Mask of Death

MASK OF DEATH is a well-made thriller from Lorenzo Lamas' career as a staple player of the golden days of direct-to-video action fare. It's basically a remake of Chuck Norris' THE Hit-man, and I'm surprised to say that the Lamas flick is the superior effort of this sort of storyline. With that said, it's not a fantastic action film, and that's what brings down my rating: if I could value low-budget storytelling over fistfights, this one would have a four-star rating, but as it stands, MASK OF DEATH is missing the one crucial element to my idea of a good mid-90s action flick.

The story: After his wife is killed in a criminal deal gone wrong, Officer McKenna (Lamas) is declared dead but instead undergoes plastic surgery to disguise himself as a hit-man killed in action. Going undercover, McKenna infiltrates the dangerous underworld to bring a cruel mobster (Conrad Dunn) to justice.

The script is penned by a writer with little apparent experience (R.C. Rossenfier) and by high standards probably isn't all that special, but I like how it goes more into the mindset of Lamas and the ethical problems he faces in this situation than the aforementioned Norris picture. Lorenzo Lamas isn't a fantastic actor but he makes the most of this role while staying within the macho archetype. There are some surprisingly well-staged parts here, like the interrogation scene in the middle of the film. Additionally, I appreciate the casting of part-time action lady Rae Dawn Chong as McKenna's ex-partner: it's not a fantastic role, but it allows her to play a tougher character than she usually gets to, one who gets into fistfights and car chases and crashes.

As that last line indicates, the film is far from action-free but, it's too little and too impersonal for my tastes. There's a speedboat chase, two car chases, one shootout that Lamas is barely a part of, one bad hand-to-hand fight, and an instance wherein Rae Chong fends off an assassin with a towel, a jar of paint, and a wrench. Most of this passes as fairly big-budget stuff and would be at home in many a Hollywood feature, but it's just not what I'm after. There is plenty of opportunity for more karate and stylish gunfighting, but apparently the film was geared towards generic action to tide over the ultimately good story. It's disappointing and keeps the film from attain a four-star rating, but I don't think everyone will be bothered by it as much as me.

Basically, Lamas fans - especially those of his TV show - can feel free to check this one out, and potential fans who want to acquaint themselves with Lorenzo via a slightly sophisticated vehicle might as well seek it out too, but everyone else ought to settle for happening upon it on TV someday.

What worse then a movie with Lorenzo Lamas? A movie that has two Lorenzo Lamas's. In a loopy plot that casts him as a cop named McKenna who goes undercover and imitates his evil lookalike when the Russian mob led by Frank Dallilo (Conrad Dunn) kills McKenna's wife. A poor movie all around with no real merit, casting Lorenzo Lamas in two roles is even worse then when Jean-Claude Van Damme played two roles in Double Impact.

Lamas has dual roles as Det Dan McKenna and Russian Mafia liaison Lyle Mason. An FBI surveillance gone wrong gets McKenna's wife killed but not before she takes Mason with her. FBI agent( Billy Dee Williams) notices that Mason and McKenna look alike and with a little help from plastic surgery McKenna becomes Mason. Pain killers that seem to have the side effect of causing McKenna to become violent help to keep the charade going. The violence is never ending - the story line takes a back seat - and Lamas shows off all the right martial art moves.The ending looked like they were hoping for a sequel but it never happened.

With the luxury of writing this review in real-time while watching this film on television I should have the luxury of remembering any good parts. Unfortunately, there are none to be found here. The only remarkable thing about this film is that it uncategorizable -- it can't be considered a drama as everything is too predictable to be dramatic, it can't be called an action pic as the "action sequences" are hokey and unbelievable. It could be considered a crime picture as it's a crime that anyone wasted the resources to produce, market and broadcast this turkey. Lamas and Williams come off more smarmy than urbane, Rae Dawn Chong is not the hottie she used to be, the cop dialog is stilted and awkward and the production values are unremarkable and veritably scream Direct-To-Video. This film's only value is as a "How-To" guide for prospective B-movie directors. Run, Don't Walk to Avoid This Movie.

There are two things about "Mask Of Death" that will probably throw off a lot of potential viewers. The first is that this is a Canadian film, and the second is that it's a Lorenzo Lamas film. With each of those kind of films, quality is hard to find at times, so a combination of the two may sound deadly.

However, I found the film to be surprisingly watchable. The production values are definitely above average. While the movie never looks lavish, it is acceptably slick-looking and never looks seriously cheap. There is also some camera work that you usually don't get in a movie like this.

The plot will seem familiar to a number of viewers, but it's handled in an acceptable fashion, never being executed in a way that will make viewers groan. The hero does face a number of complications, and they are handled believably. The plot is also handled in a tougher than average way - there is some effective brutal violence that gives this telling of the story a hard edge.

As for Lamas... most of the movie has his character acting in a cold and detached way, so his unemotional way of acting actually fits a lot of the time. However, I will admit that when his character does have to show strong emotion (like rage), Lamas is very bad. But this was a minor quibble; I was never bored by the movie, and it passed the time well. It may not be a movie to seek out, but on a lazy weekend it will do its job.