K-20: Kaijin nijû mensô den

I watched this at a Fantasy Film Festival and was surprised how funny it was. The action part was expected, but the silly things in the movie really do work. You could say "Spirit" silly, although the overall movie is not as silly as Spirit of course.

It's a really great "Origin" movie and I guess you don't have to know the Mangas this is based on (I hadn't read/seen anything about this character, before I watched the movie). Great action set pieces, great actors, nice editing, of course mostly foreseeable, but still quite a few crazy ideas. If you like fun action movies, you can't go wrong with this one!

American remakes of Asian movies are becoming common nowadays... well, take this Hollywood! "Japanese Batman-meets-Spiderman" pretty much describes this movie. Explanation of plot not necessary.

Despite the lack of originality and the absurdity of the story, it turned out to be a very entertaining movie for me. The cast is all-star, and not only that, they fit their part very well.

One thing I really have to praise about this movie is the CG. The special effects in this movie was by far the best I have seen in any Japanese films. It's true this is nowhere near the Hollywood level, but at least it's not ridiculously fakey like every other Japanese movies that attempted to create an entire world with CGI.

A funny and exciting thriller, don't think too much and just enjoy the movie.

Quite frankly I dislike most of the Hollywood comic to screen adaptations that have been made possible with high budget CGI and motion control. The most positive thing about a cheaply made film is that either the makers deliver shoddy goods (nearly every SciFi Channel movie) or they focus on story, drama and comedy which can result in the most satisfying movie.

K-20 inhabits a world that's very familiar to comic book readers, alternate history what-if. Here the Japanese have avoided WW2 and have evolved into a strange combination of the Taisho era with the totalitarian leanings of the Showa with technology seemingly mired in the 1920's even though the film is set in the late 1940's. German is used instead of English when a universal language is needed. The film revolves around a Japanese invention that finally brings Tesla's dream of wireless energy to fruition. Unfortunately it can also be used as an extremely powerful weapon.

The look of the film is excellent and the effects are, as others have pointed out, very good and well conceived. But that is true of many other big budget films like this. What makes this film different is the drama that fleshes out the fantasy. It's not perfect, some of the acting is old-school over-acting, the main characters are very familiar to anyone with familiarity with Japanese entertainment especially the Duke's daughter. And there are some moments that strain the viewer's credibility but The Dark Knight had moments like that as well. Overall the film ended and I had enjoyed myself.

There are way worse ways to spend your time, (The Spirit anyone?) hopefully this film will see a wide release.

When I bought "K20: The Legend of the Black Mask" I believed it to be a Japanese superhero movie, but usually Takeshi Kaneshiro is great in movies, and that was the main reason for buying it, plus it was a live-action Manga movie, so what could possibly go wrong here?

"K20: The Legend of the Black Mask" is not a superhero movie, not by a long shot. And the black masked person known as K20 wasn't even the actual main character. The movie is about Heikichi Endo (played by Takeshi Kaneshiro) who is a circus performer getting framed for the crimes done by K20. Out to prove his innocence, Endo teams up with the police in order to take down K20 and clear his name. The story takes place in Japan, and World War II haven't taken place, which was an unusual approach to the story, but in overall, that fact actually didn't reflect much in the story. There were German words seen here and there, such as Polizei and the writings on the Tesla contraption, and they had changed the atomic bombs exploding to another disaster (though still an atomic disaster).

The story is actually quite good, and it is well written and well directed. And the people cast for the various roles really did great jobs in fleshing out their characters and making the story come to life on the screen. And the way the story is told is in a manner that keeps you riveted to the chair wanting to see what happens next. There is a lot of action in the movie, but also a lot of character development, which is really nice.

"K20: The Legend of the Black Mask" really surprised me, and it turned out to be much better than I had initially anticipated. And it was a great thing that it wasn't a superhero movie.

The effects used in the movie were really great, believable and in your face. That worked well for the movie. And the props and costumes were also nicely made, lots of nice touches and details, which I like.

"K20: The Legend of the Black Mask" is a great action movie, and it has a lot of entertainment value right from the very beginning. If you like Japanese movies with lots of action, then this movie is well worth checking out. And it is one of those types of movies that actually have enough entertainment value to be seen more than once.

Thumbs up for this movie! Great fun! Great entertainment!

I was surprised by how much fun I had with this film. I was skeptical, but this turned out to be a really enjoyable Japanese film. It reminded me of 90's action adventure period pieces like The Shadow and The Rocketeer, which were some of my favorite films to watch as a kid. If you also enjoyed films like those, and to a lesser extent, films like Indiana Jones and other period action adventures, you will no doubt enjoy the film too.

The film takes place in Japan, 1949. World War II never took place and Japan remained with the feudal system, while the poor and the wealthy remained separate with no middle class. The wealthy rule, while the poor are left to starve and die on the street. None help the poor, with the exception of K-20, a master thief who steal priceless artifacts from the rich.

The film's main focus is Endo Eikichi, a circus performer who is tricked by K-20 into committing a crime and taking the blame for being K-20 himself. From there one, Eikichi is set on a quest to catch K-20 and clear his name.

The best thing about the film is its lead, Takeshi Kaneshiro as Eikichi. He's highly entertaining, as usual, and does a good job as he goes from agile circus performer to competent thief. He's funny, exciting, and plays up all the right things for this kind of film. The supporting cast is great as well, made up of several veterans of Japanese film and TV. They deliver in their performances with the right mix of adventurous spirit, drama, camp, and humor.

The film is also big, with some big sets, and few decent cg sets, and some big action moments. The best action sequences utilize parkour-style stunts, but less in the way B13 does it and more in common with something like Assassin's Creed, which came to mind during the big training sequences. These sorts of action scenes are a lot of fun and create for some excellent foot chases.

While the film does get a bit preachy about its rich versus poor plot line, it remains fun and, even when it slows down, the acting keeps you engaged. There is also a great deal of humor mixed in, which keeps things light. Suffice to say, the film never feels too heavy handed. Although it could have played up it's issues much more seriously, it thankfully never does.

Overall, I have to say that this is one of the more enjoyable Japanese films I have seen in a while. Much like America, I can't say I have seen too much I have thoroughly enjoyed as I enjoyed this film. If there were more films that aimed for the scope and Hollywood scale of this film, with as much talent as went into this film, we might see more enjoyable pictures from Japan.