Black Mask

BLACK MASK — * 1/2 — Jet Li, Karen Mok, Lau Ching Wan, Francoise Yip, Patrick Lung Kang, Anthony Wong; dubbed; rated R (violence, gore, profanity, sex, vulgarity); exclusively at the Century Theatres 16.

With his combination of extreme athleticism and speed, action star Jet Li seems more like a superhero than a film star. So it's not too surprising that his latest, "Black Mask," is nothing more than a filmed comic book — albeit, a stupid and brutally violent one.

In fact, at times this relentlessly over-the-top action piece makes Li's U.S. film debut, "Lethal Weapon 4," seem like a Saturday morning cartoon in comparison.

And speaking of cartoony, the American distributor has given the 1995 film a ludicrously bad dubbing treatment (from its original Cantonese to English), and a booming soundtrack that features hip-hop and rap songs for its stateside release — songs that are even worse than those in the U.S. mangling of some Jackie Chan films.

All of this might be forgivable if the action scenes were worthwhile, but filmmaker Daniel Lee (a former Hong Kong television director) seems to have forgotten what Li's fans crave — his customary eye-popping martial-arts combat scenes. Instead, most of the action revolves around gunplay and explosions, which is a big mistake.

Li stars as Michael, one of a handful of survivors from a top-secret military program to create enhanced "super soldiers." Now living under the guise of a pacifistic librarian, Michael is hoping to leave his violent past behind him.

But no such luck. Other survivors — including his mentor (Patrick Lung Kang) and one-time flame (Francoise Yip, from "Rumble in the Bronx") — are threatening to take over Hong Kong.

So Michael dons a disguise and becomes the Black Mask, a costumed vigilante. Together with his best friend, a disgraced police detective (Lau Ching Wan), he plans to stop his former comrades.

It is a fun idea for a movie, but in Lee's hands the action gets unbelievably violent, with a surprising amount of gore thrown in for bad measure. And though the film attempts tongue-in-cheek humor, most of the laughs come from the corny dialogue and head-scratching plot developments.

Also, the surprisingly inept camera work obscures even the best hand-to-hand (and foot-to-foot) fight scenes, which were choreographed by Yuen Wo Ping, the action coordinator for "The Matrix."

"Black Mask" is rated R for violent gunplay and martial-arts action, gore, profanity, simulated sex and use of vulgar slang terms.