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350 reviews in total

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29 out of 33 people found the following review useful:
Action with Depth., 11 July 2005

Author: Trey Mercartne from United Kingdom

Not usually a fan of this type of all-out Action movie, "Romeo Must Die" knocked me off balance when I found it to be one of the best films I have ever enjoyed. Producer Joel Silver (Who also produced "The Matrix") describes the film as an "Urban rendition of Romeo and Juliet" and although this is a very simple way of looking at the film, it's not far off the mark. Like the great Shakespeare work, there are two opposing families in this film, each looking to make big commercial gains in the world of real estate development. Caught up in their lies, greed and violence are Trish O'Day (Played by Aaliyah) and Han Sing (Played by Jet Li). The story revolves around their quickly blooming relationship and the opposing families around them.

The film boasts some serious eye candy with some of the best special effects you'll see. Luckily, this is not the only good thing going for the movie as the eye candy is wonderfully supported by some fantastic performances from the cast. In her first feature movie, Aaliyah is absolutely breath taking as Trish O'Day. Showing the kind of charm and 'x' factor that few will ever have, she alone makes this film a must see. Jet Li's performance is, as always, about his skills as a martial artist but his scripted acting continues to improve. Another stand out performance for me was that of D.B. Woodside who plays Trish O'Days brother - Colin. Although not such a major role, D.B. excels in this role. High end production values mean the film has a real style and "gloss" to it and everything fits in place and the story moves along at just the right pace. In fact, "Romeo Must Die" is a shining example of how good story telling does not need to be lost in a sea of special effects and glossy American values. Jonathon Ross describes the film as "Fast, Furious, Fun", which is definitely true, but there is more to this film that the audience can take away with them. The reason the film works is that it works on two levels - storyline and action. You can enjoy both aspects and take from them what you like. This is a brilliant film and I highly recommend it.

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20 out of 25 people found the following review useful:
The most violent "interpretation" of Shakespeare I`ve ever seen, 1 December 2000
Author: action-6 from Froland, Norway

"Romeo Must Die" is definetely the most violent "interpretation" of Shakespeare I`ve ever seen. Okay, interpretation is not the right word to use, but that is nevertheless what this movie at some point wants to be. I really liked Jet Li in this movie, and I`ve liked him since I first saw him in "Lethal Weapon 4" a couple of years ago. Fighting and betrayal is what "Romeo Must Die" is all about, and the fighting is very entertaining, although sometimes a bit cheesy, because some of the "Matrix-scenes", which is out of place outside the world of science-fiction. Still, "Romeo Must Die" is an actionflick you wouldn`t want to miss. It manages to be interesting enough, but the fighting is what makes it really good. 8/10

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18 out of 23 people found the following review useful:
Superior Gangster Film; Mediocre Kung Fu Film, 21 May 2000

Author: Bob-45 from Savannah, GA

ROMEO MUST DIE is one of those rare films which, while not particularly good for its genre, is surprisingly good for other reasons. Most of the black characters, even the villians, are sympathetically portrayed, even though the hero is Asian. Aaliyah is wholesomely sexy and quite beautiful. Russell Wong is phenomenal is a very short role. This guy has the looks, style, and presence of Russell Crowe. Jet Li, however, is very humane and appealing, though his character is underwritten. Most of the asian characters are shortchanged dramatically. However the white (primarily Jewish) characters are shortchanged the most. They receive the brunt of the ugly stereotyping. The kung-fu sequences are nothing special. They are too fast and too confusing to be completely effective. Though neat, the Xray effect detracted from the "realism," sort of like the old split screen and slo-mo effects of the 1960s films. Bone-crunching is far more effective; and, would someone please dispense with this "flying" nonsense? I don't want to see anything up there or the screen that is not physically possible. Special note must be made of Francoise Yip, the Female bike / fighter. If Ms. Yip did all her own stunts, she's not only stunningly beautiful, she is also awesome. One quibble, which I feel follows a disturbing pattern in motion pictures. Though Jet Li and Aaliyah are quite obviously in love at the close of the film, they never kiss. In a film which shows two beautiful asian dances french kiss, and one bares the other's breast and kisses her erect nipple,would it have been too much to ask to have to people of different races who are obviously in love share a romantic kiss?

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6 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Good...but over-the-top Chineseness, 1 February 2006

Author: sarmoti_tiger from Hong Kong

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I read some not-so-great reviews about "Romeo must Die" so I really didn't have my hopes up high. I only decided to watch it because I love Jet Li. Good thing I did watch it!! It was SO cool!! Jet Li didn't disappoint - not only was his fighting as 'wow' as ever (and I know, a lot of people think too much CGI was used, compromising his true abilities. I agree with that, but you have to admit, it still looked pretty dayam good), his dramatic acting is amazing too!! However, living in Hong Kong, I DO have a few problems with the film. Firstly, it REALLY exaggerates the whole Asian thing, making it seem like we Chinese all practice Kung Fu in our backyards while drinking Oolong tea every day...which in fact, is NOT what Hong Kong people do (yes, I'm sorry if I'm shattering some dreams here - Hong Kong people do too watch television and shop and do things other than learn Kung Fu. In fact, you'd be hard-pressed to find one person in Hong Kong who knows martial arts Jet Li style). The Chinese people in the film all have names like "Po" and "Han" and say things like "let's show them our true strength"...I'm surprised they didn't put some phrases like "Let's summon our family's ancestral dragons" in. ALSO, I was really confused when they showed Hong Kong. It was nothing like the Hong Kong and all but one person spoke in Mandarin (most people in Hong Kong speak cantonese). I'm not sure if that bit WAS actually Hong Kong but...if you're going to say that he's in prison in Hong Kong, why choose a place which does NOT give a proper image of Hong Kong? There must've also been some confusion with Chinese and Japanese because I swear, at times, Han's (Jet Li's character) dad seems more Jap than anything...

Still, I liked the film. There wasn't enough development between Jet and Aaliyah but Jet Li still looked really cute. Jet Li really kicks something serious in the movie and so I let all the other things slide - even the idea that the Chinese guys turn out to be the bad guys and the black guys turn out to be actually...awww...really nice people. Lindo was good and Aaliyah was REALLY REALLY good. It's sad - she would have made a terrific actress and I'm happy that she did leave behind at least this movie.

Watch this movie. I just realised that my review doesn't actually sound too positive but trust me - I really did like the film. In fact, I'm going to watch it again now!

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17 out of 28 people found the following review useful:
One Of The Better Martial-Arts Movies, 13 November 2006

Author: ccthemovieman-1 from Lockport, NY, United States

I was surprised I enjoyed much of this since martial arts movies are okay but nothing I really get into often. Jet Li plays the only likable character in this Asians vs. Blacks gang story.

Some of the stunts were tremendous. Some were so over-the-top, so unbelievable that they were funny. The movie certainly isn't one to be taken seriously.

The wild action scenes, fairly involving story and nice colors and interesting sound track all make this movie a cut above the normal martial arts fare. The excellent surround sound and sharp picture make it a good one for DVD.

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23 out of 40 people found the following review useful:
My thoughts, 27 March 2000

Author: xeslaro (xeslaro@excite.com) from NJ, USA

I must say right off the bat that I was very disappointed with this movie. Jet Li is one of the most amazing fighters to ever hit the silver screen, with credentials (in martial arts, not acting) that rival the late great Bruce Lee and easily surpass Jackie Chan. He can do things with his body that I can't even do in my dreams.

Having said that, I sat through this movie wondering to myself, "Why did they feel the need to CGI enhance these fight scenes?" He can do amazing things by himself! By inexplicably making him jump 30 feet in the air while kicking in 9 directions at once, they serve only to discredit his true athletic ability. And not only did they meddle with his fighting talent, but they did it so poorly. The tampered scenes are very obvious, with more visible seams than a tailor shop. Granted, the x-ray effects were a welcome change, but that was about all this movie had to offer in terms of fresh ideas.

The plot is drawn out at great lengths, with fight scenes a little too few and far between for my tastes. Also, I felt the black gangsters were over-developed, while the asian gangsters were under-developed (Russell Wong's character is barely on the screen for 10 minutes of the movie, while Isiah Washington's incessant melodrama drowns out a good portion of the flick).

I think most of the problem comes from the over-ambitious screenplay. The premise is a good one: asian mafia versus black gangsters. However, there are two roads this premise could have taken. Either A) they could have turned it into a hardcore action pic about gang violence, with lots of guns, fighting, double crossing, etc., or B) they could have made a romantic tragedy focusing on the struggles between the two lovers because of their opposite backgrounds. This movie strives desperately to do both, but the end result is that neither aspect is fully explored, leaving a mediocre-at-best storyline for the cast to work with.

So, on a scale of 1 to 10, I'd have to give this movie about a 4. It had a lot of promise, and I was hoping to see Jet Li showcased to his full potential, but it appears that his ship has yet to come.

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8 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
Thoroughly average, with a few elements above and below that, 21 September 2001

Author: BenGW1 from Arlington, VA

Have you ever felt cheated because you never got to see a movie before that includes X-ray POV footage of a person's spine being severed, a football game that turns into a Three Stooges episode, a part where a Chinese crime lord has his colleagues chained up in a refrigerated boxcar before they're murdered and dismembered with meat-cutting instruments (thankfully off-camera), and mentions that the Oakland Raiders moved again? Fear not, once you see ROMEO MUST DIE.

There isn't much else to say about how this movie's tone jumps all over the place. It's a predictable but decently engaging movie. What makes it worth renting is the presence of Aaliyah, Jet Li, and especially Delroy Lindo. There's little doubt this movie did well off the marquee value of those first two--and they're both good here, separately and together--but Lindo is a great actor and invests Isaak O'Day with a dramatic presence that insists we take him seriously.

It's a huge tragedy that Aaliyah died so young, and a great loss for the movies she would have been superb in; she saves her thin, poorly developed character from being useless and makes Trish interesting. Jet Li shows he can be tough or funny, whatever's needed at the moment, and it's nice to see an action star who seems to LIKE doing action film roles. Note: I have to agree with Roger Ebert that seeing Li doing FX-aided fight scenes was pathetic; Li's a fighting FX just by being himself, and we saw that in LETHAL WEAPON 4 and hopefully will again in the future.

For all that, this and GONE IN 60 SECONDS were the quintissential average films of 2000. As far from great as awful, both got 5 out of 10 from me.

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8 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
Enjoyable enough, 20 June 2003

Author: henry-girling from London, England

There seems to be several films in this one. A story about corruption and property deals, a story about fathers and their children, a tentative Romeo and Juliet romance and of course martial arts and guns. The actors acquit themselves well. One hoped for more of Michael Wong and less of Anthony Anderson (his constant 'Dim Sum' refrain being quite irritating) but the actors act, the plot moves and the film is enjoyable enough.

Jet Li is as usual very watchable and apart from his skill at martial arts (quick and effective but always graceful) he acts OK. His cab scene with Aaliyah is charming and funny and one wanted more of that but their relationship is underdeveloped in the script. It is a pity as Aaliyah is luminous and sassy. Her untimely death in real life was a tragedy.

Not as good as 'Kiss of the Dragon' but better than 'The One' and 'Cradle 2 the Grave' but inferior to Jet Li's Hong Kong movies.

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12 out of 20 people found the following review useful:
Aaliyah at her best, 19 October 2005

Author: ebiros2 from United States

The good of this movie was when Aaliyah was on the scene. The rest was rather senseless violence about gangs trying to out do each other. Jet Li was okay, but I don't think he's a good actor although he 's a very prolific one starring in over 60 movies. Although this was her acting debut, I think Aaliyah brought the goods to the table. She was just great as Trish. The play between Trish and Han (Jet Li) as an accidental cab driver was priceless, and the way they contrasted each other on screen with younger Trish actually in somewhat of a protective role to Han really added interesting plot twist to the story. Executive producer Joel Silver had lots of original ideas about movie making, and this one I would say is one of them. I don't go too much for the violence, but the movie was entertaining and original.

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7 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
Lethal Weapon 4 was just a starter, this movie delivers!, 27 January 2005

Author: Brian T. Whitlock (GOWBTW) from WILMINGTON, NC

For those who like cross-culture, "Romeo Must Die", show be the one for you! Jet Li who was fresh from "Leathal Weapon 4" really delivers in this action-packed movie. Playing Han was a big one for him. Aaliyah(1979-2001), the R&B sensation really got her acting chops in gear playing the alluring Trish O'Day, who is being shadowed by the bumbling Maurice, played by the hilarious, Anthony Anderson. Everybody would call him MORON! Which I think is funny.

I liked the X-ray effects of the movie whenever a fight was going to happen. I liked the part when Han refused to a fight a woman, he used Trish to fight her with. It looked more of a swing dance to me. Since Trish's words backed him up, the enemy was impaled through the heart. And after the final fight, Trish's father (Delroy Lindo), wanted to meet Han for himself, and I 'm glad he got that chance, I think it was silly for him to demand a handshake from him, but hey, he wanted to who the "cat" was, and make sure he did. Han never declined any offer only to know who was the troublemaker behind the "war". Before anyone remember seeing Aaliyah in "Queen of the Damned", check out this movie first. Rating 4 out of 5.

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