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.
3.0 out of 5.0 stars
Buy on Amazon!
