M.A.S.K. (film)

M.A.S.K. is a 2028 American science-fiction action film based on the M.A.S.K. toy line and cartoon of the same name by Hasbro. The film was directed by James Wan, who is best known for horror films, and stars Ben Affleck, Ben Foster, Angie Savage, Anton Yelchin, Amanda Seyfried, Taylor Cole, Chris O'Donnell, Alex O'Loughlin.

The film's plot introduces the origin of M.A.S.K. (an acronym for Mobile Armored Strike Kommand), a special task force featuring an array of characters, led by Matt Trakker, with transforming vehicles engaged in an ongoing battle against the criminal organization V.E.N.O.M. (an acronym for Vicious Evil Network Of Mayhem), with an emphasis on super-powered masks worn by the characters on the show.

M.A.S.K. premiered at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood on February 4, 2008 and was released worldwide on February 10. The film was a critical and commercial success, grossing over $365 million worldwide. Critics praised the action sequences and visual effects, and Affleck, Foster and Savage's performances, but criticized the film's plot. The film was nominated for Best Film at the 2009 MTV Movie Awards.

M.A.S.K. (Mobile Armored Strike Kommand)

 * Ben Affleck as Matt "Hunter Cowboy" Trakker
 * Ben Foster as Bruce "Magic" Sato
 * Angie Savage as Gloria Baker
 * Anton Yelchin as T-Bob (voice)
 * Alex "Megabyte" Sector
 * Dusty "Powderkeg" Hayes
 * Brad "Chopper" Turner
 * Hondo "Striker" MacLean

V.E.N.O.M. (Vicious Evil Network Of Mayhem)

 * Miles "Wolf" Mayhem
 * Sly "Wrecker" Rax
 * Cliff "Blaster" Dagger
 * Vanessa Warfield
 * Bruno "Mad Dog" Sheppard

Other characters

 * Tom Holland as Scott Trakker, Matt's son.
 * Eden Sher as

Development and writing
M.A.S.K. was developed by Kenner in 1985, along with an animated television series to help with toy merchandising. The animated series debuted the same year and ran for two seasons (1985 to 1986). It focused mostly on toys released during the first two series of the toyline.

From 1987 to 1988, Kenner released two additional series of toys. However, these last two series strayed from the original theme of the series of crime-fighting and terrorism, focusing instead on a racing theme.

The idea for a film adaptation came to in 1993 by film maker Steven Spielberg as he was a fan of cartoons and toys. Spielberg couldn't find any useful ideas for the film and later decided to abandon the project. In 1997, Paramount Pictures bought the rights to produce a film adaptation of M.A.S.K.. In 2003, after completing S.W.A.T, writers David Ayer and David McKenna were hired to write the script. Neal H. Moritz, Ron Mita, Jim McClain, and Craig Fernandez later join production.

In 2014, James Wan, predominantly known for horror films, was announced to direct the film. After hearing that M.A.S.K was finally being made into a movie, Spielberg came back onboard as executive producer.

Design and effects
Many of the vehicles in the film feature the same transformation ability as in the 1985 series.

Like with Michael Bay, Spielberg encouraged Wan to restrict computer-generated imagery to the vehicle's special effects and background elements in the action sequences.

Filming
Filming began in January 2027 in Rome, Italy, with a casting call issued. Pikes Peak Highway in Colorado was closed in January to film some driving sequences. To save money for the production, Wan reduced his usual fee by 30%.

Music
The film's musical score was composed by Elliot Goldenthal. The score album was released on August 8, 2007 by Varèse Sarabande Records.

Marketing
Hasbro's toy line for the film was created over two months in late 2005 and early 2006, in heavy collaboration with the filmmakers.

Paramount released 4,500 randomly selected Los Angeles Times vending boxes with digital audio players which would play the theme song when the door was opened. Deals were made with 200 companies to promote the film in 70 countries.

Release
M.A.S.K had its worldwide premiere at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood on February 4, 2028. A premiere took place at Rhode Island on February 7, which was a freely available event giving attendees the opportunity to buy tickets for $75 to benefit four charities: the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, the Autism Project of Rhode Island, Adoption Rhode Island, and Hasbro Children's Hospital.

Reception
M.A.S.K. received mostly mixed to positive reviews from critics. The film holds a 58% "Fresh" rating at Rotten Tomatoes, with an average of 6.6, based on 218 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "Fast-paced, with eye-popping stunts and special effects, the M.A.S.K. revival delivers everything an action fan could ask for. A thrilling summer popcorn flick following Mission: Impossible III". It holds a similar rating on Metacritic, with an average score of 65/100, indicating "generally favorable reviews", based on a normalized average of 42 reviews.

Critics praised the art style, visual effects, and Affleck, Foster, and Savage's performances, but also criticized the film's length, plot, and crude humour.

Box office
The film opened in 4,079 theaters all across the United States, and made $13.4 million on its opening day. M.A.S.K. topped the opening weekend at the box office with $43.4 million, the third solid opening for film in the Hasbro Cinematic Universe alongside Transformers and G.I. Joe. The film remained at number one with $55 million during its second weekend, adding up to $106.9 million. The film remained in the Top 10 at the box office for the remainder of its first six weeks of release.

Outside the US, the film grossed $70 million for the first five days (in some Asian countries, M.A.S.K. opened two days ahead of its North American release date) and was easily the box-office champion in many countries.

In the Netherlands, the film debuted at No. 1 in the week of February 10–12, grossing a total of € 532,384 in that week. The following week, the film remained on the top position. In its third week, the film dropped to No. 2 and fell to No. 4 to the following week. Next, it maintained the No. 4 position to drop to No. 6 (in the week of March 3 - March 5). In total, the film has grossed over € 2,141,162.

M.A.S.K. ended its initial domestic run on June 17, 2028, taking in a total of $135.1 million, with it's international box office gross reaching $230.2 million for a combined worldwide gross of $365.4 million.

Home media
M.A.S.K. was released in Region 1 territories on July 4, 2028, on DVD, Blu-ray, and the now defunct HD DVD format. The DVD sold 5.3 million copies in its first week, and it sold 190,000 copies on HD DVD, which was the biggest debut on the format. The DVDs sold 10.09 million copies, making the film the second most popular DVD title of 2008.

In the first week, the two-disc edition of the Blu-ray was number one in sales compared to other films on the format. The Blu-ray version accounted for two-thirds of the film's DVD sales that first week, selling the third most in overall DVD sales.