Matrixiole Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Verity Robins Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Kimball Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

HawkHerald Tsui Chik/Simon, a quiet librarian, is actually an ex-Special Forces super soldier. He is friends with Inspector Shek Wai-ho/Rock, a detective with Hong Kong Police, with whom Tsui Chik frequently shares conversation over chess. Tsui Chik learns his old commando unit, called 701, is still active, murdering gangsters and police in a grasp for power. Tsui Chik dons a black domino mask and bowler hat like Bruce Lee's Kato from The Green Hornet, becoming a masked vigilante to stop his old unit, inadvertently coming into conflict Shek Wai-ho/Rock and the police.Black Mask isn't something you watch for the story, there's a minimum of it. There's just enough to let you know who the good guys and the bad guys are. There's also a tiny amount of romantic subplot thrown with a co-worker and a former squad member of Tsui Chik's introduced to give him a more personal reason to fight the good fight. Jet Li is at his best, his jaw-dropping on screen fights are like no one else, including the legendary Bruce Lee and contemporary peer Jackie Chan.

dworldeater Black Mask is one of my personal favorites in Jet Li's filmography. This is easily , in my opinion his best gun fu film. Black Mask is very much in a sci fi /comic book style , but not in a PG13 Spider Man style . Black Mask is a brutal , ultraviolent wall to wall action classic that should please both fans of shoot em' up, detonation maximum bullet ballets as well as kung fu / martial arts fans. With Yuen Woo Ping choreographing the action and Jet Li as the lead , the fights /action are as good as it gets. There is enough blood and gore to satisfy the most bloodthirsty of action fans as well as some of the finest choreographed wire fu insanity of the period . Black Mask is for me a perfect blend of both styles of HK action . Also, a good job from the cast which has Lau Ching Wan and a cameo from Anthony Wong. The subtitled HK version don't look as good as the US version , but plays much better as a film without lousy English overdubbing and record scratching.

peter_okelly OK, it's not a perfect movie by any means but I disagree with the overall IMDb opinion that it's really really bad. I watched a lot of Hong Kong flix in the 1990's and loved the era dearly. I never saw 'Black Mask' at the time and only saw it last week for the first time. Apart from the embarrassingly poor dubbing which my DVD copy didn't give me the option to turn off, the movie contains the raw energy and bravado that permeated Hong Kong movies during this time. I still stick to my guns in the opinion that, when it comes to action, these guys, no matter what their budget, add an element of magic to the screen no Bourne Supremacy, Casino Royale or Mission Impossible (I'm not knocking these movies - I just reckon they lack the spontaneity of this one and feel too regulated) will ever achieve. What is it? It's the feeling that the film-makers were experimenting as they shot and edited, not afraid to leave in some blemishes so as to learn lessons for the next time. For me, this makes watching movies, all the more fun and dangerous.

mikelcat Very good martial arts film and Jet Li is the best since the master himself Bruce Lee .Li is excellent as the low key librarian/cop who saves all time and time again . He has a presence and a look that is riveting and believable as the kung fu king that you don't mess with .Francoise Yip is simply beautiful in that mixed race original way that is unique because of her mixed heritage , she has an innocence and an allure all at the same time that I found unforgettable .The villain , the man with the sunglasses and long hair was very good as well but I can't find his name in the credits , can some one help me out with that ? Thanks ! Enjoy Hak hap or Black Mask , in any language its good entertainment !