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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.
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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