Review: Black Mask 2: City of Masks

An operative named Dr. Lang (Scott Adkins) is tasked with rubbing out Han Fung, AKA The Black Mask (Andy On). Meanwhile, a scientist named Moloch (Tobin Bell) is conducting genetic experiments on a group of professional wrestlers (Rob Van Dam, Andrew Bryniarski, Traci Lords, Tyler Mane, and Michael Bailey Smith among them) to create animal-human hybrids. Teresa Maria Herrerra plays one of Moloch’s scientists whom Black Mask tries to turn against Moloch. Jon Polito plays the requisite sleazy wrestling promoter.

 

A Tsui Hark film featuring martial arts, genetically altered professional wrestlers, Traci Lords, Rob Van Dam, Scott Adkins, and Tobin Bell. This has to be a classic, right? Not even close, it’s terrible. I guess I need to remember that while he gave us the fun “Zu: Warriors From the Magic Mountain”, Tsui Hark is also the man who gave us green explosions and Rob Schneider teaming with Van Damme in the pathetic “Knock Off”. This 2002 follow-up to the Jet Li masked superhero outing has constant, dynamic camera movement and almost nothing else to its credit. Yes it’s bonkers, but it’s also stupid and hasn’t anywhere near the budget it needs to pull this comic book martial arts sci-fi stuff off. The shithouse green screen is terribly cheap-looking to a distracting degree. Even for the time it’s inadequate.

 

The story is a dreadful mess, completely unfocussed and leaving important characters on the sideline, spending too much time on other characters only to dispense with them for the most part too in the end. Cluttered is the word. Meanwhile, Hark and the screenwriters have clearly never watched professional wrestling and just assume it’s like “American Gladiators” mixed with “Mortal Kombat”. That might sound somewhat appropriate if you’re not a fan, but if you are and watch this film you’ll role your eyes. Even in the Hulkamania era wrestling wasn’t this forced and stupid…let alone so fantastical. Not even The Giant Gonzalez was this lame, with his phony body suit with drawn on muscles.

 

As the chief villain Tobin Bell is solid but he can’t perform miracles. Scott Adkins looks cool and gives one of his better performances, perhaps partly because some of his face is obscured by huge goggles. Unfortunately, his character is in the employ of another villain who isn’t really in this film and Adkins is barely in it, either. That’s a bit of an issue. The late Jon Polito was a talented character actor, but this one’s not his finest hour as a performer, with the awful dialogue much to blame. Uncharismatic lead actor Andy On is a bore and his character poorly written, whilst leading lady Teresa Maria Herrerra has one note to play: Shrill. If she was meant to be likeable, she’s the exact opposite of that. The famed Woo-Ping Yuen is the choreographer and while there’s plenty of action, we’re a long way from “The Matrix” here.

 

Put “X-Men”, “Spawn”, “Street Fighter”, and “Ready to Rumble” into a blender that maybe is only half functional, and this is what you get. Only way worse than that might sound. No thank you, I’ll pass on this spoiled concoction. There’s gotta be a story behind why this film is as poor as it is. Based on a story by Julien Carbon, Laurent Courtaud & Hark himself, the screenplay is by Dirk Blackman (“Outlander”) and Charles Cain (suspiciously no other IMDb credits. A pseudonym perhaps?).

 

Rating: D+

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