a_chinn This film was released to pretty dreadful reviews, but I always felt it was Jet Li's best English language film. "Romeo is Bleeding" is also quite good, but Li has a story credit on this one and the script was written by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen, the schlocky team behind enjoyably cartoony action films like the Transporter and Taken franchises. Both of those series are entertaining semi-serious action/revenge nonsense, and that is pretty much what "Kiss of the Dragon" is as well. Li plays a Chinese police office going to Paris to arrest a Chinese drug lord, but finds himself framed by dirty French cops. Li goes on the run, but with help from prostitute Bridget Fonda, to crack the drug ring. The story isn't really all that great, like most Besson pictures ("Leon" being the main exception), but the action is terrific (Li's regulars collaborator Corey Yuen was the martial arts choreographer on this film). Besides Li being an amazing martial artist, which is the main reason to watch this film, Fonda is quite good in what is her second to last theatrical film performance before retiring from acting. This movie made me miss her. Fonda was never Meryl Steep, but she was always very likable and genuine in her films, whether it was a silly action flick like "Point of No Return," a rom-com like "It Could Happen to You," or an indie like "Scandal," she was always good. Besides Fonda, you also have the reliably good Ric Young as the slimy drug lord and Burt "Cato from The Pink Panther" Kwouk in a small role. As with most Besson productions, this is slickly made if empty headed entertainment, but Li (with aid from Corey Yuen) and a good performance by Fonda, manage to elevate this above Besson's usual output.

Leofwine_draca In the five years since Jean-Claude Van Damme kicked criminal backside in the streets of Paris in the intense MAXIMUM RISK, Western newcomer Jet Li (an established martial arts actor in China and beyond for the last twenty years, only now gaining western recognition) is back and doing much the same thing, although with even more style. Unlike Li's recent bomb THE ONE, KISS OF THE DRAGON is an action thriller par excellence, blessed with an extremely good pacing and level of suspense, some intriguing and surprisingly well-developed characters and a plot which mixes tense thriller antics with some very nice martial arts action. The film begins with a major set piece, as Li finds himself framed for a gruesome murder involving a Chinese drug lord and a drug-fuelled prostitute, and must battle a legion of corrupt policemen in the claustrophobic confines of an upper-crust hotel. The action is fast and furious, incorporating an excellent use of props with a steam iron, a laundry chute, and even a snooker ball coming into play during the stylish proceedings! From here on the film slows down a notch, taking care to develop the characters and especially Jet Li's cop. Li - in much the same way as an early-era Steven Seagal - exudes a brooding menace and level of bubbling violence even when he doesn't speak, and when he does get to act he does so with conviction, subtlety and skill. Li is superbly supported by Bridget Fonda, giving her finest performance to date as a tragic prostitute, hooked on heroin by the corrupt Inspector Richard, and forced to sell her body due to her daughter's incarceration by the evil mastermind.It's also good to see old-timer Burt Kwouk turning up in a non-comedic supporting role, even if all he does is spout a few words of wisdom. Also on hand is Tcheky Karyo, playing the most deranged cop since Gary Oldman in LEON (it comes as no surprise that Luc Besson also produced this movie), a criminal you love to hate who gets his just desserts come the finale, which involves the forbidden "Kiss of the Dragon". As a novel touch, the film sees Li carrying a bracelet full of needles, which he can place into people's necks in a second and paralyse them, or much worse as we eventually see during the climax.The film is well-shot throughout and makes great use of the Parisian locations, which are as always aesthetically pleasing despite focusing on the dark underbelly of the capital (this may be a reason that American thrillers set in Paris almost always turn out to be good) and the script is intelligent for a change and has realistic dialogue. First-time director Chris Nahon proves to be surprisingly adept at his job and the level of excitement in the film never lets up, even during some lengthy dialogue scenes between Li and Fonda, as they are handled poignantly and with finesse, thus developing a level of chemistry between the stars which is rarely seen in this genre - and thankfully they don't ruin things by having the two leads jumping into the sack at the first available opportunity.The action sequences are inserted well into the flow of the plot and the only flaw is the editing, which is sometimes so quick that you can't clearly see what's going on (then again, if a multi-million pound blockbuster like THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING can make the same mistake, I can forgive this film too). A steady amount of firepower is used in the movie, with huge machine-guns and grenade-launchers ripping up the scenery and shredding extras; it may not always be realistic for this to happen, but it makes for great spectacle. The film doesn't skimp on the violence either, with the fights being invariably bloody and gruesome, including a sick but funny gag involving a pair of legs, neck-breakings and more. Don't even get me started on the hilariously disgusting climax, either, in which Karyo's character undergoes one of the most painful deaths imaginable.As for the martial arts, they are superb and rightly so, considering Li's ability. My favourite is probably the moment when he takes on a class of black-belts which offers impossibly fast stick fighting and tons of excitement. Other highlights include the amusing one-on-one with the muscular black guy (who just happens by to show up and fight Li) and the excellent two-on-one at the end in which Li fights a pair of huge blond twins in an office and teaches them both a nasty lesson. KISS OF THE DRAGON is not just a good film; it's a great one, and one which reaffirms my faith in film getting things right occasionally. Highly recommended.

Nexus Engel Jet Li faces off against the French police in this silly martial arts action flick, brought to us by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen. The plot, where Jet Li's character, Chinese intelligence officer Liu Jian, is betrayed by Inspector Richard of the French police, who don't really operate like any police force I've ever seen... more like a mob of some sorts. They even have their own prostitution ring, and there don't seem to be any consequences for the innocent people that get caught in the crossfire of their gunfights. But Liu, whilst escaping the hotel where he's been framed for murdering a Chinese drug lord, manages to grab enough evidence to prove his innocence on a cassette tape. Richard wants that cassette, and he's willing to do anything to get it back and silence Liu. While that's going on, Liu also becomes acquainted with a prostitute played by Bridget Fonda named Jessica, whose daughter is held by Richard as a form of leverage.Well, the plot is stupid and makes no sense. In a city like Paris, no law enforcement agency would get away with the carnage Richard and his men dish out in their attempts to catch Liu, but that's besides the point. It's a silly, one man army action movie dedicated to Jet Li fans who wanted to see more realistic fight scenes, and that is what we fans get. It's violent and it's fun, and it's a satisfying actioner that requires suspension of disbelief.Suspend and enjoy, my friends.

Prismark10 Kiss of the Dragon is an action vehicle for Jet Li, a Chinese intelligence agent sent to Paris to help apprehend Chinese mob boss, Mr Big. He meets Inspector Jean-Pierre Richard (Tchéky Karyo), a corrupt French police detective and tricks Liu into believing he is simply providing reconnaissance of a meet involving Mr Big when he is planning to use two prostitutes as a rouse to kill Mr Big and frame Li for it. Li realises he has been set up escapes from the hotel with a surveillance tape showing Richard shooting Mr Big and tries to clear his name. Along the way he encounters an American prostitute little knowing that their paths have crossed before.The story for this film was from Jet Li and it was produced by Luc Besson. It is primarily a martial arts action fight film for Li without much CGI or wire work and Li really delivers. From Besson you get that what is now a trademark Besson style of an outsider entering France and getting involved in a mystery and action where bad guys need to be dispatched with assistance from usually a female. It is almost a prototype Taken film.The best fight sequence is in the police training room when Li is taken aback to discover they are doing karate training.However the film has too many lapses of logic. Karyo is a great bad guy but we see him shoot civilians out in the open, surely someone would twig he is corrupt. We also have scenes of someone shooting at Li from a hotel lobby with two machine guns and again no one at the French Police raises questions. Bridget Fonda looks miscast as the prostitute and it would had been better if her character was French.