This is a pretty intriguing and action-packed movie starring Jet Li in one of his first Hollywood appearances. His plays former Chinese cop Han Sing who breaks out of prison after hearing of his brother's murder in Oakland. When he gets there, he gets entangled in a money scheme plot involving two rival families, where the daughter of a crime lord, Trish O'Day (Aaliyah), is also caught in the middle.It's almost like a modern-day Romeo and Juliet, but with Han and Trish caught in the chaos and them helping each other to stop the war and bring the criminals to justice. What resulted were some awesome martial arts sequences courtesy of Jet Li; seeing him grapple with the gang members left and right were both great and funny, especially him throwing around Anthony Anderson. The humor in the movie was also pretty top-notch and gave me some chuckles, but the acting was a bit average to me and the hip-hop soundtrack was pretty awful. However, Jet Li and Aaliyah had some great chemistry together; in her first motion picture, Aaliyah delivered a pretty witty and dramatic performance.Overall, it's a good action film with a well-paced plot.Grade B

Asian gang leader's son Po Sing is killed which could potential start a war with the black gang. Mac (Isaiah Washington) is gang leader Isaak O'Day (Delroy Lindo) second-in-command. Maurice (Anthony Anderson) is guarding Trish O'Day (Aaliyah). Han (Jet Li) learns of the news and escapes from Hong Kong prison. He arrives in Oakland stealing a cab and Trish just happens to catch his ride. Han investigates and finds a murky land deal.This has a potentially good idea. Both Jet Li and Aaliyah show some acting skills but they don't have romantic chemistry together. There is no real heat in the relationship. Also shouldn't Han be called Romeo? It would make life so much easier. The story is even more complicated than Shakespeare. The Vancouver locations lack a certain edge. Jet Li and his friends get in some good action. Actually, this movie may have worked better if it gives up on the Romeo and Juliet romance. It should make Trish an equal partner in the investigation.

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

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.