adonis98-743-186503
An avenging cop seeks out his brother's killer and falls for the daughter of a businessman who is involved in a money-deal with his father. Romeo Must Die is a very entertaining action flick thanks to a very good performance by Jet Li and it's really disappointing that we don't see him in great movies anymore and even if we do it's for around 5 to 10 minutes for example The Expendables Trilogy now he is starring only in crappy Chineze movies anyways moving on the movie does have some over the top action but overall it has a lot great stunt work and fight scenes that will steal the show and some really good humor and it's a pretty good movie which is mostly remembered for Aaliyah since she died one year after this movie.
OllieSuave-007
This is a pretty intriguing and action-packed movie starring Jet Li in one of his first Hollywood appearances. His plays former Chinese cop Han Sing who breaks out of prison after hearing of his brother's murder in Oakland. When he gets there, he gets entangled in a money scheme plot involving two rival families, where the daughter of a crime lord, Trish O'Day (Aaliyah), is also caught in the middle.It's almost like a modern-day Romeo and Juliet, but with Han and Trish caught in the chaos and them helping each other to stop the war and bring the criminals to justice. What resulted were some awesome martial arts sequences courtesy of Jet Li; seeing him grapple with the gang members left and right were both great and funny, especially him throwing around Anthony Anderson. The humor in the movie was also pretty top-notch and gave me some chuckles, but the acting was a bit average to me and the hip-hop soundtrack was pretty awful. However, Jet Li and Aaliyah had some great chemistry together; in her first motion picture, Aaliyah delivered a pretty witty and dramatic performance.Overall, it's a good action film with a well-paced plot.Grade B
monarosenberg
"Sorry Romeo, but you got to die!" Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Oakland, where we lay our scene, From anew grudge and people fight 'n' kill, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.With "Romeo Must Die", another modern Shakespeare adaption has made it to the big screen. Featuring Jet Li, it is rather unlikely expecting something similar to a Franco Zeffirelli or a Baz Luhrmann adaption of Shakespeare. "Romeo Must Die" is much more a martial arts action film which introduces us to a world where two rival families, one Chinese, one African-American, both struggle for territorial supremacy in the harbor area. The film starts with the mysterious killing death of Po Sing, son of the Chinese clan boss and its consequences. When both sides have to deal with loss, the situation gets out of hand and the rivalry between both clans intensifies. As our main character Han Sing (Jet Li) hears from the death of his brother, he flees out of prison to travel to Oakland seeking for revenge. That is when he meets our modern Juliet, Trish, played by R'n'B singer Aaliyah. Gone is the melancholic, young and infatuated Romeo and we are introduced to an ex-cop who was sent to prison for a crime he did not commit. With impressive martial arts skills, he defeats his enemies who come in his way. On the other side we have Trish, an African-American woman, who is independent and cares for her own well-being, instead of getting into her father's business. As a empowered female character, she does not care about others opinions and follows her own path. While their fathers do not accept their choice of love, they seem not to care much about their opinion and the both „star-crossed lovers" are going on a trip to seek revenge for their brothers' deaths. Instead of romantic lines and sword fighting, one rather experience martial arts performances or gun fights, often both at the same time. The lack of a deep and thoughtful storyline or interesting dialogs is expressed through flat jokes and no authentic romance between our protagonists. What really makes the film interesting are the martial arts fighting scenes which are often destroyed through badly animated Matrix fight-flying moves. These are misplaced and seem somehow ridiculous and as Jet Li proves in other films are totally unnecessary. In addition, the X-Ray sequences try to give the film a special touch, but are more disturbing for the style of the film. Furthermore, the soundtrack features a lot of rap songs, which try to underline the gangster-sh atmosphere, but often distract from dialog and action. As bad as this seems to be, the film is not only a dull beat-up movie, but also has its humorous moments. For example, we have a football game where once again men have to prove their masculinity, and Jet Li takes all the other players down to impress his girl. Additionally, Jet Li impresses the viewers with his skills to handle a water cannon and beats all his gun-using enemies. There is no real clarity who is responsible for the many killings and manipulation in both clans. Somehow the plot twist gives the film an interesting touch, but it is getting kind of obvious throughout the second half of the film. The only thing that reminds me of good old Shakespeare is the rivalry between the two families and the name of the main character. Especially, typical clichés are more unnerving than enchanting. However, fans of action movies, who love a touch of comedy, are welcome to watch this film. Others may enjoy this if they are bored on a Sunday afternoon and have nothing better to do. Those who are expecting romance should switch their interest into admiring fighting.
