Apologies for the lack of opinions lately. I've been on holiday and had a spot of writers block. I'm...
Apologies for the lack of opinions lately. I've been on holiday and had a spot of writers block. I'm not entirely happy about the new scheme for rewards, but I should still be writing again soon. :)
Member since:13.01.2001
Reviews:70
Members who trust:60
STORY (AND CHARACTERS):
The feuding families of Capulet and Montague are represented in the film with a Chinese family, headed by the cold-blooded Kai (Russell Wong) and a Black American family (led by Delroy Lindo as the deep down good-hearted Isaack O’Day), who are trapped in an angry war over control of the city’s precious waterfront land, the proposed site of a new stadium.
All the fighting finishes with the youngest son, Po, of the Chinese family and Colin, the only son of the American family (both spoilt brats who over estimate their self-importance) winding up dead, both ingeniously murdered. Naturally, the rival gang is blamed. And when Po’s brother Han (Jet Li) hears about it, he breaks out of his Hong Kong prison (which I imagine would be a lot harder in real life than they make out) to return to the US and kick some ass.
Instead, he meets Trish (our headstrong, independent Juliet) whilst he’s in the middle of stealing a taxi. And despite the efforts off her ‘bodyguard’ (and main light relief) Maurice (Anthony Anderson) and her suitor, Isaiah Washington’s Mac (who’s more of a bad guy than his Shakespeare equivilant) to keep them apart, she sees what a sweet guy he is and they really hit it off. Although they never get romantically involved in the film, they form a firm alliance.
The story is only based very loosely on the famous Romeo and Juliet story – there are more twists in the tale for a start. For one, our young heroes aren’t on the best of terms with their families, and with good reason. Near the end, it’s revealed that members of both families have betrayed and gone against their own people.
The characters are absorbing, believable and well defined. The plot is another story. I guess it’s an original interpretation of a well-known play, but for most of the time I found it dull, slow moving and lacking in passion.
ACTING
I hear that Jet Li is a really big star when it comes to fans of martial arts movies, and he is certainly very impressive in the film, both in the fighting and the acting departments. He’s really intense and he and his co-star Aaliyah definitely have some chemistry.
Aaliyah is actually more widely known as a funky R ‘n’ B singer, but she is equally as good an actress as any of the rest of the cast. Her performance is appealingly refreshing, not to mention convincing. You also might be interested to know that her most well known hit to date (‘Try Again’) happens to feature near the end of the film.
The rest of the cast are also above average, though none are mentionable as outstanding.
FIGHT SCENES
There are some outstanding fight/action sequences in this film. There’s one in particular, where Han is holding Trish and they fight as one, moving through the air as smooth as glass. Some of the things they do in the film are incredible to watch and all beautifully choreographed.
The martial arts scenes were perhaps most brilliant. They’re kind of like in ‘The Matrix’: slowed down, sped up and often with the people staying in mid-air for seconds before coming down hard on whoever is unfortunate to be below.
SOUNDTRACK
This isn’t really a huge factor in most movies, but in this one, it’s worth mentioning now, if only for it’s range. There’s a lot of hip hop and R ’n’ B music, but also some more traditional Chinese music at points too, and techno vibes during the fight scenes.
CONCLUSIONS A decent film worth watching for the cast, characters and choreography, as long as you don’t mind a weak plot and A LOT of action and violence (rather than romance or other themes).
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Martial Arts - Director: Prachya Pinkaew - Original Language: English\Vietnamese\Thai\Mandarin - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Tony Jaa, Bongkoj Khongmalai, Petchtai Wongkamlao
Production Year: 1972 - Martial Arts - Director: Bruce Lee - Original Language: English\Cantonese\Chinese - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Bruce Lee, Nora Miao, Chuck Norris, Robert Wall, Jon T. Benn
Production Year: 1981 - Martial Arts - Director: Kenji Misumi, Robert Houston - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Kayo Matsuo, Minoru Ohki, Akiji Kobayashi, Shin Kishida, Masahiro Tomikawa, Tomisaburo Wakayama
I saw this on video, and din't find it to be particularly great. Maybe it lost something on the small screen.
Jet Li was brilliant in the film, and Aaliyah had a promising carrer in the movies. Its tragic that we won't see her back on the big screen again.
NAZGUL 07.09.2001 18:47
I have to disagree on several parts on this op the first being it is not a slow movie but rather one that has scenes that have to be set, second I would say that the acting from the others is very good and there is some nice comic elements to it and if you like action films then it is one to own
Alex1226 15.05.2001 16:30
Hi Drusilla. I thought that your review was good, and would have given the film 4 stars as wel, although I thought that the plot was a lot better than you gave it credit. Interestingly the director of 'Romeo Must Die' has brought a lot of the cast for his new film 'Exit Wounds'(see my review) - though this is a far inferior film to this Jet Li classic. I felt that 'Romeo Must Die' is the best martial arts film I have seen in the last few years with the obvious exception of 'Crouching Tiger'.
Cinematographer Andrzej Bartkowiak, the cameraman behindSpeed,Lethal Weapon 4, andThe ... more
Devil's Advocate, makes his directorial debut with a lively but by-the-numbers film that mixes Hong Kong action pyrotechnics with gritty urban gang drama. Jet Li star...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Cinematographer Andrzej Bartkowiak, the cameraman behindSpeed,Lethal Weapon 4, andThe ... more
Devil's Advocate, makes his directorial debut with a lively but by-the-numbers film that mixes Hong Kong action pyrotechnics with gritty urban gang drama. Jet Li star...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
They've got the weapons. And they've got no chance against former Hong Kong cop Han Sing. ... more
Gravity-warping martial arts cool visual effects and an all-star music track combine in this revved-up action movie from producer Joel Silver (The Matrix) and st...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
They've got the weapons. They've got the posses. And they've got no chance against former ... more
Hong Kong cop Han Sing. Gravity-warping martial arts, cool visual effects and an all-star music track combine in this revved-up action movie from producer Joel Si...
Advantages: good story/acting, excellent soundtrack, bursting with special features Disadvantages: *slight* predictability though not too much to put you off the movie itself. Game on PC enhancement not worth playing.
Fiz_whiz 19.09.2002 (19.09.2002)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Romeo Must Die (DVD)
![Romeo Must Die [DVD] [2000]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78549142.jpg "Romeo Must Die [DVD] [2000]")
very helpful by (94%):
somewhat helpful by (6%):
