IMDb > Black Mask 2: City of Masks (2002) > IMDb user comments
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20 out of 26 people found the following comment useful :-
Unnecessary negativity towards an all-around good film, 30 January 2003
10/10
Author: crashman79 from USA

I don't understand why there are so many negative comments on this movie. Just watched the DVD last night, and in my opinion it was great. The effects were done nicely, the wire work is great, and Jet Li not reprising his role of the Black Mask is entirely forgivable. The only gripe I have really it took me some thought after watching the movie to figure out what animal Claw was bonded with.

Yes, it departs from the original's style, but aren't you getting tired of sequels that are just the same movie with different villians? That would kinda get like the Megaman (Rockman) video game series.... still entertaining but you've already seen it.

In all the movie was excellent, aside from the oh-so-slightly cheesy costumes when the animalists "turned" which for the most part aren't noticeable (slow-mo wasn't a good idea for a few scenes).

Those of you that are being so negative towards this movie, in my opinion, would have liked the flick a lot better if you hadn't seen the first, but I could be wrong.

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18 out of 23 people found the following comment useful :-
Better than expected, 20 January 2003
6/10
Author: jhs39 from Chicago, IL

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.

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17 out of 23 people found the following comment useful :-
Has its moments, 21 January 2003
Author: dmoynihan from Rockville. MD

come on, can any film with former Porn Star Traci Lords in a supporting role as a genetically modified pro-wrestler/reptilian creature be all that bad?

I've only seen the (apparently lousy) version of Jet Li's Black Mask, but this one is at least as good as that other piece of garbage. There are elements of Roller Ball here, a mixing of Australian and Thai cinematic cultures, and yeah, the whole thing loses me with its maudlin kid.

But didn't you giggle a little bit, if only unintentionally, at the Doctor who went paralytic whenever she was touched by a man?

A fine adolescent pass-time, worth it as the second DVD you rent.

Or maybe third.

OK, the dialogue blew.

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22 out of 36 people found the following comment useful :-
Fantastic Adventure, 3 March 2003
10/10
Author: masibindi from Tallahassee, FL

Polished performances, lightning action, great special effects, exciting characters, non-stop plot developments, horror thrills and chills, poignant moments, unpredictable, well-made flick. Exquisite direction, very original concepts, reprehensible villains, excellent score. As good as the first one which starred Jet Li.

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13 out of 20 people found the following comment useful :-
Not jet li but a good followup, 9 February 2003
10/10
Author: addy-nuff from london, england

I cant work out why some votes are low on this movie.. Ok so its not jet li and not so many people have seen this movie but the affects and time spent on this and with a not so bad storyline this movie is a good followup and needs to be seen...

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8 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
Cheesy but fun...for fans of the Guyver films, 4 January 2003
Author: AlbertV79 from New York

I expected the sequel to be pretty cheesy since Jet Li couldn't reprise the role he made legendary. It's like watching one of the Guyver films, only instead of the Guyver, you have Black Mask, played decently by newcomer Andy On. There always has to be one who thinks differently of everyone and if I am the only one, so be it!!! I liked Black Mask 2, even though I don't consider it a true sequel to the original. But as a fan of the Guyver films, I enjoyed it. If you liked the Guyver films, check out this film.

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5 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
This movie made me love pro-wrestling again., 20 March 2003
Author: (dead_m_a_n_walking@yahoo.com)

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Slight spoilers-

Actual TV pro-wresting has become very boring, but this film takes the 'sport' to a whole new level. The wrestlers with animal powers, or the 'good guys' (as they are called in the DVD's scene listing) combine the power and drama of wresting with unique animal traits, that keep you glued to the action. But even if they didn't, Tyler Mane, Rob Van Dam, Traci Lords, and new comer Robert Mukes (both as humans, and in their animal forms) have such amazing screen presence you can't help but admire their performances.

My only problem with the movie is that the wrestlers weren't the main story, or even the main good guys, or bad guys, the goal of the film seemed to be, to make them as neutral, or meaningless as possible, so that we as the audience focus more on the suffering of Black Mask.

In the scene where the main bad guy tells the wrestlers that if they are scared they can always leave, but then holds out a million dollar check for each one of them, you can really see the character come through; Wolf (greedy, and makes rash decisions that in the end leave him angry at everyone but himself, which is why he is my least favorite of the group), Claw (he is emotionally strong when it comes to protecting other members of his team, which is why he can't seem to walk away from a bad situation), Snake (playing up on Robert Mukes's innocent looking face, snake is the weakest member of the group, both physically and emotionally).

Chameleon and Thorn , however, do get a decent amount of time to reveal the inner-workings of their characters, as Chameleon spends the entire movie trying to find a way to cure her animal powers, and Thorn is loyal to the bad guys because he has already evolved his powers to the point where he can control them, therefore he has a level of self confidence not shared by any of the other wrestlers.

As for the Asian actors, the main characters. I just fast forwarded though most of their scenes. This is a 7/10 movie, a must see, even if you love pro-wresting.

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6 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
Rob Vam Dam is in it!, 16 April 2003
5/10
Author: gary brennan from Swindon, England

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.

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15 out of 27 people found the following comment useful :-
An unprecedented "masterpiece" and more than likely the most audacious comic book-like movie ever made., 6 March 2006
10/10
Author: Manny-54 from England

This is no Batman, Spiderman, Sin City, Power Ranges, X-Men... this film's comic book-like effect is achieved by the inverted strategy of incorporating all the elements of a live-action into the codes of a typical comic book. Totally unprecedented mix of stylism!

What's the most fascinating that this film is using extremely subversive methods challenging the constraints of the movie (or genre) language and also our own reality by creating an artificiality in a futuristic multi-cultural highly advanced purely philosophical dimension that somehow represents the world of our wildest imagination, subconscious desires and illogical dreams, and de-facto reflecting our modern social thinking and time of the globalization... especially of the Asian and American cinema, the film is wittingly dealing with the mix of American (Californium, Iridium) and Asian (all the victims of this transformation) sensibilities and letting their main characters fighting for their own identity and searching for their own cultural roots. From this perspective the film is a pure philosophy encapsulated in a visual form contemplating the materialistic world we might be coming closer every day by our impulse for escaping from the reality... now be it the materialism in terms of the video games, computers, films or any other fascinations with the unknown that have no basis in the reality...

Why i used to call this an "unprecedented masterpiece"? Well, probably because this film clearly and perfectly meets all the criteria it has brought on itself (see above). This film practically reaches to such distant borders very few average moviegoers could even catch on to. To them the credit of a "masterpiece" is still just related to the sort of artistic "pretentiousness" (if you know what i mean) but in my mind this word's meaning is not as limited when considering the infinite possibilities of the film language.

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5 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Black Belt it ain't ..., 5 February 2007
1/10
Author: kosmasp

Not even "Black Mask" (that's referring to the at least funny attempts in the first movie with Jet Lee)! And I won't even go there to talk about actors (nonexistent or at least maybe hiding behind a "mask"?!?) or a plot (also nonexistent, but even if you tried to search for it you wouldn't find it behind any mask!).

Now if we'd leave those two facts out of the equation, you still could have a fun decent little b-movie here. But you read right (not only the 1 star I gave it, but also the word "could"!)! Nope, this movie isn't only (un-)funny, it has also a really bad action choreographer. Or maybe it was all the stunt teams fault who knows. But if you got no plot and not even decent acting, than the least you should have in a b-movie action picture is a few decent action scenes ... And there are nowhere to be found ... (btw. even the appearing/listed Rob van Dam (WWE/ECW) can't elevate this movie, for any fans out there!)

Final Conclusion: You shouldn't bother to watch it (imo)

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