Nerdly » ‘Heroes of the Golden Mask’ VOD Review

01st Jun2023

‘Heroes of the Golden Mask’ VOD Review

by James Rodrigues

Stars: Kiefer O’Reilly, Ron Perlman, Natasha Lui Bordizzo, Christopher Plummer, Patton Oswalt, Byron Mann, Osric Chau, Zeus Mendoza, Kingston Chan, King Lau | Written by Xiaoming Yao, John Wilson, Dennis Edwards | Directed by Sean Patrick O’Reilly

Living on the streets of Chicago, homeless teenager Charlie (Kiefer O’Reilly) spends his days trying to survive through stealing. Those problems seem small when he is magically transported back in time to the mysterious lost city of Sanxingdui, where he is selected to join the city’s heroes. Their mission? To use the abilities bestowed upon them from the golden masks to stop brutal conqueror Kun-Yi (Ron Perlman) from invading in search of a powerful artefact.

Inspired by the real-life archaeological discoveries of ancient Sanxingdui bronze masks, director Sean Patrick O’Reilly helps bring alive a story which aims to ground a fantastical world in human ways. Those aspirations are unfortunately out of reach due to lacking elements which let things down. Take a key sequence where the heroes cannot use their powers as it would spell their doom. This results in them crossing a village being raided, as the situation showcases their heroism despite the odds being against them. While being a solid yet unremarkable example of characterisation, the situation is lessened due to the lacking sense of peril.

Despite the serviceable animation style, the visuals become questionable when it comes to the character models. While the interchangeable character appearances are noticeable, the most distracting thing is their “dead behind the eyes” look. Not helping matters are the children’s ugly facial designs, seemingly animated by someone that only knows of kids in theory. Hampering matters are the mixed bag of voice performances, as some lack feeling while others suffer from uneven sound mixing. It becomes off-putting how the half-hearted dialogue is filtered through line readings which can sound too quiet or echoey.

While focusing on the struggles Charlie has faced, it does not sit well how everyone’s judgement of him goes unchallenged. The worst is constantly expected of him by his mentor, Li (Natasha Lui Bordizzo), while the character is repeatedly called weak and dishonourable for his actions, yet there is never a consideration for the tough life he had to live. It is all glossed over, with more time devoted to Charlie’s modern-day knowledge helping the past citizens and the forcibly delivered lame quips.

No surprises are found as each expected story beat is hit, although they did not have to be done in such unremarkable ways. This is best exemplified in Charlie’s journey, as his tragic past involving foster families has left him with trust issues which closes himself off from familial figures. The moment Charlie’s journey reaches its expected climax should be a big moment, yet it is delivered with little feeling.

A big part of the marketing is how this film contains Christopher Plummer’s final performance, while conveniently neglecting to mention how his voice is given to a barely-appearing mobster that Charlie owes money to, who is stylised after Marlon Brando’s iconic role in The Godfather. This very odd inclusion is an unnecessary source of tension to manufacture tiresome conflict, and would only serve to satisfy Plummer completionists. For anyone looking for an animated film to entertain the children, there are much better options available.