It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Is it possible to be racist and entertaining? Sure. And if you doubt it, take a look at "The Mask of Fu Manchu." On one side, we have a group of nobly dedicated scientists and historians searching for the gold mask and sword once wielded by Ghengis Khan. On the other, we have cunningly evil Boris Karloff, his sloe-eyed daughter, Myrna Loy, and a horde of thugs determined to wipe out the white race. Any doubt who's gonna' come out on top? Fortunately, Karloff's performance in the title role is so demonically wicked, you're almost tempted to say let the villains win for a change. But no, our lucky band of crypt-invaders including Lewis Stone and Charles Starret (before he became a full-time cowboy) aren't about to allow a few thousand raving thuggies get the upper hand. No way this movie could be made now. But back in those more innocent -- and dreadfully naive days -- it wasn't a problem. And even if the racism makes you cringe, Karloff's performance is a class act.

This film is perhaps even more politically incorrect than its source material. Nayland Smith and Lionel Barton have no qualms from stealing from the tomb of Genghis Khan, a man who lived on the other side of the world and to whom they have no connection. In their quest of thievery, they readily enlist half-naked Asian men to help, never once even attempting to understand their culture, customs, or religion. For Smith, Sheila, Barton, and the rest --- Fu Manchu is a "yellow beast" and his people savages. The film's climax sees Smith and crew electrocute not only Fu Manchu but the entire crowd as well, making it clear that mass murder is totally okay, so long as it's against yellow people. The only good Asians are either dead, working for them, or as we see at the film's end, stupid. Aside from the plot, various other aspects of the film are problematic as well. Fu Manchu and his daughter are both played by white actors in heavy makeup --- the Asian equivalent of Blackface. Fu Manchu is purportedly Chinese while at the same time being the villain for the whole of "the East," as if director Charles Brabin doesn't realize that Asia is an entire continent comprised of all sorts of different countries. Add in Fu Manchu's black servants, and it's clear Brabin has absolutely no idea what "the East" is like at all.Is it entertaining? Sure, in a 1930's campy kind of way. But with a racist message at the core, it can't be considered a good film.

Hollywood often has the ability to produce such terrible movies wrought with insidious stereotypes and racial undertones, and this movie is no different. From the racist dynamic between the British and those of the elusive East, it's hard to understand the appeal to this movie. The use of yellow face is virulent, as well as the movies invocations of yellow peril. The notion of the West versus the East has historical implications, so is rather foolish for Hollywood to produce such a film, but hey, they did it anyway. Overall, as a film, it serves its purpose - to purport an unchecked fear of those on the East looking to take over. Watch at your own peril, unless you're looking for some comical propaganda.

Full disclosure: I laughed a lot during this movie and found it genuinely hilarious. With that said, I see a lot of comments that dismiss the the very blatant racist tropes to the times and sing the praises of this film as a cinematic classic. The makers of this film tried very hard to make Dr. Fu Manchu a villain and displays all the tropes that would come to be classic in the greatest villains of cinema. World domination? Check. Torture devices? Check. Mad science? Double check. A large part of his evil villain aura also happens to come from his exoticism. By exoticism I mean his Chinese-ness, what the book calls "the embodiment of the Yellow Peril". Early in the film he is even willing to sell his "ugly and insignificant" daughter to pursue his dreams of world domination. The mark of a true villain. Everything about his appearance and his speech is steeped in old-timey racist stereotypes, part humor part xenophobia. As I said before, I enjoyed the movie, and laughed quite a bit. But I know the difference between a good movie and a movie I enjoyed.