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  Richard
  
Attwood
Romeo Must Die
USA, 2000
[Andrezj Bartkowiak]
Jet Li, Aaliyah, Delroy Lindo, Isaiah Washington
Action
  
Joel Silver may well have been the producer of The Matrix, but here he shows that the Wachowskis and Yuen Wo Ping were very much the creative forces responsible for its success. Jet Li follows in the wake of several other Far East Asian movie stars in trying to find a showcase for his talents in Hollywood and after a villainous turn in Lethal Weapon 4 returns to his more familiar role of hero, playing a Hong Kong cop arriving in America to discover who killed his brother. He walks into the middle of a developing war between his father's criminal outfit and the local black gangsters over the ownership of the city waterfront, which is to be the site of a new stadium. Early on he encounters the daughter of the head of the rival gang, played by R'n'B singer Aaliyah, who shares his disdain of their fathers' line of work and they set about uncovering who it is trying to escalate the tension between the two factions.

The fight scenes are for the most part everything you would hope for in a kung-fu movie, with some imaginative use of everyday objects and some enjoyable confrontations. The wirework seems out of place in a modern tale, being more suited to futuristic or wuxia films, while the x-ray effects are similarly unnecessary and are indicative of the director's conscious attempts at a cool style which occasionally detract from what is otherwise a run of the mill, but nevertheless fun, action flick. Jet Li is indisputably a gifted martial artist and watching him in full flow is great. However, he obviously struggles in the acting department, which is understandable considering he is expected to speak a foreign language.

Aaliyah is perfectly acceptable as his sidekick, but they make a slightly unlikely couple, what with her being 21 and Li (despite his boyish grin) knocking on for 40 and so, despite the attempts to create a Romeo and Juliet scenario of forbidden love, they end up just hanging out with each other and eating ice-cream. The rest of the cast don't embarrass themselves in the acting stakes, although it is left to Delroy Lindo to show any real presence; I did find myself recognizing many of the actors from other films or series, especially several of the young black roles and it was nice to see Fran�oise Yip in action again, albeit briefly.

Not a bad night's rental, but you wonder if there is a place for Li in Hollywood, with Jackie Chan prepared to throw himself off buildings for a laugh, Sammo Hung cornering the TV market and Chow Yun Fat actually being able to act and speak English clearly. Judge for yourself, there are worse kung-fu films out there (Van Damme anyone?).
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