| IT'S
NOT "THE MATRIX" BUT IT'S STILL ENJOYABLE...
Written by Thomas
Chau
Edited by Andrew
Marcus
Cast:
Jet Li (Han Sing), Aaliyah (Trish O'Day), Russell Wong
(Kai), Isaiah Washington (Mac), Delroy Lindo (Isaak)
|
Premise:
An Asian and an African-American gang are in the
midst of a war for control over a waterfront in
Oakland. But when a member of one of the groups
shows up dead, things are no longer about business.
To make matters worst, escaped con Han flies from
Hong Kong and begins seeing Trish, the daughter
of the leader of the black gang. |
Overall
Rating:
Rated R
for language, violence, brief nudity
If
Romeo Must Die is, indeed, a sneak peak as to
what Jet Li has to offer American audiences, I say "Welcome
to our country! Before we start, however, let me offer
you a few pointers..."
Romeo
Must Die
is an action-packed blockbuster mixed with an all too
familiar storyline about love coming from the wrong
side of the tracks. An excellent opportunity for Jet
Li to show off his skills? Of course. But you would
think that in order to make it in the movie capital
of the world, he would give us his best film to date.
Unfortunately, this is not the case.
This
does not go to say that this movie sucked because it
really didn't. But all the hype about this film being
The Matrix of 2000 simply deserves one of Li's
kicks to the groin. The film had the action, excitement,
and intensity needed for any enjoyable action flick.
Nevertheless, it was definitely not one of Jet Li's
best movies. For you interested Li fans, check out Fist
of Legend, critics' choice for best Jet Li film
ever.
Anyway,
back to Romeo Must Die. The movie opens with
a quick action teaser scene in a nightclub, where a
man named Po is caught in a predominantly black nightclub.
In a few flashes and a couple of kicks later, Po's Chinese
gang posse arrives at the scene, just itching to kick
ass. Demanding that no further trouble occurs, the Chinese
gang is ordered to leave the nightclub.
The
death of a Chinese gang member triggers anger in Han
(Jet Li) and forces him to make his way to America.
The gang member happens to be Han's older brother and
Han (following old Chinese tradition) will do anything
to avenge his brother's death. But that's not to say
he can't fall in love at the same time.
Sticking
to Shakespeare's classic "Romeo and Juliet"
story, Han develops a crush for Trisha (Aaliyah), who
is the daughter of Isaak O'Day, the leader of the black
gang, and all hell breaks loose. Bodies are ending up
everywhere...but who is really killing who? The war
begins...
Jet
Li has shown that he can display more success with his
movies in America than Jackie Chan. Li has the typical
quiet, shy ambience to his personality while at the
same time, can do some major ass-kicking when he's pissed.
Li displays his martial arts abilites in Romeo Must
Die far more ostentatiously than his quiet performance
in Lethal Weapon 4. His english needs a bit of
work, obviously, but the chemistry between him and the
sexy Aaliyah worked beautifully.
There
was a lot of heart, a lot of romance to the script,
but too much story. Anyone remember The Corruptor?
Well, it was definitely not that bad. But it was pretty
obvious director Andrzej Bartkowiak did not want to
overlook the story elements of the film and disguise
them with random action scenes to keep the audiences'
interest.
Nevertheless,
why should I bother to blabber, eh? Romeo Must Die
is definitely one to open your wallet to. If you want
ass-kicking, action, cool hip-hop music, and a beautiful
woman, that's exactly what you'll get.
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