Liu Jian (Jet Li) travels to Paris from his native China to stop a drug kingpin and get to the bottom of his illegal doings in France. A top cop in his home country, Liu utilizes his amazing Martial Arts abilities to bring the baddies to justice. But he meets his match in the super-evil Richard (Karyo), who commands an army of goons, who in turn keep a stable of his prostitutes - all the while leading a double life as the head of the Vice Squad in Paris. As Liu tries to keep his bearings while in this foreign land, fighting Richard's goons at every turn, he reluctantly teams up with one of his prostitutes, Jessica (Fonda) in the search for answers. It seems Richard is keeping Jessica's daughter locked in an orphanage as leverage so she won't spill the beans on his many, many illegal activities. His criminal empire seemed impenetrable...but he never had to contend with Liu Jian! Will justice be served, and will Jessica get her daughter back? Find out today...Kiss of the Dragon is fast-paced fun, with a lot of the typically-excellent Martial Arts Jet Li is known for. It has a lot of lively, quick fights and is loaded with very impressive stunts. It's all very cool and slick. It has a nice, professional look and has tons of action - as well as a likable hero and a very evil baddie. Just those things alone put it head and shoulders above a lot of other movies of this kind. There is minimal CGI and wirework - it's mostly all-real fights (with a couple of exceptions, of course). We appreciated the idea of Liu's "acupuncture bracelet", and the fact that he has some knock-down, drag-out fights with guys that resemble Street Fighter characters Guile and Balrog. The Guile guy is even seen reading a "Where's Waldo?" book at one point. We know this came out in 2001, but if that's not 90's, we don't know what is. Of course, all of this is highly reminiscent of The Replacement Killers (1998) of a few years previously. While that was a Hollywood vehicle for Chow Yun-Fat, this is for Jet Li. Instead of teaming up with Mira Sorvino, here it's Bridget Fonda, and instead of Jurgen Prochnow as the baddie, here it's Karyo. Needless to say, if you liked one, you will like the other. We also welcomed the fact that it was really Paris we were seeing, not Bulgaria masquerading as Paris, or some green-screen fakery. Nowhere was this more evident than on the boat fight scene, which is clearly on the Seine, and you cannot fake what they did. Maybe we've watched too many Seagal movies, but we loved the change of scenery. As with Contract Killer (1998), Cradle 2 the Grave (2003), and Romeo Must Die (2000), the filmmakers have decided to pair Jet Li with rap beats. In this case we have not one, but TWO songs by Mystikal. While it certainly places the movie in a particular time period, we kind of wish it wasn't Mystikal. What, were Jadakiss and Silkk tha Shocker songs unavailable? Also, it should be noted that Richard, the bad guy, is so evil, he keeps a turtle in his desk drawer. Another thing we noticed was that in the scene where Liu and Jessica go to the orphanage, the floor and room number where the daughter can be found is "B13". District B13 (2004) is also a France-set Martial Arts extravaganza, and a Luc Besson production. This must have some significance to him. It was just a little thing we noticed. Kiss of the Dragon is an entertaining ride that is well worth watching. The great Jet Li is in top form and a pleasant time will be had by all who view it.

Can Jian protect Jessica, rescue her daughter, and give Richard the kiss of the dragon? Now, this is just about the stupidest question I have heard this year. Of course, Jet Li can do all that and more. There is no job too big for the super hero without super powers. As usual, there is more action in this film that you can comfortably enjoy in one sitting. You will need to come back over and over to enjoy it.Bridget Fonda (Jessica) hasn't done much lately. I remember her best from "It Could Happen to You." She really performed in this film and added immensely to my enjoyment. Can Jian protect Jessica, rescue her daughter, and give Richard the kiss of the dragon? Get real!

Action scenes galore, and superbly executed by Jet Li, who kills, seriously injures or knocks unconscious some 100 policemen in this picture. Finally he kills Insp. Richard (Tchéky Karyo) with the horrible "Kiss of the Dragon" acupuncture method whereby the paralysed Richard bleeds from every orifice before crashing dead to the floor. However, none of these characters has a clue about acting: only Ms. Bridget Fonda is capable of it and she emotes plenty as the whore with a heart of gold. However, you wonder what on earth she was doing accepting a meaningless role in a plot less and drama-free movie such as this. Shortly afterwards, she drove her car off a cliff and then got married and quit show business. It's not surprising, is it...

Look the back of the KOTD DVD cover might sound the same as a million cheap martial arts B flicks: Jet Li is a Chinese Secret Service agent, when sold out and betrayed by his French allies and framed for a crime he didn't commit he goes underground, only returning to clear his name and defend the honour of a poor unfortunate prostitute with a heart of gold whose daughter is being held hostage by the evil French Police Chief who terrorises them both.… and in reality it pretty much is the same. But KOTD is different, different in that it has no less than 5 scenes that could rightfully called classics. So rather than go through the standard *yawn* plot and say what a good guy Jet is and how hard done by Bridget Fonda is as the hooker, I'll explain why you REALLY NEED to see this movie if you are even a passing fan of martial arts flicks.Reason # 1: Jet – nicknamed Johnny in the film – objects to some nasty stuff the corrupt French cops are doing… they decide to kill and frame him in that order. The ensuing flight, pursuit and ongoing battle makes the film worthwhile and we're only 15 odd minutes in.With much more to come.Reason # 2: Now on the lam Johnny organises a secret rendezvouz with a friend and countryman to devise an escape plan. Obviously this goes awry and there is a desperate fight on a ferry that goes for a few minutes. A similar scene might be the highlight of many modern day martial arts films, in KOTD it is the least special.Reason # 3: Johnny is lying low while he recovers from the wounds sustained – so far. After standing up for Fonda's hooker character a sh*tstorm erupts when her pimp and associated nefarious dudes step in. The best part of this fight is a great standoff between Johnny and a towering muscular black guy, but the bit you'll remember most is how Johnny is able to finish the fight with a set of chopsticks.Reason # 4: That's three classic fights in one film, you still need more reasons?? OK then. Johnny embarks on a brief rescue mission, taking on two similar looking and equally formidable foes in the process. The fight is great and the concluding move especially cool, but this is merely a brief prelude to… Reason # 5: Johnny decides to stop all this running stuff and confronts his problem head on, by walking into the French Police HQ and taking down everyone – and I mean EVERYONE – in one scene he accidentally gatecrashes a martial arts training session and gives the students an impromptu lesson in just how far they all have to go… all at once.Reason # 6: While the Kiss of the Dragon element is a little hokey (not to be spoiled here), the implementation of the move itself is extremely memorable and immensely satisfying. While he doesn't get his own "reason" the lead bad guy – an over the top and incredibly shady cop named Richard – deserves everything that he gets, and he is easily one of the more reprehensible bad guys in recent cinema.Kiss of the Dragon was my first DVD purchase, bought months before I actually had a DVD player. Most martial arts films aim for one or two scenes that might warrant a "classic" description. This film has no less than 5.Final Rating – 9 / 10. Awesome stuff that makes me struggle with the reality that Jet Li decided that films like The One, Romeo Must Die and Cradle 2 the Grave were where he belonged.