Romeo deve morire

Romeo Must Die is the 1st and in my opinion, the better of the two hip hop/martial arts action films directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak. The movie is pretty nicely shot and slick looking and actually is really well performed by the cast. The plot is loosely based off Romeo And Juliet, but don't expect anything artsy fartsy, this is an action movie with two warring crime families(one Chinese and the other African American). Aalyah is beautiful and gives a fine performance as love interest for Jet Li. Delroy Lindo and Issiah Washington give pretty solid performances as well. Russell Wong is a cool villain and comic relief Anthony Anderson is actually funny. My problem with the movie is the crazy wire fu sequences don't really work as well here as it would in Jet Li's movies from Hong Kong. I don't think Corey Yuen's fight choreography is bad, it just is out of place and not really suited for this movie. Thankfully DMX only has a cameo here, he was top billed in the other Andrzej Bartkowiak/Jet Li collaboration Cradle 2 The Grave and he was terrible in that movie. Overall, this is a pretty decent action movie that introduced Jet Li to new audiences, but I prefer his work in China/Hong Kong to his action movies made in the United States and Europe.

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.

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.

Let me start by saying I adore the late Aaliyah. For her first role, she did a pretty good job. She played the part well and this part was made for her. However, I enjoyed the soundtrack more than the movie itself. Not saying it was a horrible movie, it was just OK. I wish the fight scenes were more authentic. You could tell they were choreographed. When I watch a movie like this, I want it to look like people are really fighting each other. I also felt that Jet Li and Aaliyah lacked in the chemistry department. Sure, they look good together as friends and/or partners in crime, but nothing more and I mean nothing. Anything beyond that seemed forced. I actually felt the entire cast lacked in chemistry. There were a couple of twists that were unexpected and the plot was OK, but nothing to really knock your socks off. It is entertaining if nothing else is on TV, or if you just want to watch the beautiful Aaliyah in action. For me, it is a bit nostalgic for that reason. Also, I was still a teenager when this came out and this was the movie to watch at that time. Again, not the worst movie, but not the best. I will admit that I have probably watched this at least 5 times. Sometimes, I just can't say no because although it is not perfect, it is still entertaining.

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.