lords are being taken out, he discovers that his former Squad members (led by Commander) are plotting something. 

Director Daniel Lee’s “Black Mask” is a very 90’s action vehicle for Jet Li. It rides the wave of comic book movies and sci-fi hits like the aforementioned “Universal Soldier” while also paying homage to Green Hornet and Kato (there’s even a Kato joke in the film). The story is nothing to ride home about as it’s mostly an excuse for a series of action set pieces involving explosions, shootouts, bloody violence, hand-to-hand combat, wire work, laser security, limbs being chopped and a climactic battle in a villain’s lair (where else?). Thankfully, the action does excite, but that shouldn’t come as a surprise given that Tsui Hark is a producer and Yuen Wo Ping directs the action. There’s a bit too many extreme close-ups and shaky cam shots, but that can be overlooked given that it’s a product of its time. With that said, there’s something refreshing about watching a pre-CGI action movie with Jet Li in his prime. It may not be one of the best entries in his filmography, but it’s still worth a gander for martial arts aficionados. 

It should be noted that this Blu-ray set contains a whopping 4 versions- the Uncut Hong Kong Version, the Export Version (The U.S. version), the Taiwan Version (which features some different material from the Hong Kong Version) and the Extended Version (a longer version that contains bits of all versions).

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 1.85:1 1080p. How does it look? The Hong Kong Version gets a 2K restoration which is easily the best visually (which is still not going to wow anyone) while the other versions have lower quality. With that said, fans will undoubtedly be happy to get all of these versions in one place.

Audio Track: Hong Kong Version- Cantonese 5.1 DTS-HD MA and Cantonese Stereo, Export Version- Original English Dub and US Release English Dub and Soundtrack, Taiwan Version- Original Mandarin Stereo and Alternate Mandarin Audio and Extended Version- Cantonese Audio. How do they sound? There’s certainly no shortage of audio options here! The audio fares better than the picture quality with crisp audio tracks that come alive during action scenes. 

Extras:
* Commentary by Frank Djeng on the Hong Kong Version.
* Commentary by Mike Leeder and Arne Venema on the Export Version.
*Hong Kong theatrical trailer, 2 US trailers and a US Home Video trailer.
* 3 separate interviews with actor/fight choreographer Mike Lambert (30 minutes), author Andrew Heskins (8 ½ minutes), and author Leon Hunt (18 minutes)
* Archival making of documentary

April 23, 2024 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | 90's Movies, Action Movie, Black Mask Blu-ray Review, Eureka Entertainment, Jet Li, Martial Arts Movie