Based on the comic book of the same name, The Mask stars rubber
faced Jim Carey as Stanley, the romantically doomed nice guy who is
always taken advantage of and yearns for companionship as opposed to
his dull life as a banker. When the gorgeous Tina
Carlyle (Cameron Diaz) sits at his desk to open an account and seems
flirtatious, his wounded self-esteem simply cannot fathom this
possibility and his awkwardness kicks in. At least for Stanley, he
has the loyal companionship of Milo, his clever Jack Russell.
After a disastrous night of his "average" life, he mistakes some floating
debris inthe river for a drowning man. Stanley jumps into the river and is
rewarded only with an odd mask for his trouble. But before you can
say Shazam, Stanley discovers that donning that
mask transforms him into an extrovert godlike creature with supernatural powers.
All
his inhibitions repressed, Stanley becomes The Mask, and woe to
those who’ve previously abused him. Drawn to the nightclub where
Tina appears nightly as a singer, Stanley is quickly embroiled in
conflict with underworld boss Dorian Tyrell (Peter Greene) and finds
himself being pursued by the police, Lt. Mitch Kellaway (Peter
Riegert) in particular.
Inspired by the animated musings of Tex
Avery, who created a hyper-exaggerated style that inspired many
Hollywood animators to come, and aided by the wizards at Industrial
Light and Magic, Chuck Russell has fashioned a funny fantasy that
was Jim Carrey’s most successful comic role to date. His energy and
outrageousness are ideally suited to the antics of The Mask. It
should also be noted that this is Cameron Diaz's first role and
apart from her drop dead gorgeous looks, she really proves that she
is more than a pretty face.
Presented in stunning Blu-ray widescreen, the colours of this are
extremely vibrant which go hand in hand with the movie. Match that
with Dolby True HD and this movie is a first class cinematic
experience. With a variety of special features that include "Behind
the Story" and some additional scenes and this is the definitive version
of The Mask that we could happily recommend to a variety of viewers.
