I wanted to but couldn't!

A Masterpiece!

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

You could probably make some kind of an argument about the sensibility of having vehicles that just transform into other, different vehicles, but I'm not going to make that argument because that'd be silly. Even I think the toys were kind of cool.Instead, I'm going to argue from the perspective of an adult who didn't grow up with this cartoon as a child and therefore can see it for what it is, without rose-tinted glasses. No, it's not going to be complaining about being a weekly 30 minute toy commercial; on that regard, I can be incredibly forgiving. In fact, I tend to be quite forgiving towards most cartoons of the period. Out of all the ones that I have watched as an adult, regardless of whether I actually saw them as a child myself, there really only have been a select few that I can without a doubt say that I did not enjoy.MASK is unfortunately one of them. The biggest issue with the series is not immediately obvious; if you were to watch maybe two or three random episodes then yes, it might be perfectly watchable. But having watched every single episode has made it painfully clear to me that this cartoon is without a doubt the most repetitive friggin' thing I have ever seen. Out of the 65 episodes of the first season, there are less than five that don't follow the exact same formula; VENOM is somewhere around the world on some kind of a treasure hunt, Matt Trakker just happens to be there at the same time (I think only in one episode they actually bother establishing why), he summons the Mobile Armored Strike Kommand, they fight, good guys win, the end. And in the middle of it all, Scott and T-Bob get in trouble and make some puns.You could argue that a lot of 80's cartoons are repetitive, but none of them have been quite as shamelessly plot-recycling as MASK. There is absolutely no backstory episode, no character-building, nothing. It's just the same exact story, repeated ad nauseum, just with a different location every time. And the lack of backstory is the worst part; if you know anything about these characters at all, I guarantee you that information did NOT come from the cartoon series. Even the whole aspect of VENOM being mercenaries barely, if ever, comes up. Hell, several times it seems the writers even forgot T-Bob's supposed to be a robot; in one episode he almost drowns (he doesn't breathe!) and in an end-of-episode PSA about not putting plastic bags on your head, HE is the one doing it (HE DOESN'T BREATHE!)The worst part is that with the second season's racing-themed overhaul, you'd think the series would get some fresh ideas, but the treasure hunts don't even stop there - instead it just happens to be somewhere down the race track! The only thing that really struck out with the second season was that VENOM now got to do PSAs as well, which was absolutely hilarious because in the episodes they are constantly insulting each other and bickering, and suddenly they're demonstrating uncharacteristic concern for each others' wellbeing.As I wrote this review, I found myself knocking more and more stars off my already low rating, but I don't think I can in good conscience take it all the way down to one; if there is one thing going on for this show that's actually good, it's the animation quality being pretty consistent. Unlike many other cartoons of the era which were animated by a large variety of animation studios, leading to significant differences in animation quality and even character models across episodes, MASK was produced by DiC who appears to have used only one so there isn't any of the usual off-model shenanigans you might find in something like Transformers.

MASK was one of the iconic cartoon's of the 80's. There is not a single person I know who grew up at this time that didn't love it or at least know all about it. We are in a time where the previously unimaginable is now completely possible and to re-produce this cartoon into a front line movie would have the sci-fi lovers flocking to the cinema's around the world. We have seen the success of Transformers and there is yet more to come on that front, lets bring in Chris Nolan and Michael Bay (what must be the ultimate movie tag team we could hope get together) to look at a new, grown up action packed style of MASK and bring it to the level our imaginations had it at all those years ago.

This show should be brought back to re-air in the United States or be released on DVD. This is one cartoon that was of a group of eleven that had advice scenes at the end of each show. I have a petition that is trying to either get the show back on TV or released on DVD so everyone can enjoy it again and let the younger generations see it for the first time. The website address for the petition is Http://www.petitiononline.com/mask/petition.htmlPlease sign this petition so we can try to convince the owners of the show to either put it on TV again or release all of the Episodes on DVD. This is one show that should be seen again and the toys be released back on the market.

This is a good cartoon to check out if you're looking for those cool action toons you grew up with. Just becareful you don't run into any of the final season racing episodes -- those will sour your views of this amazing show...(make sure you get the episodes made by DIC Animation, NOT KENNER!)A covert team of superheros lead by Matt Tracker, use the powerful technology of MASK to attain super powers in order to combat the evil forces of VENOM. Each MASK member has a special cool-looking vehicle to help them in their fight. The catch is, VENOM forces also have special mask technology which makes them somewhat formidable foes.I grew up with this show - I too had to wake up at 6:00 am to see it, but it was worth it!This has to be one of DIC's better shows. It's action-packed, with reasonably interesting storylines. The characters are drawn and animated with depth - basically the artwork is polished and very desirable to look at. It's definitely well worth looking into in your 80s toon nostalgic quest!