Romeo Must Die (2000)
Review by Dan Taylor

Over the last few years, Jet Li has vaulted into the collective consciousness of American action fans as flicks like BODYGUARD FROM BEIJING, ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA, THE ENFORCER, and BLACK MASK have been released on video or theatrically. And, in a nod to his growing international fan base, Li was even cast as a silent assassin in the woefully inept LETHAL WEAPON 4.

I dug BLACK MASK – its over-the-top tale of renegade superhuman soldiers was nutty enough to stand out from the pack despite the usual handicaps of bad dubbing and poor marketing. So it was no surprise that Hollywood would find a way to import the star, dilute what makes him great, and saddle him with a poor excuse for an action flick.

Hell, if they can do it to Chow Yun-Fat they can do it to anybody! THE REPLACEMENT KILLERS ring a bell?

Li's first foray into action film superstardom lands him smack dab in, what else, a tedious action-oriented take on Romeo and Juliet. Except, this time, Romeo is the son of a Chinese gang leader and Juliet is a sexy, African American princess who just happens to be the daughter of the crime lord who rules half of the Oakland waterfront.

You get nothing for guessing who rules the other half.

Li's Han arrives on these shores after he busts out of a Hong Kong prison. He heard that his little brother had been killed over in the States, so he goes apeshit, gets taken in for a good old fashioned prison ass-whipping and turns the tables on his captors. Oh, did I forget to mention that he's an ex-cop who landed in the joint because he helped his father and brother avoid capture?

Once on these shores he meets up with Trish O'Day (I kid you not), the sweet daughter of Isaak O'Day (the slow, simmering Delroy Lindo, the poor man's Larry Fishburne), an Oakland crime kingpin caught up in a conflict with Han's old man and compatriots.

You know what, I'm getting exhausted just thinking about all the plot mechanics that are at work in this deceptively simple tale. We've got the surrogate son (Russell Wong) who we just know is in line for a clobbering at the hands of our tiny hero. There's Mac (Isaiah Washington), Isaak's right hand man, who we also sense is up to no good and turns up way too often for his or our good. And we've even got DMX and Anthony Anderson showing up in roles that are eerily similar to the parts they would play in Steven Seagal's EXIT WOUNDS.

Unfortunately, all of these plotlines (the big, secret business deal has something to do with a proposal to the NFL for a new football franchise?!), romantic entanglements, and discussions of honor get in the way of what we really care about: Jet Li kicking people's asses. Granted, there are some great scenes – the dispatching of the thugs "protecting" Trish is particularly memorable – but they're too few and far between for this fan. And, any scenes involving wire work are so forced looking that they detract from Li's obvious physical skills.

While ROMEO MUST DIE may be superior to recent efforts from other martial arts stars, it doesn't give its star a chance to truly shine.