O Beijo do Dragão

‘Kiss of the Dragon' might be just another ‘action/martial arts' movie that is sitting on the shelf of your local video store. However once you start to watch it, you will realise that like some of its characters, it is a movie that is very deceptive and will leave you breathless. With the screenplay based on the story written by star Jet Li himself, this film has moments that no-one could ever comprehend seeing. While Li might be criticised for being ‘one dimensional' in his movie roles, it has to be said that he is one of the best martial arts actors going around at the present time.

Liu, a Chinese intelligence officer, goes to Paris on assignment and becomes embroiled in a deadly conspiracy. When the man he has come to help betrays him, he is forced on the run, accused of a murder he didn't commit. He teams up with Jessica, an American woman forced into prostitution against her will, who wants to escape and seek justice. As Jessica and Liu go up against cunning and ruthless adversaries, Liu makes a promise to Jessica that could compromise his career, even his life.

The star of this film is Liu (Jet Li), who is an expert Chinese cop sent to stop an international drug conspiracy. He is traveling to the city of Paris for the first time, making it totally alien to him. Liu carries only a gun and needles which are rapt around his wrist. These are acupuncture needles, which he has the skill to use, to help heal his friends or kill his enemies. The finale action sequence has Liu refer to the title of the film, whereby the use of a needle technique called ‘Kiss of the Dragon', which is highly illegal, as it must be, which can disrupt the body's blood flow, making all the blood travel to the head and then killing the person as it tries to escape from whatever cavity it can. This scene was astonishing to see being played out.

The supporting cast in ‘Kiss of the dragon' consists of Jessica (beauty Bridget Fonda), a girl who is forced to take drugs and be a prostitute by French Police inspector Richard (Tcheky Karyo). You do not refuse Richard, as the consequences could be fatal. He has many henchmen that are on the lookout for ‘John' (Liu), as he has the evidence that could destroy Richard. Along the way Jessica meets up with Liu and they help each other out of sticky situations that have arisen. I enjoy the role taken on by Fonda a lot, as her character gives the story its emotion and balance whereby she helps Liu get around Paris.

I like how and where this movie was presented. The director shows off Paris in many ways, such as landmarks like the Eiffel Tower, which is cleverly incorporated through a fighting sequence. The director Chris Nahon was able to do this, via producer and screenwriter Luc Besson's help in getting leading cinematographer Thierry Arbogast, who did some great work. While the story might be simple on the surface, who can complain when there is such great action scenes to compensate.

This then leads me into ‘Kiss of the dragon's' action and stunts which are exhilarating. Li's character has many fighting sequences that you would believe he has no hope of winning. The start of the film makes uncertain of what is going to happen, then in the blink of an eye you are presented with action and stunts that will leave you speechless. The one scene at the start which shows Liu slamming a billiard ball to kill a villain was unbelievable. Then the fighting scenes at the shop, boat, office building and orphanage are full-on, making them intoxicating to the viewers. However one of the final fighting scenes with Liu taking on a whole class of Black belts is hilarious, as you know he is going to win.

‘Kiss of the Dragon' works, because where the story is lacking, the action and fighting scenes take up the slack. Jet Li has done some good movies, such as `Lethal Weapon 4' and ‘Romeo Must Die' where he shows off all his martial art skills. If you have not seen him in either of those films, then watch them by all means. Finally, I want to mention that I have had many treatments of acupuncture in 2002 which have helped me immensely. However, when I have my next treatment of those ‘little needles' I might squirm a bit, being quick to remember what Liu could do with an acupuncture needle.

CMRS gives ‘Kiss of the Dragon': 4 (Very Good Film)

As part of an international case, Chinese police officer Liu Jian comes to France to assist his opposite number in a sting operation. However, Richard turns out to be on the wrong side of the law and frames Liu for the murder of several key people in the case. Liu goes on the run with evidence that he didn't commit the crimes, with only the word of an innocent prostitute to back him up. With even the Chinese embassy unable to bring Liu in, he is forced to try and expose the corruption and take the fight to them.

With so many of Jet Li's American movies being pretty messy disappointments, it was no surprise that I just gave this a miss when it came out at the cinema and never got round to seeing it on video. However on television the only thing I am wasting is my own time (not money) so I gave it a try and was pleasantly surprised to find that, though not comparable to his best films, Kiss of the Dragon is easily one of the best films that he has made outside of Hong Kong. The plot may have been made up by Li and turned to a script by Luc Besson but it does come off as a bit obvious and overblown. At times the dialogue is a bit heavy and there are a few moments where the film is a bit talky for a bit long without any of it coming to a great deal but mostly it is pretty enjoyable. It is not a great story but there is enough to engage even if it is pretty poor in some ways – the whole coincidence around Liu meeting Jessica again was a bit shoddily done but the detail is not that important in this sort of film.

No, what is important is the quality of the action and here it is a lot better than his recent films such as Romeo or Cradle. The action scenes are scattered a bit thin around the film at times but generally they are enjoyable sequences which are pretty exciting and fluid. The film is refreshingly free of flying and wiring work, lending the fight scenes a more realistic (!?) and brutal air. Not only are the fight scenes good but the mix of the usual action movie 'guns n' running' stuff is also well handled with some pretty fast scenes.

The cast are pretty good even if the international mix of actors all in Paris is a bit strange. Li is natural and pretty good – I have always maintained he is a good actor (or at least a charismatic leading man) but most American movies have forced him to be silent and posturing to match the gangbanging story. Here he plays a good character as well as being given plenty of good fights to show how technically able he is. Fonda is OK even if she is a strange casting decision for this character; she does well enough but at times I could have accepted less of her as she is the reason for a lot of the talky stuff that could have been scaled back. Karyo just simply hams it up so much that it would have been possible to actually glaze him at some points near the end. He is effectively bad and it works but he is on auto-pilot for a lot of this. The support cast are all OK, although some of Li's sparring partners are obviously not that good at acting (the white twins are good examples) but fans of Harry Hill or the Pink Panther will find much amusement from the minor role given to Burt Kwouk!

Overall this is a good film in its own right but, compared to Li's other American films so far, this is by far the best. The plot is pretty run of the mill but still engages but some parts of the film are a bit too talky for no real reason. The fight scenes are pretty brutal and are better for not overdosing on wire-fu stuff and my only complaint about them was that there could have been a few more. Of course, this doesn't really compare to the best of Li's Hong Kong material but it is still much better than the rest of his American stuff and is worth a look for fans of martial arts action.

Liu Jian (aka "Johnny") is a top level cop from Bejing on temporary assignment in Paris to aid French police in a sting operation to take down a Chinese heroine kingpin. But things go bad and a double-cross ensues, leaving Liu Jian framed for murder and running for his life. One is thing certain, though, our hero won't be taken without a fight... a really good fight... and a few more after that. Luc Besson's screenplay isn't exactly creative, but given the genre, it's pretty darn good. I know I sure sighed with relief that Liu Jian (played with subtle excellence by Jet Li) wasn't driven by some emotionally haunting past, like the death of a wife and child, as is so typical in super-cop action films. In fact, we get just the opposite--a man who simply loves his job and does it very well, but is still human enough to make mistakes, feel pain and make realistic choices (well, mostly).

The story isn't without its flaws, however. Mindless thugs do play their part and there is an utterance of the most over-used villain line of all time: "Bring him to me alive; I'll deal with him myself" (or something to that affect). But somehow, it doesn't sound quite so corny coming from actor Tcheky Karyo (as Inspector Jean-Pierre Richard), who manages to play the heartless villain with a great deal of intelligence. Rounding out the cast is Bridget Fonda's Jessica, the prostitute with a good heart and, yes, a young daughter in jeopardy. But despite its few formulaic shortcomings, Kiss of the Dragon still delivers.

What really stands out in this film is the way the fight sequences flow with the rest of the story, unlike so many other movies that seem to be constructed around a few preconceived action scenes. It's a martial arts action film done right. Thanks to the superb direction of Chris Nahon, Kiss of the Dragon is classy, well paced and gives us a near perfect blend of drama and levity (no ridiculous one-liners here, but definitely some laughs along the way). Best of all, Nahon engages the audience and makes the story work to a reasonable level of believability.

The picture is full of tumultuous sequences with frenetic action , surprises , fierce combats and groundbreaking struggles . Classic as well as impressive Chop-Socky in which wild fighting scenes provide an overwhelming view of Jet Li skills . It has lots of fights , as well staged as Jet Li's Hong Kong films . It is set in Paris where a betrayed intelligence officer (Jet Li) enlists the aid of a prostitute (Bridget Fonda) to prove his innocence from a deadly conspiracy while returning a favor to her . Li against time to clear his name and rescue a junkie whore and her daughter . When the secret mission goes wrong he is framed for murder by a nasty as well and amusing villain officer , Insp. Richard (Tchéky Karyo) ; as the Chinese agent will face off a bunch of heinous henchmen across threatening streets of Paris . Then Li has to go on the run pursued by corrupt cops , being his only ally the mistreated call-girl and an old Chinese shopkeeper (Bur Kwouk) .

This moving Chop-Socky displays drama , action-packed , thrills , and wild fighting images . It is an action-filled and violent film , being utterly filmed in Paris . Li shows awesome skills , as he hits , punches and kicks most of Paris hoodlums into tiny pieces . The battle scenes are sliced up by means of flashy quick cuts that sometimes reduce Jet Li's extraordinary athleticism to a little more than the backdrop to a video clip . An exciting art martial movie in which , once again , an oriental Chinesse super cop is sent loan to tackle crime in the West . The style of action in this movie was heavily influenced by comments made during series of messages posted by fans on the Jet Li website forum , immediately after the release of Romeo must die (2000) in the United States , the fans wanted more realistic fighting as in Jet Li's movie Jet Li's Fist of Legend (1994) . The rousing fights include deadly use of fists , feet and palms ; being perfectly staged by expert Corey Yeun . Fights , attacks and exciting combats very well staged by great fighters , in fact , here are only seven wires used in the entire movie, the only scenes involving wire work were when Jet Li had to jump up to kick the pool ball and when Cyril Raffaelli performs his one-and-a-quarter backwards somersault-kick ; the result is a strong entry for art martial buffs . Actors made their owns stunts ; some of the players got injured and to had to be hospitalized during the shooting , some of them suffered mild concussions during filming, after being struck several times during fighting scenes . The only scenes that used CGI are when Jet Li falls down the laundry drop with CG flames surrounding him and in the hotel scene when Jet Li kicks the ball from the pool table . Amid the glamour and grandeur of the scenarios , including luxury hotel , is developed an intrigue about women exploitation and dealing with a Chinese agent who attempts to restore his name .

Colorful and luxurious cinematography by Thierry Arbogast . Adequate musical score fitting to action by Craig Armstrong . This moving film was lavishly co-produced and written by the great producer/director Luc Besson and well realized by Chris Nahon . Director Chris Nahon had to slow down the fight scene between Jet Li and Cyril Raffaelli because they were moving too fast for the camera. Filmmaker Nahon establishes his signature style of kinetically-paced story-telling through sumptuous imagery , leading to international critical acclaim . Chris Nahon was born in France , he is a good director and writer, known for Empire of the wolves (2005) , Blood: the last vampire (2009) and Kiss of the dragon (2001) . Rating : Better than average art martial movie . Worthwhile watching .

I expect most of these Hong Kong martial-arts films to be packed with action but most feature either a little humor (Jackie Chan) or beautiful scenery ("Hero," etc.) or wild special effects ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and more).....but this one features a mean edge. I'm not used to seeing these Asian films with a lot of profanity (mainly f-words) or bloody scenes almost to the point of being gross, which one scene was in here.

The hero is likable guy played by Jet Li. Despite his martial arts penchant for violence, he has a soft, boyish look to him and doesn't seem to fit the type. He's always the gentleman in here, with no profanity either. The villains, led by Tchecky Karyo, are brutal. Bridget Fonda, playing a hooker, at least wasn't some "Pretty Woman" type figure. She was rough, too, but at least realistic and I give her credit for not worrying about how she looked in here, beauty-wise.

I don't regret seeing this film. It was entertaining, but beware: it's a rough movie.