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"ROMEO MUST DIE"
(2000) (Jet Li, Aaliyah) (R)

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QUICK TAKE:
Action/Adventure: As the battle between two crime families for control of Oakland's waterfront property escalates to murder, a young man seeks answers and retribution for the treachery and betrayal that led to his brother's death.
PLOT:
On Oakland's waterfront, a bitter turf battle is being played out between Asian and African American crime families. When the Asian warlord's son, Po (JON KIT LEE), is found dead, the gang war escalates to new heights. News of the murder eventually reaches a Hong Kong prison holding the victim's brother, Han (JET LI), a former cop who took the rap so that Po and their father, Ch'u Sing (HENRY O), could escape to the U.S.

Now, Sing and his right-hand man, Kai (RUSSELL WONG), control a powerful Asian crime family that's hostile to the local African-American crime family run by Isaak O'Day (DELROY LINDO). Although Isaak eventually wants to get into a legitimate business with his son, Colin (D.B. WOODSIDE), and an ambitious businessman, Roth (EDOARDO BALLERINI), he must first contend with allegations that his people were responsible for Po's death.

Thus, his right-hand man, Mac (ISAIAH WASHINGTON), is put on notice, as is Maurice (ANTHONY ANDERSON), a portly and bumbling fellow assigned to protect Isaak's adult and very independent daughter, Trish (AALIYAH), who wants nothing to do with her father's illegal business activities.

With Han arriving in the U.S. and repeatedly running into Trish, and more members of each crime family being murdered, the two young members of the opposing families try to figure out what's going on and determine exactly who's responsible.

OUR TAKE: 5 out of 10
In William Shakespeare's play from which this week's martial arts film, "Romeo Must Die," borrows part of its title and a tiny bit of plot, Juliet asks in one scene, "Romeo, Romeo. Where for art thou Romeo?" While the Bard had his star-crossed heroine pining away for her illicit lover and wondering why he had to be from a different family, audiences looking for nonstop martial arts action are likely to be heard saying, "Forget Romeo? Where's Jet Li?"

That's because Li ("Black Mask," "Lethal Weapon 4") -- the next heir apparent to the martial arts throne long vacated by Bruce Lee and temporarily, but not satisfactorily filled by the likes of Jean-Claude Van Damme, Steven Seagal and best yet, the comedic shenanigans of Jackie Chan - doesn't get as much screen time as one would expect for a headlining star. In fact, and for this, his first English-speaking starring role, he's often relegated to supporting character status while those more closely associated with the main plot get the far meatier roles.

None of which is to say that the film is lacking the requisite and anticipated fight scenes. They are present, with around eight or so such sequences filled with plenty of martial arts mayhem. Fans of the genre, however, may be surprised - pleasantly or not - that there's as much, and perhaps even more plot then there is actual fighting.

Despite the Shakespeare-inspired title, though, the film has fare more in common with the genre's standard, warring gangsters plotline than the effect of star-crossed love. In fact, there's really none of the latter despite some of the film's better non-fighting moments coming from the near flirtatious behavior and interaction between the warring families' more "innocent" members.

Of course, people plunking down their hard earned money to see this film probably aren't particularly interested in any semblances of romance between any of the actors. Instead, they want to see ferocious, funny and/or wild martial arts action, and Li (the villainous enforcer in "Lethal Weapon 4") is clearly the man for the job.

More of a serious version of fellow Asian superstar Jackie Chan, Li can do some amazing thing with his body and director Andrzej Bartkowiak (making his directing debut after serving as cinematographer for films such as "Lethal Weapon 4" and "The Devil's Advocate") certainly takes advantage of the actor's physical skills.

Unfortunately, the filmmaker also opts to include non-realistic material obviously influenced by the success of the fantasy fighting sequences in "The Matrix" (also not so coincidentally produced by this film's producer, Joel Silver). Those include a number of gravity and physics defying moves such as changing direction in midair and staying off the ground longer than humanly possible.

While such moments worked (and better yet, were explained) in "The Matrix," here they just come off as stupid. When you have such a physically gifted performer as Li on hand, it's too bad that "special effects" have to be brought in under the mistaken assumption that they'll enhance the proceedings. Here, they simply stand out as effects for effects sakes and end up distracting the viewer in any scene in which they occur.

Of course, it doesn't take a brain surgeon, rocket scientist, or filmmaker to realize that these sorts of films aren't meant to be viewed as serious pieces of art. Nonetheless, they should at least abide by the rules of their own unique universe, which in this case happens to be the gravity-laden one in which we all live.

As impressive as the physical stunts and martial arts moments are (including a wild scene where Li battles some guards while hanging upside down by one foot), Bartkowiak surprisingly doesn't infuse most of them with any semblance of building momentum or individual energy (with some scenes including lackluster accompanying music that sucks the energy from them). While one can appreciate the physical demands and choreography of such scenes, they don't have the necessary "oomph" to stoke the audience by eliciting the appropriate visceral reaction, or the ability to get the target audience worked up into a rooting frenzy for the good guys to vanquish the bad ones.

That said, the film works best when it borrows elements from those Jackie Chan films where the impressive action and stunts are laced with loads of self-deprecating humor, a factor that makes the hero seem more human and likable. Several instances of that occur here, including one featuring Han's funny introduction and reaction to American football, and another where he uses his female companion's body to fight a female adversary (since it's against his beliefs for him to directly hit a woman). The moments are highly reminiscent of Chan's work and are clearly the biggest audience pleasers.

The film's other attempts at humor and comic relief - most notably regarding the shenanigans of Anthony Anderson ("Me, Myself & I," "Liberty Heights") as one of the crime family's bumbling cronies - are a mixed bag. Those moments, along with the rap-laden soundtrack, show that the spectacular success of "Rush Hour" also had an influence on this feature.

Unlike that film, this one doesn't have a Chris Tucker or Jackie Chan and the resulting performances are pretty much only par for the course for a film like this. While it's still too early to tell what kind of actor Jet Li may eventually turn out to be, he doesn't really have the star presence here to carry this picture (which might explain his long absences during it). With his more dramatic moments necessitating subtitled English, Li's thespian efforts are mainly relegated to the physical side of his character, although he clearly fairs much better when adopting the Jackie Chan type persona.

Singer turned actress Aaliyah (who makes her acting debut) is okay as the defiant daughter and plays best off Li, while Delroy Lindo ("The Cider House Rules," "Get Shorty") is solid as her gangland father who wants to go straight. Meanwhile, Isaiah Washington ("True Crime," "Out of Sight") and Russell Wong ("New Jack City," "The Joy Luck Club") are present as the token "muscle" for each family, with the latter adopting something of an Asian Keanu Reeves look and persona.

The film should please fans craving furious and imaginative martial arts action, and its plot - while not anything particularly special, let alone novel - is far better than what usually accompanies movies like this. Although the film could have used more adrenaline-pumping moments and/or riveting momentum, and less "Matrix"-like effects (not to mention something at least resembling a credible closing scene), it mostly succeeds in what's expected of it. That doesn't mean it's a great film by any means, but its certainly one that's easy enough to watch if you're a fan of any sort of the martial arts genre. As such, "Romeo Must Die" rates as a 5 out of 10.




Reviewed March 16 , 2000 / Posted March 22, 2000


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