Romeo Must Die (2000)

Just perfect...

Absolutely the worst movie.

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Romeo must die was an awesome movie awesome fight scenes jet li is awesome in this movie

To sit through ROMEO MUST DIE is to go back to that (mercifully) short period when it seemed like every movie was aping THE MATRIX. But this one doesn't have parody going for it. When Jet Li isn't creatively using the props around him to kick some bad guy ass, he's bouncing drop kicks off of walls and nailing ballet scissor kicks in midair. It's East-meets-West insofar as the really obvious wire-fu meets lots of American action-movie gunplay. Throw in the awful hip-hop soundtrack and sore thumb Isaiah Washington, and you get the gist. And were it a little more lighthearted, it might actually be fun. But the quasi-Shakespearean business dealings (Romeo, Machiavelli, it's pretty on-the-nose) come off extremely forced. It's certainly not the worst I've seen, but it's . . . well, it's not great. Although I did crack up at the suitcase machine gun trick they cribbed from GHOST IN THE SHELL.Man, this was lame.4/10

Film review "Romeo Must Die" Action movie. USA 2000. Main starring: Jet Li, Aaliya, Isaac Washington. Oh Shakespeare, where art thou? Besides the name, Andrzej Bartkowiak's action movie "Romeo Must Die" has not so much in common with Shakespeare's tragedy. The first scenes sound promising and I felt encouraged to expect a modern, innovative, of course different, but still somehow close adaptation of "Romeo and Juliet". The Chinese and the African American clans who are fighting over the control of the Oakland waterfront seem to be appropriate representatives of the Montagues and the Capulets but after a while, every relation to the known storyline seems to get lost. The only parallel is the 'love story' between Han (an ex-cop who breaks out off a prison in Hong Kong after the death of his brother to find his murderer) and Trish (the daughter of an African American mob boss) who belong to the different houses. ut different from "Romeo and Juliet", the relationship between Han and Trish does not seem to be one of the most important conflicts. The two clans rather try to beat each other in making money by criminal intrigues and they do not like the idea of seeing their children in a relationship with a member of the other family because the Capulets and Montagues do not either – that is how I feel about it. It is rather a 'forced' parallel between the Shakespearian play and the modern movie and not one that develops naturally. In my opinion, the Romeo-and-Julia scheme is just a clever strategy of advertising for the movie to attract viewers. Jet Li ("Romeo") makes obvious that he is a great martial artist who really knows Wushu. He is able to beat five prison guards while he is hanging upside down with his hands manacled. If you like Kung Fu movies, you definitely should watch "Romeo Must Die". The fighting scenes are actually the only ones that are really worth watching. Do not be scared of too much romance and love story since Romeo is not a romantic hero at all. Between Romeo and Juliet – in this case Han Sing and Trish O'Day (played by American R&B singer Aaliyah) no sparks are flying at all. Jet Li plays his role quite charming, playful and always with a little wink. He even mocks himself by pretending to be a Chinese deliverer. It is a pleasure to watch him play but he does not fulfill the expectations raised by the title of the film. Trish, the modern Juliet, is played by Aaliyah who has her film debut as an actress. Trish is portrayed as a modern, emancipated, and good-hearted woman. She is working in an institution for children which is her own business. She does not really see why she should obey to her father and stay inside the house or under surveillance of her guides all the time and takes every chance to get rid of her bodyguard Maurice. When he recognizes that she has left him he follows her shouting „Trish! I'm gonna find your Aaliyah-lookin' ass!" – one example of the funny details that Bartkowiak implements into this movie. The main problem of the movie is that it does not use advantage of any of the genres it combines. It is neither a love story, nor a comedy, nor a full action or hip-hop movie. In total, it does not have a stringent storyline. It tries to put everything into one film: comedy elements like a group of men, caught in a deadlock with their guns pointing at each other, fat Maurice who is not able to look after Trish because he is so busy with dancing and flirting or Han who has his problems to drive in San Francisco; all the hilarious fighting scenes where we can only see flying fists and feet or where Han beats all the African American guys in football just by using his Kung Fu or Wushu techniques; a mob story that includes different ethnic groups and a love story that should link everything but fails in doing that because there is actually no romance or at least flirting between the protagonists. Even when they are dancing in a casino, we cannot see any feeling evolving at all – and as many movies have shown us yet, dancing is always a good way to get closer together. In sum, I would recommend this movie to people who like Kung Fu and Jet Li in action –that is what you get if you watch this movie.

Romeo Must Die (2000) Romeo must die is a modern variation to Romeo and Juliet, this action/thriller film consists of a mixture of martial arts and hip hop. This film was directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak and was released in March, 2000. The actors chosen to play the characters in this film are very well matched and suited to the genre of the movie such as Han Sing (Jet Li), Trish O'Dayn (Aaliyah), Isaak O'Day (Delroy Lindo) and Mac (Isaiah Washington). In this film we see two rival gangs, between a Chinese mafia headed by Ch'u Sing (Henry O) and the black gangsters ruled by Isaak O'Day. The soundtrack is very well suited to the genre of this film there is a mixture of rap/R&B music and also Chinese music which is mostly played at any fight scenes, in this very action packed mafia/crime film the music adds tension and creates an exciting build up to the fights. Han Sing (Jet Li) is an ex-cop who went to jail for taking the blame for his father's crimes, in his first scene in the film we see him escaping from prison after hearing of his brother's murder but not before he takes down the guards with his exquisite martial art skills. This fight scene is one of many throughout this film which is like Romeo and Juliet as it is famous for its many dwelling scenes also. Han returns to America to seek answers and revenge for his brother's dead, while in America he falls for Trish O'Day daughter to the ruler of the black gangsters. This romance is very similar to that of Romeo and Juliet's as Han and Trish's relationships is forbidden because of the rivalry between their two families. However, the love between Romeo and Juliet is more passionate and it is clear to see that they are very much in love, as for Han and Trish in Romeo must die, they come across in the movie as friends more than lover's there is no spark between the couple. Unlike in Romeo and Juliet we don't see any intimate scenes between these two characters. As an action film we see many violent scenes which all of them mainly involve Han and his very creative martial art skills. However, it is clear that some of these scenes and stunts are exaggerated and not humanly possible. We also see some x-ray images of bones breaking with the use of special effects throughout many of the fight scenes. Some of the fight scenes between Han and the black gangsters mainly Maurice (Anthony Anderson) very humorous, we see Han battle against many men on his own and still defeat which leaves them all lying in the yard not able to move, we then see Maurice and the gang try to get Han back by making him play American Football with them, which he knows nothing about, but this swiftly turns into Han once again defeating them. We see the rivalry between the two gangs get worse when both gang leader's sons are murdered which we find out is all for a business deal in which both gangs are involved in. Ch'u Sing's son Po was killed because he was a threat to the business deal and his people did not want anything or anyone getting in the way of this. Han comes across as a very strong and quiet character in this film, he does not show much emotion unlike Trish she is a very talkative individual and we see her reminisce about her childhood when she learns of her brother's dead. She is very open about her life compared to Han. Isaak O'Day comes across as a very serious business man but we also see a caring father side to him too when he orders full time protection on his two children when he learns of the murder of Po Sing. He also shows this side of him at the end of the film we see him put his differences with the Chinese mafia aside as he shake's Han hand because he is happy to see his daughter happy and safe. This scene is very like the ending of Romeo and Juliet when the Capulets and Montagues agree they should settle their differences because of the deaths of their children. However, in comparison we see no relationship between Han and his father Ch'u throughout the film and perhaps this is why Han does not show any emotion and is quite a silent character. Han does the right thing at the end of the film as he makes his father pay for all of his mistakes especially the murder of his own son.