the audience applauded

Perfect cast and a good story

One of the best films i have seen

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

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.

In a world where the second world war never happened, class structure is rigidly enforced, Nikola Telsa wins the Nobel Prize and there are dirigibles, gyro-copters and the like, a villain called K-20 (because he has at least 20 different faces) is going around stealing art treasures from the rich. Well known detective Akechi is called into investigate when K-20 steals the model of a Telsa free energy machine. Things get complicated when circus performer Heikichi Endo is mistaken for K20 by the police when the job of photographing the engagement ceremony of Akechi to his fiancé the Duchess Yoko Hashiba, goes horribly wrong. It soon becomes clear that K-20 has set up Heikichi, and its left to the young circus performer to find away to break free and clear his name.I have described this as the superhero (Batman like) movie that I have been waiting for but never knew I was waiting for it. For the two hours and twenty minutes of the running time I was the two year old kid with the Batman t-shirt on with his nose literally pressed against the glass of the screen. I was there and going along for the ride where ever the ride took me.And what a ride. Set in a steam punkish world like our own but different, this is a film that was free to go and do what it wanted. Its a film that takes all the cool things from the pulp fiction of the 1930's and 40's mixes them with the iconic superhero material from today and serves it up into a mixture thats familiar but wonderfully new. Yes you've seen it before, there are shots that are cribbed from a variety of sources (the Batman movies) but they are the right shots to use. They are visual cues that deepen what we are watching.The plot moves along as a grand mystery, but at the same time odds are you're going to know who's who and whats what. The plot will play out in ways best described as the sort of thing you can guess, but at the same time thats not right. Things play out as they must. This is a retelling of a story that we all know and we laugh and cry out and cheer when the film gets to our favorite parts even though we've never seen them before. Thank god no one was around me in the theater as I repeatedly said "YES!" to myself as the film hit every point exactly as it should.I loved the characters.Takeshi Kaneshiro as Heikichi Endo is right on target.He is the hero we'd all like to be. Even better is Takako Matsu as Yoko. The prim and proper young lady who proves to be much more than her title suggests. Her refrain that she is a "modest girl from a good family" covers a great deal of kick ass ability. She is now my new ideal woman (sorry Mrs Charles). The rest of the cast is for the most part note perfect.Is it a perfect film? No, some of the plotting is a bit awkward as if they didn't quite clip it from the source correctly. There are a couple of burps with the CGI of K20 bouncing across the roofs and in one bit the dialog between Heilichi and his young friend is awkward. Other wise its just a great rip roaring adventure that Hollywood should have made but didn't. (Okay twist my arm there aren't enough dirigibles and I would have loved a gyro-copter chase- but I'm being picky.) You want to see this, and you want to see it on as big a screen as possible. This film rocked my world and reduced me to a gibbering idiot as the phone messages I left after seeing it will attest.This is one of the best films of the year and one of my favorite films, period.See this film. If they give this film a big screen release in the US go see it you will love it.Thats it, go see this. (and I haven't even talked about the action which includes one of the best final confrontations between antagonists I've seen. I loved it, really)

K-20 was the most fun I had in a movie theater in a long time. Yes, there are deeper movies, and definitely more expensive ones, especially on this side of the ocean. But K-20 kicks Spiderman's butt (or any other recent costumed hero movie) any day of the week. Special effects are there, but this is first of all a movie about people.Set in an alternate 1949, where Word War II never happened, K-20 takes place in a poorer Japan, that bears many signs of the alliance with the Reich. The sets are very well done, imagine a steampunk Blade Runner mixed with post-Dickens, post-Industrial revolution London. This is Teito, the capital of Japan, where orphans roams the streets and the Imperial aristocracy rules with fear and armed men. One ruthless vigilante roams the streets (well, perhaps the roofs): K-20, who in spite of his professed Robin Hoodism is less than loved by the population, who'd rather root for his arch-enemy, the aristocrat Inspector Akechi. Yet K-20 is not the main character here: the hero is Heikichi Endo, who is framed for the crimes of K-20, beaten and imprisoned. How he will be able to escape, clear his name (and save the world, in passing) keeps you glued to your seat for the over two hours and fifteen minutes of the movie.The retro atmosphere reminded me a little of Chabon's Kavalier & Clay, if a movie could ever do it justice. Parkour lovers will definitely enjoy the antics of the hero in training. Everyone else, manga fan or not, will have fun.