Romeo Must Die (2000)

Crappy film

Brilliant and touching

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

+) The fight scenes are great and Jet Li is pretty much the star of this movie. The guy has always been a great "martial artist" and his fights scenes are nice. People may be put off by the many uses of wires but Jet Li has always been about putting on entertaining fight scenes as opposed to more realistic fight scenes.+)Russel Wong is also very good and is a cool villain. He looks like an Asian James Bond in a way.+)Aaliyah is ok too, but the best actor in this movie is Isaiah Washing, Russel Wong,Delroy Lindo, Anthony Anderson, and Henry O+) Some of the comedy is very funny~ The story is very silly but at the same time they take it so serious. It is about two companies who are trying to buy all the land so that they can then sell it to this guy in Canada who will then turned it into a football field for the NFL.~The modern day "Romeo and Juliet" story is also very sillyGood movie to watch for the fight scenes. Don't expect any "Oscar" winning filming here. This is an action movie and it works.

'Romeo Must Die' is a film so loosely based on its original Shakespearean source material, 'Romeo and Juliet', that I believe that their relationship to one another does disserves to both. The plot of the film focuses around two rival gangs vying for more money than the other and how this affects the main characters Han and Trish. The rivalry takes the form of plans to develop a sports stadium. This is easily the least engaging part of the story. From boring golf meetings to uninteresting characters this unique plot point offers simply a backdrop for the events of the film. This is a flaw the film carries throughout the story whilst I can confidently say that the characters are the saving grace of the movie. Unfortunately they rarely develop engaging drama for the characters to be involved in. The major issue I had with the film was pacing. This movie definitely would have been aided by heavy cutting. Roughly the first twenty minutes, in my opinion, are completely unnecessary and I believe the movie should have begun with the prison scene. Not only is this the first time we are introduced to our protagonist Han but his break out is the most interesting action scenes in the entire film. Arguably one of the best I've ever seen in film but it is heavily truncated but terribly executed exposition; and when I say that it was the best action scene in the film that actually holds a lot of weight because this movie is abundant with action. Obviously with Jet Li as the main actor you should set your expectations at a certain level but this movie goes far and beyond that. Action after action after action with the bare minimum of story during the first half leaves the viewer feeling disconnected. It would have been of far greater value to cut some of the fight scenes and replace them with more interaction between Han and Trish, the female protagonist, especially since the chemistry between the two was very palpable. As stated previously the characters and their relationships are what I found to be the peaks of this film. The three core relationships in the film, Han and Trish, Han and his father, and Trish and her father, all hit the correct notes. From the flirtatious nature of the protagonists to Han's damaged past with his father the actors are very crucial in the portrayal and the strong response they encourage. Whilst I know the romance plot is very important to this movie I particularly found the conversations between Trish and her father Isaak the most powerful. Isaak is the leader of a mob family but is not blind to the realities of his world. He is making plans to secure a legal income based future for his children. This comes to a front when Isaak's son and Trish's older brother is murdered. Isaak only wishes to help his children and whilst Trish initially blames him for her brother's death she doesn't play the stereotypical spoilt child. She instead recognises what her father is trying to do and agrees to trust him. Every time these two interacted I felt as if the film should have dropped the unnecessary ties to Shakespeare's writing and had a larger focus on these very dynamic characters. However, that's not the film we have and it leaves us with the relationship between Trish and Isaak and my greatest take away from the film. The third also falls apart in minor ways. Firstly due to the pacing issues it feels a long time coming and as result I was thinking about it more than I should have; this lead to me realising the slight twist ending where the henchmen of both of the families would betray their respective superior. I feel like this was supposed to hit a lot harder than it did but I feel like it was communicated and foreshadowed far to on the nose. Perhaps this also on the actors playing the roles, especially the Mac character because from the second he appears on screen you can't help but question his motives. This is contrasted nicely against Han's father who we are ambiguous about until he opens up to his son. However, before that moment he genuinely could have gone either way showing shades of good and bad; and coincidentally that is how I would also describe this film. There was huge potential here and the execution is done very well in regards to the primary characters. Unfortunately pretty much everything outside of that from the music, to the editing falls flat or worse. Overall I see Romeo Must Die as a platform for the main actors and the screenwriters and bar that it is a lackluster action film with untapped potential.

"Sorry Romeo, but you got to die!" Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Oakland, where we lay our scene, From anew grudge and people fight 'n' kill, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.With "Romeo Must Die", another modern Shakespeare adaption has made it to the big screen. Featuring Jet Li, it is rather unlikely expecting something similar to a Franco Zeffirelli or a Baz Luhrmann adaption of Shakespeare. "Romeo Must Die" is much more a martial arts action film which introduces us to a world where two rival families, one Chinese, one African-American, both struggle for territorial supremacy in the harbor area. The film starts with the mysterious killing death of Po Sing, son of the Chinese clan boss and its consequences. When both sides have to deal with loss, the situation gets out of hand and the rivalry between both clans intensifies. As our main character Han Sing (Jet Li) hears from the death of his brother, he flees out of prison to travel to Oakland seeking for revenge. That is when he meets our modern Juliet, Trish, played by R'n'B singer Aaliyah. Gone is the melancholic, young and infatuated Romeo and we are introduced to an ex-cop who was sent to prison for a crime he did not commit. With impressive martial arts skills, he defeats his enemies who come in his way. On the other side we have Trish, an African-American woman, who is independent and cares for her own well-being, instead of getting into her father's business. As a empowered female character, she does not care about others opinions and follows her own path. While their fathers do not accept their choice of love, they seem not to care much about their opinion and the both „star-crossed lovers" are going on a trip to seek revenge for their brothers' deaths. Instead of romantic lines and sword fighting, one rather experience martial arts performances or gun fights, often both at the same time. The lack of a deep and thoughtful storyline or interesting dialogs is expressed through flat jokes and no authentic romance between our protagonists. What really makes the film interesting are the martial arts fighting scenes which are often destroyed through badly animated Matrix fight-flying moves. These are misplaced and seem somehow ridiculous and as Jet Li proves in other films are totally unnecessary. In addition, the X-Ray sequences try to give the film a special touch, but are more disturbing for the style of the film. Furthermore, the soundtrack features a lot of rap songs, which try to underline the gangster-sh atmosphere, but often distract from dialog and action. As bad as this seems to be, the film is not only a dull beat-up movie, but also has its humorous moments. For example, we have a football game where once again men have to prove their masculinity, and Jet Li takes all the other players down to impress his girl. Additionally, Jet Li impresses the viewers with his skills to handle a water cannon and beats all his gun-using enemies. There is no real clarity who is responsible for the many killings and manipulation in both clans. Somehow the plot twist gives the film an interesting touch, but it is getting kind of obvious throughout the second half of the film. The only thing that reminds me of good old Shakespeare is the rivalry between the two families and the name of the main character. Especially, typical clichés are more unnerving than enchanting. However, fans of action movies, who love a touch of comedy, are welcome to watch this film. Others may enjoy this if they are bored on a Sunday afternoon and have nothing better to do. Those who are expecting romance should switch their interest into admiring fighting.

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.