Romeo
Must Die (2000)
Rated R
Starring: Jet Li, Aaliyah, and Isaiah Washington
Rating:

out
of

|
Jet Li, along with Jackie Chan, is probably responsible for the death
of the American action hero genre. While the latest movies with Sylvester
Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger flounder at the box office, Jet Li
and Jackie Chan continue to succeed. While Li and Chan's movies might
not be any more intelligent than Stallone's or Schwarzenegger's, they
certainly seem a lot fresher and more innovative in their action sequences.
Romeo
Must Die features Jet Li as Han Sing, a former cop who breaks out
of a Hong Kong prison to avenge the death of his brother. Han's brother
was a member of a Chinese crime organization and appears to have been
murdered by members of an African American crime family. When Han arrives
in America, the first person he meets is, by coincidence, Trish (Aaliyah),
the daughter of the African American boss, Issak (Delroy Lindo.) Trish,
who is not involved with her father's dealings, still may face the retaliation
of the Chinese because of her relation to Issak. When Trish's brother
is killed, Han and Trish try to find out who is responsible and, of course,
get revenge.
Romeo
Must Die is very loosely
based on Shakespeare's "Romeo and
Juliet" in that there are two warring families and a member of each
become romantically involved. (Although, the "romantic" involvement
of Han and Trish is questionable because I don't even recall them kissing
on screen.) The similarities between The Bard's story and this script
are otherwise nonexistent as this is, basically, just a plot device to
make the fight sequences possible. Jet Li's fighting style is what's powering
this vehicle and, unlike his last American-released film, The Black
Mask,
this one seems pretty dependent on wires and computer effects to achieve
any "Wow!" factor. Still, watching a Jet Li movie is like eating
popcorn: Ingest, enjoy and forget.
Trivia: Rapper
DMX is featured as Silk, a dance club owner. (Source: The
Internet Movie Database) |