The Mask is one of those films that I had heard about, but it dropped off of the radar for me. I remember seeing it while at a cool technology store that I used to be around, but then it closed. From that short clip, it definitely looked intriguing. The plot is definitely pretty intense…but could the film stand up to the hype?
Well, this film was definitely better than I would have guessed. The main character is Stanley and things have been pretty rough for him yet. He’s known as a pretty nice guy, but things don’t tend to turn out his way. A car drives through a puddle and wrecks his attire, he also gets ripped off and has to get a new car. One day, he finds a mask in the ocean and decides to take it home. What harm could it cause anyway? After putting it on, Stanley gains super powers and he can basically bend reality to his will. Definitely a useful power to have right?
The plot isn’t all fun and games as the gangs get to business. Tina is sent to the bank as an undercover agent to help them prep for the heist that will be coming up. Is she truly evil or can Stanley help her join the side of justice!? Dorian is the main villain as he wants to get rich and defeat Niko so that he can be the biggest criminal in town. Will Niko be able to stop this guy?
That’s essentially the plot in a nutshell. The film doesn’t really need to have a deep plot since you’re mainly in it to see how The Mask can keep on trolling everyone. The film hits a lot of the high notes that many films do not reach, but the only thing keeping it down is the fact that there is a lot of romance in the film. Tina’s first scene is in slow motion for dramatic effect and Stanley’s friend isn’t very chivalrous. Tina also has to use her charms to distract the main villain and another villain also fools Stanley. There’s also every scene at the night club involving dancing and singing. It certainly could be worse and you could quickly skip those scenes to maximize your enjoyment of the film. Still, the film has more romance than I would have expected.
Aside from that, the movie was very fun. Stanley was a pretty fun protagonist for the most part, mainly because of his overacting. His lines could get intense and his facial expressions make him as much fun to watch as Agent Ward. (Agents of SHIELD) The characters are really exaggerated in this film and that helps to set the mood. The cops were pretty good in this film and they were some of the better characters out there.
The main cop suspected Stanley pretty early on and he did a good job of rounding up the villains. He may not do a very good job of keeping the prisoners, but that’s hardly his fault. His partner isn’t very smart and he keeps up the trend of the character who’s so unsmart that it’s hard to believe. Stanley’s landlord was also a pretty good character and she had a shotgun at the ready. She’s an example of how a well prepared citizen should always be.
Of course, there was one character who completely out shined all of the others. That would be Milo, Stanley’s dog. Milo knew the score from the beginning and he’s a very smart dog. He plays a mean game of Frisbee and he’s able to jump very high. He plays a critical part in the movie and I’m glad that a film finally portrayed the dog accurately. Let’s just say that Milo dominates whoever is opposing him in every scene. He’s a large part of why the film was so good. He reminds me of my dog in a lot of ways. His power, His speed, His intelligence, and many more attributes.
The best scene in the film that didn’t include Milo was the police ambush when The Mask left the park. It was intense and also good to see the cops actually looking good for once. There were dozens of them outside and they were armed to the teeth. These guys definitely weren’t messing around, but The Mask always finds a way to stop them.
The Mask is an intriguing character because his reality warping powers seem to be limitless, but everyone takes it in stride. At one point, he breaks the fourth wall and the other characters just go with it. When he utilizes super speed to rob a bank, the cops just seem mildly surprised. It may be another one of The Mask’s abilities or just something to add to the comedy. Either way, I was definitely a fan of that part so I’m glad that they added it. It gives the film another layer of fun and excitement.
Overall, this film was pretty fun. It has a nice mix of comedy and action and there is a fight in the climax so you won’t end the film on a barrel of laughs. I would definitely recommend this film and it’s a unique experience. I can almost guarantee that you haven’t seen a film quite like this. It’s how you may expect a live action looney tunes film to look. Aside from the excessive romance, there really isn’t anything that’s majorly wrong with the film. It’s solid in all areas and is a well rounded film. The final twist in the ending is pretty great and leaves room for a nice sequel. (Which they totally should have done. The character who ends up with the mask in the ending could have made for a great main character!) Remember to be on the lookout for Milo when you watch the film!
Overall 6/10
Star Wars is a pretty big franchise and with (Spoiler Alert!) the new film coming out, it will be time for new fans to join the franchise. If you’re a first time reader, then this could be a good jumping on point for you. Death Sentence is a pretty good Star Wars comic and you don’t need to have a great understanding of the franchise to get what’s going on.
The comic starts off with Darth Maul and Savage as they are attacked by a group of mercenaries. They easily defeat them, but realize that someone has put a price on their heads. They’ll never be left alone when every bounty hunter will want a shot at them, so they decide to go the man who put the bounty on them and take him down. The only problem is that the Jedi will not make this easy on them. Darth Maul and Savage have a fight with the Jedi and they may have to use trickery as well as brute strength to win!
Meanwhile, the Jedi send out some diplomats to hopefully end things peacefully. They will also find out how the guy who submitted the bounty knew that Darth Maul was still alive. He was presumed to be dead after Obe Wan Kenobi took him down. Obe actually defeated half of Darth Maul, but now the villain had grown even stronger! The Jedi are tough, but without Kenobi himself…can they possibly defeat this guy? It’s times like this where they probably wish that Luke or Anakin could come to save the day. Of course, the heroes would be too powerful if all of their heroes were in one era.
The comic is very fast paced and there aren’t any scenes that drag on. We get to see Darth Maul corrupt many who may have been heroes, but his influence was too great. They believed in the myths far too much and didn’t even interpret them correctly, which didn’t turn out so well. Darth Maul was pretty impressive as always and he seemed to be virtually unstoppable. I don’t think that any of the heroes in the comic could have defeated him unless Kenobi joined the fray. Aside from Darth Vader, Darth Maul is probably the coolest Star Wars villain out there. (Granted that I haven’t seen all of them at the moment)
Savage is not even close to Darth Maul in terms of coolness and skill level. He seems to be more of a novice at fighting and he lets his emotions run wild during his fights. Since The Force is picky about such things, he can’t defeat the big shots. I can’t say that I cared for anyone in the Jedi army apart from Kenobi’s cameo. They just didn’t look very impressive and I never got around to liking any of the characters. I didn’t dislike them, but they never did anything that made me gain respect for them and rise above the standard characters of the world. (Ex: Random cop or shop owner)
Overall, this is definitely a solid way to start your Star Wars career and you can also see one of the stronger Star Wars characters take on a bunch of good guys. The Lightsaber has always been a pretty great weapon and it will continue to be in the future. It can reflect laser blasts and with The Force at their disposal, the Sith and Jedi remain vastly superior to ordinary mortals. The comic has a nice amount of action and I can’t really say that there were any negatives to it. It’s very short and makes for a nice read so I definitely recommend it.
Overall 7/10
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