Black Mask

R

Released May 4, 1996

1h 30m

Action

List

50%

Tomatometer

32 Reviews

50%

Audience Score

10,000+ Ratings

Simon (Jet Li) appears to be a mild-mannered librarian, but he's actually a genetically enhanced solider who feels no pain. His team of super-soldiers, code-named Squad 701, was disbanded after some of them had psychotic episodes and exhibited mental instability. Simon thinks his fighting days are behind him, but when members of the squad, led by his ex-commander, Hung (Patrick Lung), start murdering drug dealers, Simon dons a black mask and searches the streets for his former comrades.

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Critics Consensus

Stylish setting and masterfully choreographed fight scenes, but the story is low on credibility and high on excessive violence and gore.

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Marc Savlov

Austin Chronicle

Rated: 3/5

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: D

Jan 1, 1800

Full Review

Emilie Black

Cinema Crazed

Yes, it’s directed by Daniel Lee who does decently well with it, showing an affinity for fight sequences in his second directorial effort, but the influence of Hark is obvious.

Rated: 3.5/5

Apr 30, 2024

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

This offers plenty of high-grade fight sequences, but the characters alternate between drab and annoying.

Rated: 2.5/4

Apr 28, 2024

Full Review

Douglas Davidson

Elements of Madness

... this one doesn’t quite live up to the hype so many years later, but the restoration is impressive ...

Apr 21, 2024

Full Review

Austin Kennedy

Sin Magazine

Poorly lit, crooked camera angles (that didn't match one shot from the next) make the film nearly unwatchable.

Rated: 1/4

May 29, 2012

Full Review

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Audience Member

The action was great even if the story wasn't.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/18/20

Full Review

Audience Member

i really like Jet Li. but this movie suck. to many erros

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/23/23

Full Review

Frances H

Pathetic story and acting, but interesting fight scenes--otherwise a campy joke!

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

05/12/17

Full Review

Audience Member

Review: This movie looked cheap and the acting was pretty terrible. The Kato looking caped crusader was awful and the storyline was also not that well put together. Basically, someone is going around taking out all of the drug lords so to protect his identity, Jet Li puts of a black mask to help them. He then finds out that the murders have something to do with his old squad, who he escaped from at the beginning of the film, so he ends up on a one man crusade for justice. Sounds interesting, but it's not! The annoying music and bad action scenes really made this film hard to watch. The fact that no one knows who the caped crusader is, made me laugh because it's obvious right from the beginning. Personally, I think that Jet Li should just put this down as a bad day at the office. Terrible! Round-Up: I couldn't help but laugh at the sound effects through this movie. They made it seem really cheap and it was hard to take the storyline seriously. Anyway, the big showdown at the end was weak even though there is a big build up throughout the movie and it seemed to go on forever. On the plus side, the movie is pretty short so you don't have to put up with it for that long. Now that I've only got a couple of Jet Li movies left to watch, he has definitely made more bad movies than good, which is a shame because it's not due to his acting or martial arts skills. Its basically down to bad choices which will hopefully be rectified in the latter part of his career. Budget: N/A Worldwide Gross: $12.5million I recommend this movie to people who are into their Jet Li movies about a caped crusader who protects his identity whilst fighting against drug lord murderers. 1/10

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Classic....this is how martial arts choreography should be done, take notes wanna be martial arts action movie directors

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/15/23

Full Review

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Daniel Lee

Director

Jet Li

Michael

Karen Mok

Tracy Lee

Ching Wan Lau

Inspector 'Rock' Shek Wai-Ho

Lawrence Ah Mon

Operating Room Doctor

Moses Chan

701 Squad Member

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Synopsis

Simon (Jet Li) appears to be a mild-mannered librarian, but he's actually a genetically enhanced solider who feels no pain. His team of super-soldiers, code-named Squad 701, was disbanded after some of them had psychotic episodes and exhibited mental instability. Simon thinks his fighting days are behind him, but when members of the squad, led by his ex-commander, Hung (Patrick Lung), start murdering drug dealers, Simon dons a black mask and searches the streets for his former comrades.

Director: Daniel Lee
Producer: Hark Tsui, Tiffany Chen
Screenwriter: Teddy Chan, Ann Hui, Koan Hui, Hark Tsui, Joe Ma
Distributor: Artisan Entertainment, Odeon Films, Rapid Eye Movies, Alliance Releasing Home Video
Production Co: Distant Horizon, Film Workshop Ltd.
Rating: R
Genre: Action
Original Language: Chinese
Release Date (Theaters): May 4, 1996, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 11, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $12.5M
Runtime: 1h 30m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)