ROMEO MUST DIE is one of those rare films which, while not particularly good for its genre, is surprisingly good for other reasons. Most of the black characters, even the villians, are sympathetically portrayed, even though the hero is Asian. Aaliyah is wholesomely sexy and quite beautiful. Russell Wong is phenomenal is a very short role. This guy has the looks, style, and presence of Russell Crowe. Jet Li, however, is very humane and appealing, though his character is underwritten. Most of the asian characters are shortchanged dramatically. However the white (primarily Jewish) characters are shortchanged the most. They receive the brunt of the ugly stereotyping. The kung-fu sequences are nothing special. They are too fast and too confusing to be completely effective. Though neat, the Xray effect detracted from the "realism," sort of like the old split screen and slo-mo effects of the 1960s films. Bone-crunching is far more effective; and, would someone please dispense with this "flying" nonsense? I don't want to see anything up there or the screen that is not physically possible. Special note must be made of Francoise Yip, the Female bike / fighter. If Ms. Yip did all her own stunts, she's not only stunningly beautiful, she is also awesome. One quibble, which I feel follows a disturbing pattern in motion pictures. Though Jet Li and Aaliyah are quite obviously in love at the close of the film, they never kiss. In a film which shows two beautiful asian dances french kiss, and one bares the other's breast and kisses her erect nipple,would it have been too much to ask to have to people of different races who are obviously in love share a romantic kiss?
395 Reviews
OK movie, OK plot, OK acting...just OK.
Dangb811 March 2016
Let me start by saying I adore the late Aaliyah. For her first role, she did a pretty good job. She played the part well and this part was made for her. However, I enjoyed the soundtrack more than the movie itself. Not saying it was a horrible movie, it was just OK. I wish the fight scenes were more authentic. You could tell they were choreographed. When I watch a movie like this, I want it to look like people are really fighting each other. I also felt that Jet Li and Aaliyah lacked in the chemistry department. Sure, they look good together as friends and/or partners in crime, but nothing more and I mean nothing. Anything beyond that seemed forced. I actually felt the entire cast lacked in chemistry. There were a couple of twists that were unexpected and the plot was OK, but nothing to really knock your socks off. It is entertaining if nothing else is on TV, or if you just want to watch the beautiful Aaliyah in action. For me, it is a bit nostalgic for that reason. Also, I was still a teenager when this came out and this was the movie to watch at that time. Again, not the worst movie, but not the best. I will admit that I have probably watched this at least 5 times. Sometimes, I just can't say no because although it is not perfect, it is still entertaining.
Jet Li's English language debut as leading man
dworldeater20 August 2019
Romeo Must Die is the 1st and in my opinion, the better of the two hip hop/martial arts action films directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak. The movie is pretty nicely shot and slick looking and actually is really well performed by the cast. The plot is loosely based off Romeo And Juliet, but don't expect anything artsy fartsy, this is an action movie with two warring crime families(one Chinese and the other African American). Aalyah is beautiful and gives a fine performance as love interest for Jet Li. Delroy Lindo and Issiah Washington give pretty solid performances as well. Russell Wong is a cool villain and comic relief Anthony Anderson is actually funny. My problem with the movie is the crazy wire fu sequences don't really work as well here as it would in Jet Li's movies from Hong Kong. I don't think Corey Yuen's fight choreography is bad, it just is out of place and not really suited for this movie. Thankfully DMX only has a cameo here, he was top billed in the other Andrzej Bartkowiak/Jet Li collaboration Cradle 2 The Grave and he was terrible in that movie. Overall, this is a pretty decent action movie that introduced Jet Li to new audiences, but I prefer his work in China/Hong Kong to his action movies made in the United States and Europe.
The most violent "interpretation" of Shakespeare I`ve ever seen
action-61 December 2000
"Romeo Must Die" is definetely the most violent "interpretation" of Shakespeare I`ve ever seen. Okay, interpretation is not the right word to use, but that is nevertheless what this movie at some point wants to be. I really liked Jet Li in this movie, and I`ve liked him since I first saw him in "Lethal Weapon 4" a couple of years ago. Fighting and betrayal is what "Romeo Must Die" is all about, and the fighting is very entertaining, although sometimes a bit cheesy, because some of the "Matrix-scenes", which is out of place outside the world of science-fiction. Still, "Romeo Must Die" is an actionflick you wouldn`t want to miss. It manages to be interesting enough, but the fighting is what makes it really good. 8/10
Enjoyable enough
henry-girling20 June 2003
There seems to be several films in this one. A story about corruption and property deals, a story about fathers and their children, a tentative Romeo and Juliet romance and of course martial arts and guns. The actors acquit themselves well. One hoped for more of Michael Wong and less of Anthony Anderson (his constant 'Dim Sum' refrain being quite irritating) but the actors act, the plot moves and the film is enjoyable enough.
Jet Li is as usual very watchable and apart from his skill at martial arts (quick and effective but always graceful) he acts OK. His cab scene with Aaliyah is charming and funny and one wanted more of that but their relationship is underdeveloped in the script. It is a pity as Aaliyah is luminous and sassy. Her untimely death in real life was a tragedy.
Not as good as 'Kiss of the Dragon' but better than 'The One' and 'Cradle 2 the Grave' but inferior to Jet Li's Hong Kong movies.
Jet Li is as usual very watchable and apart from his skill at martial arts (quick and effective but always graceful) he acts OK. His cab scene with Aaliyah is charming and funny and one wanted more of that but their relationship is underdeveloped in the script. It is a pity as Aaliyah is luminous and sassy. Her untimely death in real life was a tragedy.
Not as good as 'Kiss of the Dragon' but better than 'The One' and 'Cradle 2 the Grave' but inferior to Jet Li's Hong Kong movies.
Entertaining, Above Average Martial Arts Movie
tabuno15 January 2019
3 February 2015. There is plenty of action in this martial arts movie along with a convoluted plot that plays out in a mirror-image of Lucky Number Slevin (2006) with Josh Harnett. The cultural Asian and Black atmosphere is rich with suspicion and the raw performances are steeped in dramatic flare. The actual martial art fighting, though seemed a bit overly manipulated and artificial, even considering the more artistic display of Crouching Tiger, Flying Dragon (2000) or the more sharp and crisp physical encounters found in Bourne Identity (2002). What makes for the above average score of this movie is Jet Li and his persona and substantive nature of the storyline.
Aaliyah at her best
ebiros219 October 2005
The good of this movie was when Aaliyah was on the scene. The rest was rather senseless violence about gangs trying to out do each other. Jet Li was okay, but I don't think he's a good actor although he 's a very prolific one starring in over 60 movies. Although this was her acting debut, I think Aaliyah brought the goods to the table. She was just great as Trish. The play between Trish and Han (Jet Li) as an accidental cab driver was priceless, and the way they contrasted each other on screen with younger Trish actually in somewhat of a protective role to Han really added interesting plot twist to the story. Executive producer Joel Silver had lots of original ideas about movie making, and this one I would say is one of them. I don't go too much for the violence, but the movie was entertaining and original.
Jet Li's best movie
Angelus220 July 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Jet Li plays Han a police officer imprisoned for helping his Triad family escape death. After the death of his brother Han goes to America to find the truth behind his brother mysterious death; and falls for the daughter of a rival crime boss.
The fight scenes have bits of comedic influences, but overall the film has some great fight scenes, and very funny parts which will have you laughing out loud especially a great performance from comedian Anthony Anderson who is extremely underrated; the special touch to this film is the bone breaking sequence, its beautifully done and shows how dangerous violence can be; more importantly its Aaliyah that shines, she provides a good love interest, its sad she was taken so young.
But a good action/Kung-Fu movie.
The fight scenes have bits of comedic influences, but overall the film has some great fight scenes, and very funny parts which will have you laughing out loud especially a great performance from comedian Anthony Anderson who is extremely underrated; the special touch to this film is the bone breaking sequence, its beautifully done and shows how dangerous violence can be; more importantly its Aaliyah that shines, she provides a good love interest, its sad she was taken so young.
But a good action/Kung-Fu movie.
My thoughts
xeslaro27 March 2000
I must say right off the bat that I was very disappointed with this movie. Jet Li is one of the most amazing fighters to ever hit the silver screen, with credentials (in martial arts, not acting) that rival the late great Bruce Lee and easily surpass Jackie Chan. He can do things with his body that I can't even do in my dreams.
Having said that, I sat through this movie wondering to myself, "Why did they feel the need to CGI enhance these fight scenes?" He can do amazing things by himself! By inexplicably making him jump 30 feet in the air while kicking in 9 directions at once, they serve only to discredit his true athletic ability. And not only did they meddle with his fighting talent, but they did it so poorly. The tampered scenes are very obvious, with more visible seams than a tailor shop. Granted, the x-ray effects were a welcome change, but that was about all this movie had to offer in terms of fresh ideas.
The plot is drawn out at great lengths, with fight scenes a little too few and far between for my tastes. Also, I felt the black gangsters were over-developed, while the asian gangsters were under-developed (Russell Wong's character is barely on the screen for 10 minutes of the movie, while Isiah Washington's incessant melodrama drowns out a good portion of the flick).
I think most of the problem comes from the over-ambitious screenplay. The premise is a good one: asian mafia versus black gangsters. However, there are two roads this premise could have taken. Either A) they could have turned it into a hardcore action pic about gang violence, with lots of guns, fighting, double crossing, etc., or B) they could have made a romantic tragedy focusing on the struggles between the two lovers because of their opposite backgrounds. This movie strives desperately to do both, but the end result is that neither aspect is fully explored, leaving a mediocre-at-best storyline for the cast to work with.
So, on a scale of 1 to 10, I'd have to give this movie about a 4. It had a lot of promise, and I was hoping to see Jet Li showcased to his full potential, but it appears that his ship has yet to come.
Having said that, I sat through this movie wondering to myself, "Why did they feel the need to CGI enhance these fight scenes?" He can do amazing things by himself! By inexplicably making him jump 30 feet in the air while kicking in 9 directions at once, they serve only to discredit his true athletic ability. And not only did they meddle with his fighting talent, but they did it so poorly. The tampered scenes are very obvious, with more visible seams than a tailor shop. Granted, the x-ray effects were a welcome change, but that was about all this movie had to offer in terms of fresh ideas.
The plot is drawn out at great lengths, with fight scenes a little too few and far between for my tastes. Also, I felt the black gangsters were over-developed, while the asian gangsters were under-developed (Russell Wong's character is barely on the screen for 10 minutes of the movie, while Isiah Washington's incessant melodrama drowns out a good portion of the flick).
I think most of the problem comes from the over-ambitious screenplay. The premise is a good one: asian mafia versus black gangsters. However, there are two roads this premise could have taken. Either A) they could have turned it into a hardcore action pic about gang violence, with lots of guns, fighting, double crossing, etc., or B) they could have made a romantic tragedy focusing on the struggles between the two lovers because of their opposite backgrounds. This movie strives desperately to do both, but the end result is that neither aspect is fully explored, leaving a mediocre-at-best storyline for the cast to work with.
So, on a scale of 1 to 10, I'd have to give this movie about a 4. It had a lot of promise, and I was hoping to see Jet Li showcased to his full potential, but it appears that his ship has yet to come.
Confusing but ultimatly enjoyable flic
jaybob19 April 2001
This is ANOTHER gang war film, this time Black vs.Chinese Its confusing at times, as most of the people are new to this reviewer Jet Li is the star & since he is a martial art expert, there are plenty of well staged & exciting choreographed fight scenes,Exciting chases,even a romance between him & a Black actress (not sure of her name) but she is quite good. Delroy Lindo as usual excells in his role as her father, I was
not too fond of the musics score, as the lyrics were hard to understand. over all I did like the movie & give it ***. It is good entertainment & well worth a rental or cable viewing
as always
jay harris
not too fond of the musics score, as the lyrics were hard to understand. over all I did like the movie & give it ***. It is good entertainment & well worth a rental or cable viewing
as always
jay harris
Thoroughly average, with a few elements above and below that
BenGW121 September 2001
Have you ever felt cheated because you never got to see a movie before that includes X-ray POV footage of a person's spine being severed, a football game that turns into a Three Stooges episode, a part where a Chinese crime lord has his colleagues chained up in a refrigerated boxcar before they're murdered and dismembered with meat-cutting instruments (thankfully off-camera), and mentions that the Oakland Raiders moved again? Fear not, once you see ROMEO MUST DIE.
There isn't much else to say about how this movie's tone jumps all over the place. It's a predictable but decently engaging movie. What makes it worth renting is the presence of Aaliyah, Jet Li, and especially Delroy Lindo. There's little doubt this movie did well off the marquee value of those first two--and they're both good here, separately and together--but Lindo is a great actor and invests Isaak O'Day with a dramatic presence that insists we take him seriously.
It's a huge tragedy that Aaliyah died so young, and a great loss for the movies she would have been superb in; she saves her thin, poorly developed character from being useless and makes Trish interesting. Jet Li shows he can be tough or funny, whatever's needed at the moment, and it's nice to see an action star who seems to LIKE doing action film roles. Note: I have to agree with Roger Ebert that seeing Li doing FX-aided fight scenes was pathetic; Li's a fighting FX just by being himself, and we saw that in LETHAL WEAPON 4 and hopefully will again in the future.
For all that, this and GONE IN 60 SECONDS were the quintissential average films of 2000. As far from great as awful, both got 5 out of 10 from me.
There isn't much else to say about how this movie's tone jumps all over the place. It's a predictable but decently engaging movie. What makes it worth renting is the presence of Aaliyah, Jet Li, and especially Delroy Lindo. There's little doubt this movie did well off the marquee value of those first two--and they're both good here, separately and together--but Lindo is a great actor and invests Isaak O'Day with a dramatic presence that insists we take him seriously.
It's a huge tragedy that Aaliyah died so young, and a great loss for the movies she would have been superb in; she saves her thin, poorly developed character from being useless and makes Trish interesting. Jet Li shows he can be tough or funny, whatever's needed at the moment, and it's nice to see an action star who seems to LIKE doing action film roles. Note: I have to agree with Roger Ebert that seeing Li doing FX-aided fight scenes was pathetic; Li's a fighting FX just by being himself, and we saw that in LETHAL WEAPON 4 and hopefully will again in the future.
For all that, this and GONE IN 60 SECONDS were the quintissential average films of 2000. As far from great as awful, both got 5 out of 10 from me.
Action with Depth.
Translucid2k411 July 2005
Not usually a fan of this type of all-out Action movie, "Romeo Must Die" knocked me off balance when I found it to be one of the best films I have ever enjoyed. Producer Joel Silver (Who also produced "The Matrix") describes the film as an "Urban rendition of Romeo and Juliet" and although this is a very simple way of looking at the film, it's not far off the mark. Like the great Shakespeare work, there are two opposing families in this film, each looking to make big commercial gains in the world of real estate development. Caught up in their lies, greed and violence are Trish O'Day (Played by Aaliyah) and Han Sing (Played by Jet Li). The story revolves around their quickly blooming relationship and the opposing families around them.
The film boasts some serious eye candy with some of the best special effects you'll see. Luckily, this is not the only good thing going for the movie as the eye candy is wonderfully supported by some fantastic performances from the cast. In her first feature movie, Aaliyah is absolutely breath taking as Trish O'Day. Showing the kind of charm and 'x' factor that few will ever have, she alone makes this film a must see. Jet Li's performance is, as always, about his skills as a martial artist but his scripted acting continues to improve. Another stand out performance for me was that of D.B. Woodside who plays Trish O'Days brother - Colin. Although not such a major role, D.B. excels in this role. High end production values mean the film has a real style and "gloss" to it and everything fits in place and the story moves along at just the right pace. In fact, "Romeo Must Die" is a shining example of how good story telling does not need to be lost in a sea of special effects and glossy American values. Jonathon Ross describes the film as "Fast, Furious, Fun", which is definitely true, but there is more to this film that the audience can take away with them. The reason the film works is that it works on two levels - storyline and action. You can enjoy both aspects and take from them what you like. This is a brilliant film and I highly recommend it.
The film boasts some serious eye candy with some of the best special effects you'll see. Luckily, this is not the only good thing going for the movie as the eye candy is wonderfully supported by some fantastic performances from the cast. In her first feature movie, Aaliyah is absolutely breath taking as Trish O'Day. Showing the kind of charm and 'x' factor that few will ever have, she alone makes this film a must see. Jet Li's performance is, as always, about his skills as a martial artist but his scripted acting continues to improve. Another stand out performance for me was that of D.B. Woodside who plays Trish O'Days brother - Colin. Although not such a major role, D.B. excels in this role. High end production values mean the film has a real style and "gloss" to it and everything fits in place and the story moves along at just the right pace. In fact, "Romeo Must Die" is a shining example of how good story telling does not need to be lost in a sea of special effects and glossy American values. Jonathon Ross describes the film as "Fast, Furious, Fun", which is definitely true, but there is more to this film that the audience can take away with them. The reason the film works is that it works on two levels - storyline and action. You can enjoy both aspects and take from them what you like. This is a brilliant film and I highly recommend it.
Calling Rich Evans...
StantonDrew23 November 2018
Wastes opportunities in almost every scene
bob the moo4 February 2002
Han Sing is being held in a Hong Kong prison when he learns of the death of his little brother and travels out to the San Francisco to find the killer. However what he finds is a supposed gang war between Chinese and Black businessmen looking to build a water front stadium. Han teams up with Trish to find the killers.
This was Jet Li's first big lead role in the US and unfortunately it's a disappointment. The story is OK but almost everything else is a letdown. First the fight scenes - where are they?! Jet Li is hugely talented but here he isn't allowed to shine - a lot of his scenes uses (very obvious) CGI, why? The CGI takes away from his own ability, put him on wires and make it look natural! Secondly, to keep the black audience, Li isn't allowed to fight any black character seriously (or kill any of them!) so most of his fights with Lindo's goons are handled for comedy effect. The only decent fights in the film are the one where Li uses Aaliyah as a weapon and of course the final showdown between Li and the Chinese lieutenant.
The second problem is that the film makers clearly didn't want to upset the black audience by having too many unsympathetic black characters in the film. For example all the Chinese mobsters are bad guys who get their fate, whereas Lindo leads the black gang but isn't a bad guy and only one of the black gang turns out to be bad, and any black person who gets killed only gets killed by another black person. This is part of the reason why Li's fights feel so muted - check out the `comedy' touch football or the fact that the fat black guy always seems to have a good line to deliver while being kicked.
This is a few steps away from the black-ploitation films of the 70's, where producers deliberately made films to get the black-dollar. I don't mind that if it creates good films. The black cast are good, Washington is good even when he's playing a cartoon character like here, Lindo is always good and even DMX is alright. The R n'B soundtrack is also great but the problem is that no one wants to upset the audience and the whole film feels like it's trying to be some sort of PC black movie. Hence the black gangsters are either comedy figures or are good people at heart, while the Chinese gangs are money grabbing murders. It also explains why Aaliyah and Li, despite having a romantic involvement, never get to kiss or anything else. I don't want to appear that this is a big deal, but to me this PC-ness ruined everything from the fights, the characters right down to the romance between Li and Aaliyah.
Li and Aaliyah are both good. Aaliyah is a surprise as I thought she'd just be another hiphop/Rn'B star making an ill-advised jump to films, but she was good. Lindo and Washington are as good as ever, but both are better than comic-book bad guy roles. The Chinese roles are never developed and only remain bad guys till the end. However the cast shouldn't matter - we should have been blown away by the action - just like in all Li's Hong Kong movies. Why did the producers get such a great martial arts actor only to waste his talents by having poor fights that rely on CGI?
Overall the film is just about enjoyable, but it's hard to watch it without seeing the wasted opportunities at every step.
This was Jet Li's first big lead role in the US and unfortunately it's a disappointment. The story is OK but almost everything else is a letdown. First the fight scenes - where are they?! Jet Li is hugely talented but here he isn't allowed to shine - a lot of his scenes uses (very obvious) CGI, why? The CGI takes away from his own ability, put him on wires and make it look natural! Secondly, to keep the black audience, Li isn't allowed to fight any black character seriously (or kill any of them!) so most of his fights with Lindo's goons are handled for comedy effect. The only decent fights in the film are the one where Li uses Aaliyah as a weapon and of course the final showdown between Li and the Chinese lieutenant.
The second problem is that the film makers clearly didn't want to upset the black audience by having too many unsympathetic black characters in the film. For example all the Chinese mobsters are bad guys who get their fate, whereas Lindo leads the black gang but isn't a bad guy and only one of the black gang turns out to be bad, and any black person who gets killed only gets killed by another black person. This is part of the reason why Li's fights feel so muted - check out the `comedy' touch football or the fact that the fat black guy always seems to have a good line to deliver while being kicked.
This is a few steps away from the black-ploitation films of the 70's, where producers deliberately made films to get the black-dollar. I don't mind that if it creates good films. The black cast are good, Washington is good even when he's playing a cartoon character like here, Lindo is always good and even DMX is alright. The R n'B soundtrack is also great but the problem is that no one wants to upset the audience and the whole film feels like it's trying to be some sort of PC black movie. Hence the black gangsters are either comedy figures or are good people at heart, while the Chinese gangs are money grabbing murders. It also explains why Aaliyah and Li, despite having a romantic involvement, never get to kiss or anything else. I don't want to appear that this is a big deal, but to me this PC-ness ruined everything from the fights, the characters right down to the romance between Li and Aaliyah.
Li and Aaliyah are both good. Aaliyah is a surprise as I thought she'd just be another hiphop/Rn'B star making an ill-advised jump to films, but she was good. Lindo and Washington are as good as ever, but both are better than comic-book bad guy roles. The Chinese roles are never developed and only remain bad guys till the end. However the cast shouldn't matter - we should have been blown away by the action - just like in all Li's Hong Kong movies. Why did the producers get such a great martial arts actor only to waste his talents by having poor fights that rely on CGI?
Overall the film is just about enjoyable, but it's hard to watch it without seeing the wasted opportunities at every step.
You can have fun with this ...
kosmasp6 April 2007
... only if you don't try to hard to hate it. Because of course it's not the greatest movie and in no way does this ever touch the greatness that Jet Li's HK movies had ... but then again it's a nice story (one that has been told million times before, sometimes with less action, sometimes with more). The clue to the origin of that story can be found in the title ... ;o) Jet Li plays the main role, but you could expect what you'd see from him. But you couldn't really foresee what Aaliyah's performance would be like. She turned up a good performance and it's a shame that she died a few years ago, much too early ...
See this movie and you'll be entertained lightly! :o)
See this movie and you'll be entertained lightly! :o)
Who is Romeo?
Tweekums2 June 2011
Warning: Spoilers
When I sat down to watch this I expected a martial arts thriller as promised by the TV guide
what it had neglected to say was that it also contains quite a few comic moments. Jet Li plays Han Sing; a man who escapes from prison in Hong Kong and goes to Oakland when his brother, the son of the senior Chinese crime boss, is murdered. At first it looks as if he was killed as part of a rivalry between black and Chinese crime lords even though the heads of the two groups are working together in a major property deal. Han's first lead takes him to Trisha; she owns the shop to where Han's brother made his last phone call as well as being the daughter of Isaak, the senior black crime lord. When her brother is also killed it looks as if the two groups have started a war despite their shared business enterprise. Han gets close to Trisha as he investigates and ends up fighting her unwanted minders on several occasions; often with fairly amusing results.
While this wasn't exactly great it had plenty of fun moments; the fight scenes were all well choreographed and in earlier parts of the film they were rather funny; later on the tone got more serious and the outcomes more deadly. Jet Li did a decent job as Han although I often found myself comparing him unfavourably with Jackie Chan; the master of martial arts with a comic twist. Aaliyah was good enough as Trisha and Delroy Lindo was good as her father. The ending wasn't a total surprise and the biggest mystery was who is the Romeo of the title? After all none of the characters has that name! It is explained although it was almost as if somebody thought up a cool title then needed a way to use it. Over all I was a bit disappointed although that might be because it wasn't quite what I'd expected; it isn't too bad though so if you see it is going to be on TV and there is nothing else on it passes the time well enough.
While this wasn't exactly great it had plenty of fun moments; the fight scenes were all well choreographed and in earlier parts of the film they were rather funny; later on the tone got more serious and the outcomes more deadly. Jet Li did a decent job as Han although I often found myself comparing him unfavourably with Jackie Chan; the master of martial arts with a comic twist. Aaliyah was good enough as Trisha and Delroy Lindo was good as her father. The ending wasn't a total surprise and the biggest mystery was who is the Romeo of the title? After all none of the characters has that name! It is explained although it was almost as if somebody thought up a cool title then needed a way to use it. Over all I was a bit disappointed although that might be because it wasn't quite what I'd expected; it isn't too bad though so if you see it is going to be on TV and there is nothing else on it passes the time well enough.
Not as sugary as "Romeo" might sound
SkullScreamerReturns1 March 2020
I think this movie was overshadowed a bit by the 1996 Romeo+Juliet. For some time I associated "Romeo Must Die" with DiCaprio's face. And even when I learned it's a different movie altogether, I still thought that it's about the story of Romeo and Juliet so it can't be good. (I don't like tragedies, I think they're pointless.)
But it's actually a good action thriller. In the first half the plot seemed a bit confusing to me. I didn't get the motives of the characters. But later it unfolds more. And what's more important, I didn't find even the first half boring. Cool scenes with nice acting, thoroughly entertaining. Some fight scenes were great but there was one that looked like the cheapest computer editing. But mostly good. My favorite was the football scene. If you ever want to see american football with martial arts, well, that's there...
Not the best movie ever but it's my favorite version of Romeo and Juliet story. If it even counts as that. Probably not. Just an action movie that distantly resembles the same themes.
Anyhow, I'm going to watch it again at some point. Ok stuff. Check it out!
But it's actually a good action thriller. In the first half the plot seemed a bit confusing to me. I didn't get the motives of the characters. But later it unfolds more. And what's more important, I didn't find even the first half boring. Cool scenes with nice acting, thoroughly entertaining. Some fight scenes were great but there was one that looked like the cheapest computer editing. But mostly good. My favorite was the football scene. If you ever want to see american football with martial arts, well, that's there...
Not the best movie ever but it's my favorite version of Romeo and Juliet story. If it even counts as that. Probably not. Just an action movie that distantly resembles the same themes.
Anyhow, I'm going to watch it again at some point. Ok stuff. Check it out!
Good martial arts action film.
poolandrews18 April 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Romeo Must Die is set in Los Angeles where Po Sing (Jon Kit Lee) the son of a Chinese mobster is found murdered hanging from a street post, back home in China his brother Han (Jet Li) hears of Po's death & escapes from prison & flies to Los Angeles to avenge him. Po & Han's father Ch'u Sing (Henry O) is in the middle of a big property deal along with black mobsters lead by Isaak O'Day (Delroy Lindo) who are buying up waterfront properties to sell to NFL businessman Vincent Roth (Edoardo Bellerini), some of the tenants don't want to sell but that's where things get ugly & rivalries start. Then Isaak's son Colin (DB Woodside) is also murdered as tensions between the three parties rise, meanwhile Han is on a mission to find his brother's killer & with help from Isaak's daughter Trish (Aaliyah) which increases the hatred between the two families even more...
Directed by first timer Andrzej Bartkowiak this was Jet Li's first starring role in an American film & came on the back of producer Joel Silver's promise after he appeared in Lethal Weapon 4 (1998), while not the best action film out there Romeo Must Die is still watchable enough if your into martial arts fights & action. First of all it has to be said that although the title Romeo Must Die is obviously a play on the William Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet any connection is tenuous at best, sure there are two opposing families, sure the daughter & son from the heads of those families form a relationship (it's more of a warm friendship than out & out love affair here) & that in itself causes problems & tensions but otherwise Romeo Must Die has little connection to the Bard's immortal work. Anyway, Romeo Must Die is a pretty cool film, it's also quite long at over 110 minutes & there's surprisingly quite a lot of dialogue & exposition here with various subplots that the script tries to juggle around including the romance between Han & Trish, Han looking for his brother's killer, Mac double crossing his boss, the corrupt property deal with the NFL guy, the murder of the two family heads sons & a bunch of Isaak's men that Han keeps running into & beating up. It never really gels together that well & the eventual plot twists at the end have little dramatic impact, sure there's more plot here than one might expect (& more than is needed) for a Hollywood action film but it bogs the overall pace down, it's nothing original or particularly deep & it gets in the way of the action which is really the only reason anyone is going to want to watch Romeo Must Die anyway. The character's are OK, the dialogue is alright & it's watchable enough I suppose but there are better action films out there.
So is Romeo Must Die worth watching for the action? Well, yes I would say so. Even though he has no real charisma or presence or stature on screen Jet Li know's some moves & his martial arts fighting scenes stand out, from fighting prison guards hanging upside down to spinning & flipping through the air to taking on bad guy's with a water hose to all the usual head butts, wrist snapping & neck breaking moves you expect. The fights are well staged & quite fun although they are violent & some of the stuff that goes on here would really hurt someone. There's also some shoot-outs, a car chase & some explosions just to add a bit of variety. The film has an unusual feel as the majority of the cast are either Chinese or black & the soundtrack is full of horrible hip-hop rap songs which I just hated (even a supposedly sombre moment like when Trish has to identify her murdered brother Colin has a really inappropriate hip-hop tune playing in the background) although some of the techno dance type stuff that played during some of the fights sounded quite cool & energetic.
The IMDb says that this had a budget of about $25,000,000 which isn't that huge actually, certainly by Hollywood standards (the aforementioned Lethal Weapon 4 had a budget in the region of $120,000,000). Shot mainly in Canada apparently. The acting is alright, Jet Li is OK, Aaliyah is fine while Delroy Lindo brings a bit of warmth to the film. Rapper DMX has a small role.
Romeo Must Die is a watchable martial arts action film that gets bogged down with a needlessly complicated plot that thinks it's cleverer than it is, watch it for the action rather than the drama & most will like it. Director Bartkowiak along with Li & DMX teamed up again to make Cradle 2 the Grave (2003) which is also well worth a watch.
Directed by first timer Andrzej Bartkowiak this was Jet Li's first starring role in an American film & came on the back of producer Joel Silver's promise after he appeared in Lethal Weapon 4 (1998), while not the best action film out there Romeo Must Die is still watchable enough if your into martial arts fights & action. First of all it has to be said that although the title Romeo Must Die is obviously a play on the William Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet any connection is tenuous at best, sure there are two opposing families, sure the daughter & son from the heads of those families form a relationship (it's more of a warm friendship than out & out love affair here) & that in itself causes problems & tensions but otherwise Romeo Must Die has little connection to the Bard's immortal work. Anyway, Romeo Must Die is a pretty cool film, it's also quite long at over 110 minutes & there's surprisingly quite a lot of dialogue & exposition here with various subplots that the script tries to juggle around including the romance between Han & Trish, Han looking for his brother's killer, Mac double crossing his boss, the corrupt property deal with the NFL guy, the murder of the two family heads sons & a bunch of Isaak's men that Han keeps running into & beating up. It never really gels together that well & the eventual plot twists at the end have little dramatic impact, sure there's more plot here than one might expect (& more than is needed) for a Hollywood action film but it bogs the overall pace down, it's nothing original or particularly deep & it gets in the way of the action which is really the only reason anyone is going to want to watch Romeo Must Die anyway. The character's are OK, the dialogue is alright & it's watchable enough I suppose but there are better action films out there.
So is Romeo Must Die worth watching for the action? Well, yes I would say so. Even though he has no real charisma or presence or stature on screen Jet Li know's some moves & his martial arts fighting scenes stand out, from fighting prison guards hanging upside down to spinning & flipping through the air to taking on bad guy's with a water hose to all the usual head butts, wrist snapping & neck breaking moves you expect. The fights are well staged & quite fun although they are violent & some of the stuff that goes on here would really hurt someone. There's also some shoot-outs, a car chase & some explosions just to add a bit of variety. The film has an unusual feel as the majority of the cast are either Chinese or black & the soundtrack is full of horrible hip-hop rap songs which I just hated (even a supposedly sombre moment like when Trish has to identify her murdered brother Colin has a really inappropriate hip-hop tune playing in the background) although some of the techno dance type stuff that played during some of the fights sounded quite cool & energetic.
The IMDb says that this had a budget of about $25,000,000 which isn't that huge actually, certainly by Hollywood standards (the aforementioned Lethal Weapon 4 had a budget in the region of $120,000,000). Shot mainly in Canada apparently. The acting is alright, Jet Li is OK, Aaliyah is fine while Delroy Lindo brings a bit of warmth to the film. Rapper DMX has a small role.
Romeo Must Die is a watchable martial arts action film that gets bogged down with a needlessly complicated plot that thinks it's cleverer than it is, watch it for the action rather than the drama & most will like it. Director Bartkowiak along with Li & DMX teamed up again to make Cradle 2 the Grave (2003) which is also well worth a watch.
A Nutshell Review: (DVD) Romeo Must Die (2000)
DICK STEEL2 January 2006
I've been a fan of Jet Li's movies, but have been quite disappointed with his latest offering "Danny The Dog"/"Unleashed". While the action was great as usual, somehow the storyline isn't compelling enough. I'm still eagerly anticipating his Fearless in 2006 though, as the publicity stills so far have been promising, and it's touted as his final action movie.
Which brings me back to Romeo Must Die. It's his first feature length Hollywood film as the protagonist, after his villainous start in Lethal Weapon 4 opposite Mel Gibson. And to compensate for the lack of classic martial arts action in LW4, there are tons of wire-work/CGI laden kung fu in this movie.
The storyline's pretty decent, with a gang war between an African American gang, and a Chinese gang, in which Jet belongs to. He and Aaliyah play the offspring of their respective mob bosses, and decide to team up to discover a recent spate of killings between their gangs, as their siblings become the latest victims.
As part of the plot, we see both gangs trying to engage in legitimate business, with a crooked NFL dealer thrown into the mix. It's of little surprise that both gangs, although different in race and culture, are run in the same way - a strong figure head, ruthless second-in-commands, and bumbling assistants.
What appeals probably is the chemistry between Jet and Aaliyah. The latter was an up and coming singing starlet, but unfortunately perished in a tragic air crash. Romeo Must Die is her first movie released when she's alive (the other being Queen of the Damned), and I'd thought she would make a decent actress too. She seemed to partner Jet Li well, and looked credible in some of the action sequences.
Much of the action is stylized, meaning you know, and in a very obvious manner, that the fights all involve wires (since it's HK's Cory Yuen choreographing, and Joel Silver producing it). A pretty nifty x-ray CGI effect comes up on screen each time Jet Li breaks someone's bones. Pretty cool, and not used to often to make you sick.
It's a decent movie which will engage you, especially on a lazy weekend or holiday.
The Code 3 DVD is stocked full with special features, making of documentaries, music videos, and if put into a PC, even leads you to a simple fighting game online.
Which brings me back to Romeo Must Die. It's his first feature length Hollywood film as the protagonist, after his villainous start in Lethal Weapon 4 opposite Mel Gibson. And to compensate for the lack of classic martial arts action in LW4, there are tons of wire-work/CGI laden kung fu in this movie.
The storyline's pretty decent, with a gang war between an African American gang, and a Chinese gang, in which Jet belongs to. He and Aaliyah play the offspring of their respective mob bosses, and decide to team up to discover a recent spate of killings between their gangs, as their siblings become the latest victims.
As part of the plot, we see both gangs trying to engage in legitimate business, with a crooked NFL dealer thrown into the mix. It's of little surprise that both gangs, although different in race and culture, are run in the same way - a strong figure head, ruthless second-in-commands, and bumbling assistants.
What appeals probably is the chemistry between Jet and Aaliyah. The latter was an up and coming singing starlet, but unfortunately perished in a tragic air crash. Romeo Must Die is her first movie released when she's alive (the other being Queen of the Damned), and I'd thought she would make a decent actress too. She seemed to partner Jet Li well, and looked credible in some of the action sequences.
Much of the action is stylized, meaning you know, and in a very obvious manner, that the fights all involve wires (since it's HK's Cory Yuen choreographing, and Joel Silver producing it). A pretty nifty x-ray CGI effect comes up on screen each time Jet Li breaks someone's bones. Pretty cool, and not used to often to make you sick.
It's a decent movie which will engage you, especially on a lazy weekend or holiday.
The Code 3 DVD is stocked full with special features, making of documentaries, music videos, and if put into a PC, even leads you to a simple fighting game online.
This is yet another hardcore action kung-fu B-movie, but it does have a few redeeming values.
Anonymous_Maxine28 August 2000
First of all, there is absolutely nothing to be said for the acting in this film. No one delivered a notable performance at all, so don't expect anything in that department. Jet Li provides some amazing martial arts scenes that are just a lot of fun to watch, but unfortunately most of them were distorted beyond recognition with special effects and obviously faked stunts. There are scenes where he obviously defies gravity, and things like that are just insulting. I can see that Jet Li is a phenomenal martial artist, I don't need all this stuff to make him look even better than he is. That's where Jackie Chan has Jet Li beaten (the ONLY place where Jackie Chan has Jet Li beaten). Chan does his own stunts, and even though they are manipulated by the editing, everything seen on screen is real, it was done right in front of the camera just as it appears in the film.
However, despite the computer generated excesses, the x-ray shots during some of the more intense fight scenes were interesting enough, except for the final scene, which was ridiculously unrealistic. Also, I don't like being expected to believe that Jet Li, as good of a fighter as he is, could defeat four prison guards while hanging upside down by one leg with his hands shackled together. That's just too much. But despite his mediocre acting, there is something that about him that just makes him interesting to watch. Ironically enough, I particularly liked the street football game he was lured into, where he ended up adding an element of martial arts to the game. True, this scene was thrown in for no reason whatsoever (in true Big Momma's House form), and his moves were obviously faked, but it was just fun to watch.
Romeo Must Die takes a tired theme about powerful gangs turning against each other and molds a tired martial arts movie out of it. There's nothing new here except the somewhat interesting but also questionable use of x-ray photography in some of the fight scenes, and yes, someone even manages to say "Guns don't kill people, people kill people." Thanks for the pearls of wisdom there, Silk. I guess that was their pathetic attempt to justify the excessive violence portrayed in the film. What a joke. The film is watchable, but beware of severe acting and directing mediocrity.
However, despite the computer generated excesses, the x-ray shots during some of the more intense fight scenes were interesting enough, except for the final scene, which was ridiculously unrealistic. Also, I don't like being expected to believe that Jet Li, as good of a fighter as he is, could defeat four prison guards while hanging upside down by one leg with his hands shackled together. That's just too much. But despite his mediocre acting, there is something that about him that just makes him interesting to watch. Ironically enough, I particularly liked the street football game he was lured into, where he ended up adding an element of martial arts to the game. True, this scene was thrown in for no reason whatsoever (in true Big Momma's House form), and his moves were obviously faked, but it was just fun to watch.
Romeo Must Die takes a tired theme about powerful gangs turning against each other and molds a tired martial arts movie out of it. There's nothing new here except the somewhat interesting but also questionable use of x-ray photography in some of the fight scenes, and yes, someone even manages to say "Guns don't kill people, people kill people." Thanks for the pearls of wisdom there, Silk. I guess that was their pathetic attempt to justify the excessive violence portrayed in the film. What a joke. The film is watchable, but beware of severe acting and directing mediocrity.
In memory of Aaliyah
lastliberal25 September 2005
It was four years ago on August 25 that Aaliyah was tragically taken from us and the life of another great musical talent cut short. I decided to watch Romeo Must Die with Jet Li in her memory as it has a lot of her music(Come Back in One Piece", "I Don't Wanna", "Try Again" and "Are You Feelin' Me?"), and it is one great movie that I watch over and over again. DMX was also in the movie and he joined Jet Li again in Cradle 2the Grave , another movie with great action and great music. Thanks, Aaliyah, for the music you gave us.I never get tired of watching Jet Li in action and look forward to many more movies with him.
Stupid story but pretty good action
Quinoa19843 September 2000
This film is probably entertaining to many, but to those who thought co-producer (of the Matrix) Joel Silver would bring a runner-up before the sequel, they will be mistaken. But for me, it was OK, despite being a little overelaborate. The story is a little sloppy in following in a Romeo and Juliet type of thing, but most of the action/fight sequences and a couple of good performances almost make it un-noticeable (almost). And one more thing, if your renting this to see DMX, don't, because you might be dissapointed for his only 2 scenes and little lines (might as well rent Belly). B
A huge waste of potential and talent.....
userwithnoname22 January 2007
Warning: Spoilers
I was sorely disappointed with this movie, which is a shame because the basic idea was interesting and there was a lot going for it. When i first heard of the title, i was thinking that anyone hoping to do anything like a "Romeo and Juliet" with the rival families being Afro-American and Chinese, the couple played by an R&B singer and martial artist must be out of his mind. It would be the boldest thing in cinema history, a turning point in popular racial/cultural thinking. OK OK, viewed in such a climactic sense, this flick doesn't even scratch the surface, and obviously wasn't hoping to. I guess it did deliver the R&B and martial arts though....
So what was good. Not a lot. Aaliyah was as hot as ever and yes i was hoping for some romance between her and Jet Li, even if the whole Romeo and Juliet thing could never really have worked. Thing is, it would have been the rarest things in cinema history. I can not think of a single film which would even attempt romance between a female Afro-American and a male Chinese, and i stress the sexes here. By not realising what potential this had, this film was never going to be good. I can understand why the romance was not quite there though. The coupling was hardly possible and Jet Li was about 17 years older than Aaliyah. And also, Jet Li's not cut out for it. He's not really a male icon even in the far east...He's known for one thing, martial arts.....A kissing scene would have been bizarre yet unmissable...given how he reacts in the few romantic scenes he has done (none of them have kissing)...
The bad. I don't know how it is for the Afro-Americans here but as an ethnic Chinese i found the stereotypes tiresome. I've been to HK and i'm pretty sure they don't beat prisoners hung upside down with batons (they do talk about horse gambling though). They don't call HK one of the Four Tigers for nothing. I advise anyone who wants to know anything about HK and not just the stereotypes to watch how they portray themselves to a Chinese audience. Something like Infernal Affairs for example. And yes HK is distinct from China. Jet Li was actually using Cantonese with that guard, not Mandarin, which is what he uses for the rest of the film. And you would be very lucky to meet anyone in HK who knows proper kung-fu. Your better chances are in fact in China. All HK did was produce a lot of kung-fu movies and start-off the genre because they had a thriving a movie industry which the mainland didn't have at the time.
Also, like a lot of the critics here, i have issues with the fight scenes. What's with the unrealistic wire-work. We all know what Jet Li can do without the wire, and even with the wire i have seen a lot better. What made it worst was the enhancements, speed-ups and x-ray sequences. For a moment i thought i was watching sci-fi and no longer took the film seriously. What were the director and choreographer thinking.
Yeah OK, so i didn't really didn't like this movie and i don't think i'm the only one given the IMDb rating.
So what was good. Not a lot. Aaliyah was as hot as ever and yes i was hoping for some romance between her and Jet Li, even if the whole Romeo and Juliet thing could never really have worked. Thing is, it would have been the rarest things in cinema history. I can not think of a single film which would even attempt romance between a female Afro-American and a male Chinese, and i stress the sexes here. By not realising what potential this had, this film was never going to be good. I can understand why the romance was not quite there though. The coupling was hardly possible and Jet Li was about 17 years older than Aaliyah. And also, Jet Li's not cut out for it. He's not really a male icon even in the far east...He's known for one thing, martial arts.....A kissing scene would have been bizarre yet unmissable...given how he reacts in the few romantic scenes he has done (none of them have kissing)...
The bad. I don't know how it is for the Afro-Americans here but as an ethnic Chinese i found the stereotypes tiresome. I've been to HK and i'm pretty sure they don't beat prisoners hung upside down with batons (they do talk about horse gambling though). They don't call HK one of the Four Tigers for nothing. I advise anyone who wants to know anything about HK and not just the stereotypes to watch how they portray themselves to a Chinese audience. Something like Infernal Affairs for example. And yes HK is distinct from China. Jet Li was actually using Cantonese with that guard, not Mandarin, which is what he uses for the rest of the film. And you would be very lucky to meet anyone in HK who knows proper kung-fu. Your better chances are in fact in China. All HK did was produce a lot of kung-fu movies and start-off the genre because they had a thriving a movie industry which the mainland didn't have at the time.
Also, like a lot of the critics here, i have issues with the fight scenes. What's with the unrealistic wire-work. We all know what Jet Li can do without the wire, and even with the wire i have seen a lot better. What made it worst was the enhancements, speed-ups and x-ray sequences. For a moment i thought i was watching sci-fi and no longer took the film seriously. What were the director and choreographer thinking.
Yeah OK, so i didn't really didn't like this movie and i don't think i'm the only one given the IMDb rating.
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