I wont be writing any new ops because I dont have the time to produce ops to the quality that I want...
I wont be writing any new ops because I dont have the time to produce ops to the quality that I want, and I cant churn them out fast enough as well. Apologies, Ill still read ops though. DAN
Member since:29.07.2001
Reviews:16
Members who trust:7
With a film with the likes of Jet-Li starring in it, is story really relevant at this point, after all you don’t go to the flicks to see this film expecting an oscar winning screenplay and performances do you? It is just a fighting flick for the boys after all aint it? Well yeah, but it has to be told anyways, so here goes….
Jet Li the ‘best of the best’ of the Chinese intelligence comes to Paris to personally protect some VIP from any threat feasible, things go pear shaped when the ‘good guys’, lead by Inspector Richard, turn out to be the ‘bad guys’. They kill the VIP and try to frame the murders on Jet Li himself. Would Mr. Kung Fu stand for this, of course not, out come his magic mitts and before you can say Crash, Bang, Wallop he’s out the window and doing a runner on the streets of Paris. The baddies realising that he can bring them down if he comes forward with his story try to kill him.
Jet Li then seeks refuge at ‘Uncle’
Tais place (played by Harry Hill regular Burt Kwouk) to hide out. From there on he meets a prostitute played by Bridget Fonda who he befriends and eventually saves her from her pimp, who conveniently has ties with the corrupt police. It’s not long before the bad guys are onto Jet Li and the two now need to go on the run, where a not so original sub-plot rears its ugly head, whereby Jet Li is convinced to save Jessica’s daughter, who is being held captive by none other than the dastardly (although not too dastardly to own a turtle who he rather cares for) Inspector Richard himself.
Having been a Jet Li admire since his performances in Romeo Must Die and his woefully short but cool appearance in Lethal Weapon Four, combined with having seen the trailer a couple of times for his up and coming film THE ONE, I was desperate to see the film. I wasn’t disappointed with the result some of the stuff he pulls in this film is just soooo cool, it will make you want to enrol in your local karate academy ASAP.
The fight scenes are fast and furious and within the first five or so minutes of the films opening Jet Li is giving it some, as only Jet Li can. Faster, darker and more furious than Jackie Chan’s style of fighting, Jet Li pulls no punches (ho ho ho) in taking his opponents down. In the opening sequence alone he uses a matter of inventive ways to take his opponents down. They include smacking them around the chops with red hot clothes irons, locking them in washing machines or using a mop he takes about thirty guys down.
From there we are given a break of about 10-15 minutes to progress the ‘story line’ and to develop the ‘characters’ and then we’re back in the thick of it. It’d be boring to discuss everything about the film, so I won’t. What I must say is that the ending is absolutely amazing (fight wise not story wise, although after you’ve seen it you wont give a monkey’s), all I’ll say is that Jet-Li takes out a police station *cough* Leon *cough*.
There’s a few things that seem a bit suss though the first of which is how similar parts of the story are to that of Luc Besson’s masterpiece LEON. Each has a high ranking police official that is totally off their nut on drugs pulling a fast one, another is how similar the ending is. Another element of the film that I disliked is the cheesy and predictable dialogue that Jet Li is given, but lets face it he’s no Tom Hanks is he? so who cares, we're only interested in the moves he pulls so let’s move on
The direction is as you would expect from any fight film, plenty of slo-mo, and shots with Jet Li adopting a pretty boy stance in front of the camera. This film was helmed by newcomer Chris Nahon and it shows, but with Luc Besson having a small role to play in film as co-writer of ahem 'the story' you can’t help but think that Chris has paid homage to Besson with some of the shots and styles he has used throughout the film.
The music that accompanies each of the fight scenes is well suited, mimicing the fast, furious pace of the fight with some technoy stuff ala Blade.
All in all a very enjoyable film but only if you walk into the cinema realising what the film is all about from the start and that is purely for the eye candy alone. It’s a shame though that what with the release of the massively hyped Harry Potter that this film will do so poorly at the box office. However when released on video / DVD etc it should do quite well.
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Im a big Jet Li fan myself, but have yet to see him in a decent Hollywood film. Kiss of the Dragon and the forthcoming The One have been minor hits in the states, but I like to see him in a decent scripted film as Jet Li has a lot of kung fu potential that is usually wasted on a relatively run of the mill scripts. Good Op!
InKiss of the Dragon, Chinese undercover agent Jet Li chops his way through Paris after ... more
he's framed in some sketchily defined drug sting operation. The fight sequences are tough and quite brutal, and the over-the-top finale is arguably worth the price ...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
InKiss of the Dragon, Chinese undercover agent Jet Li chops his way through Paris after ... more
he's framed in some sketchily defined drug sting operation. The fight sequences are tough and quite brutal, and the over-the-top finale is arguably worth the price ...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Jet Li (Romeo Must Die) plays Liu Jiuan. China's top government agent, who arrives in ... more
Paris from Shanghai to assist Richard (Tcheky Karyo. The Patriot), a corrupt French police inspector, with a top secret mission to uncover an international drug consp...
Martial arts genius Jet Li explodes onto the screen with an intensity not seen since Bruce ... more
Lee. 'Kiss of the Dragon' is not merely a thriller but a shocker (San Francisco Chronicle). China's top secret agent visits Paris on a pleasure trip only to en...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
xx-baby-davies-xx 23.05.2007 (23.05.2007)
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Review of Kiss Of The Dragon (DVD)