I had the pleasure of seeing this film in Brussels (in English with French and Flemish subtitles, a truly bizarre experience) back in August, as it was on general release on the Continent some time ago. Put simply, this is a very well made martial arts action film, which does a slightly different take on the theme of racial conflict - instead of the hackneyed approach that has brought years of East v. West or white v. any other coloured skin you care to mention, this film focuses on turf war between oriental and black gangs in the US. Delroy Lindo is outstanding as the gang leader trying to protect his turf, his son, his pride and his fortune at the same time as going straight and fending off the incursions made by the Triad-style gangs into his areas of control. The oriental gang patriarchs meanwhile attempt to instil the ancient values of honour and obedience into their subordinates, who are tempted to excess by the taste of the American dream (cf. 'Black Rain'). Jet Li is at the heart of the action, and much use is made of the photo trickery first seen in the 'The Matrix', with multiple cameras panning round to follow timelapsed action sequences. Another twist is provided by the forbidden romance between Li and Aaliyah, a new take on a classical plot device - hence the title of the film... In a nutshell, there's not a lot here that you wouldn't expect - martial arts, guns, gang war, but the decent plot and solid acting carry the film well. Definitely worth a look.
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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
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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)
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