Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
Commissioned to map the Far East territories of the Russian Empire, cartographer Jonathan Green sets off on a long journey of unbelievable adventures—making breath-taking discoveries and meeting mysterious creatures, Chinese princesses, deadly masters of oriental martial arts, and even the King of Dragons.
Iron Mask (also known as Viy 2) is a sprawling Russo-Chinese co-production that blends European fantasy with Chinese martial arts adventure in an unusual mashup that gives it some novelty points. The cinematography offers visually ambitious set pieces and decent production values for its budget. However, the plot is convoluted and struggles to juggle too many threads coherently, and the acting—while featuring recognizable names like Jackie Chan and Arnold Schwarzenegger in supporting roles—is uneven, with the leads delivering middling performances. The ending resolves things in a perfunctory and unsatisfying manner. It earns mild credit for its intercultural genre fusion ambition but falls short in execution on most fronts.