Review by Lars Lindahl
"Romeo Must Die" (2000)
Starring Jet Li, Aaliyah, Isaiah Washington, Russell Wong, DMX, and Delroy Lindo.
Directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak Written by Eric Bernt, John Jarrell
Grade: **1/2 (out of four)
For those expecting a clever masterpiece of an ancient Shakespeare play, Romeo Must Die will not be satisfying. The only real similarity is that both contain rival gangs from rival families. That's it. In this "adaptation" you won't find any monologues, any romance, any dukes, nor, for that matter, any characters named Romeo or Juliet. You will find a lot of violence, rap music, curse words, and bad acting. This is not necessarily a bad thing; the soundtrack and beautifully choreographed fight scenes add a much needed Matrix-like environment while the bad acting reminds its viewers that this is a movie that doesn't require much thought, just pointless eye-candied entertainment. And when star Jet Li shows off his impressive Martial Arts talent, the movie is extremely fun. He is so graceful at his job that he makes beating up huge gun-carrying gangsters look extremely easy. The elaborate plot made simple follows Han (Jet Li) as he escapes a Hong Kong prison to find out who killed his brother. When Han reaches America, he finds that two gangs, one African American the other, led by his father, Chinese, are in the middle of a nasty battle. As Han continues to search for the truth about his brother, he meets Tricia (singer Aaliyah) the daughter of the opposite gang's leader (Delroy Lindo). The two find they have much in common while the gangs do all they can to separate them.
The real problem with Romeo Must Die is that Li is rarely given a chance to show off his skills. The film is held down by a confusing subplot involving the NFL, in which the two families try to profit off of the league. Also there are way too many characters in this movie. In a pleasing action movie, there should be five main characters max: the hero or the two heroes, the person they try to rescue, and a couple of villains. There are so many actors in this film that Li has to wait large portions of the running time before returning for more action. The other actors do a fine job, they just stand in the way of the main point of the film. Russell Wong and Isiah Washington, in particular, add perfect charisma to their "2nd in charge" characters. Other Martial Arts flicks with thinner (almost nonexistent) plots are entertaining because what is expected, creative fighting scenes, are shown one after the other. Rumble in the Bronx is a good example of a ridiculous plot cured by the expertise of its star (Jackie Chan).
Another problem is that Han and Tricia never give a convincing case that they care for each other. They both disobey their families by secretly meeting to try and find out who killed Li's brother but there is no real reason why they do this. Missing is a scene where the two bond and understand their partner's struggles in life. Would you risk your life for someone you hardly knew? These people would at the blink of an eye.
The scenes in which Jet Li skillfully gets himself out of danger are highly recommended, but unfortunately they are not given the center spotlight. Rent Rumble in the Bronx and save yourself some money.
Lars Attacks! A teenager attacks past and present cinema http://www.angelfire.com/ny3/larsattacks
(c) 2000 Lars Lindahl
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