Review of The Mask (1994) by Patrick L — 28 Jun 2012

Perhaps Jim Carrey's best ever film, to date, as he displays his zany and nerdy side for all of us to wonder at and be relieved at (we're not the geekiest or the least lucky in the world). Essentially Loki is trapped within a mask or is controlled through it until someone places the mask on their face. In the case of Carrey, we see a nerd being relieved to take vengeance on those who have wronged him but he quickly finds the fun in being a super powered being.

The Mask is what Batman and Superman films can never really be: namely cathartic and very funny.

We see him struggle with the temptation then give into it wildly with the mask on. He ends up wooing the girl who eventually sees through the disguise (thank you Cameron for a stereotype with heart and brains)!

The villain gets his hand on the mask and we are briefly shown the ultimate evil of Loki and his pawn.

However, Carrey's cute canine sidekick saves the day and all is soon well in the land of The Mask.

Arguably the best, most complete superhero film ever done in film history!

Amazing, the depth and breadth of criticism and praise for this film but I cannot agree necessarily with a lot of it. This film is excellent considering the story line, the relative experience of the filmmakers and the actors in each role and ultimately, I have to say that given all of the assets it has, this film definitely outdoes any other major film done on superheroes.

I say that, having seen the original Superman series, the newer one, both Batman series, the Avengers, the Spiderman series and the X-men series among other hero films. In almost all of the above films, there is a lack of something: believability, humour, hope, action or something else and yet The Mask manages to include practically everything that a film needs.

A film needs someone to root for (Stanley and to a lesser extent his friend, later Tina when she is in trouble), a villain (Tina's boyfriend and other smaller players), romance (Stanley and Peggy initially then Stanley and Tina ultimately), action (throughout the film), a cute and intelligent dog, the police who are not entirely sympathetic nor heroic but are ultimately good, special effects and so much more...oh of course, the humour which is not all "potty humour" as many films fail to recognize.

I've yet to find a better film with either Carrey or Diaz in it. This is their best film as a team and as individuals, in my opinion, though to be fair to Diaz, she could've been challenged more as an actress in other films compared to this one.