I love this movie so much

Must See Movie...

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Fresh and Exciting

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.

I remember watching this when it was first released. I remember renting it when it came out on DVD. But unfortunately, I don't remember it once the end credits roll. It is a nice film. You can see that Aaliyah was going to have a good career in this because she is so pleasant to look at. Her smile..wow.. Mr Jet Li also has the charisma that will keep you coming back for more. But this movie somehow missed something. It's funny. The fight scenes are very good. But not any of these things make it memorable. The reason why I keep watching this, is because I see her face on the cover and part of me is sad that I can't immediately remember this film. So I try again

When Jackie Chan faces off against five or six tough guys at the same time what makes him so much fun to watch is the way he beats them up with chairs, ladders, pool cues or steering wheels and needs no visual tricks and no special effects. His talent is that he does it all himself.That was my first problem with 'Romeo Must Die' which doesn't star Chan but Hong Kong action star Jet Li and when he faces five guys, special effects allow him to suspend himself in the air while fighting. He needs help from the special effects artists.This trick did work in the 'The Matrix' because we knew that we were inside a virtual reality world. But to watch a guy do this on a football field in a real setting whirling around in the air and kicking people just looks silly.The story doesn't fair much better. It's borrows one idea from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet when Li travels to America and falls for an African-American woman (Aaliyah) whose father (Delroy Lindo) was responsible for his brother's death in Hong Kong. The two lovers don't generate much chemistry because every moment alone is interrupted by a violent encounter. Li plays Han, who was once a cop in the far east. His detective work leads him to a plot by her father to build a stadium by threatening local merchants to sign over their businesses – or else. Mostly the merchants fall under the 'or else' category and for some reason there doesn't seem to be any investigation into their deaths. Their deaths are quick, violent and there are plenty of them.Li is probably a fine actor in the right movie. He has a genteel face and a calm manner. But those attributes are hidden here in a noisy movie full of broken glass, bone-crunching and an over-zealous rap soundtrack.Maybe I was concentrating on the story too much. In Chan's films I forget the hacknyed story mostly because I go to see his flying fists. 'Romeo Must Die' is a very violent action movie, so violent that is distracts from anything else even when there isn't much else to see.Final Note: Why is it that latest film versions of 'Hamlet' seem to be new and inventive (the best being Branagh's 1996 film) while the latest versions of 'Romeo and Juliet' seem to be tired and silly. Mr. Branagh, perhaps you should look into this.

(Credit to IMDb) An avenging cop seeks out his brother's killer and falls for the daughter of a businessman who is involved in a money- deal with his father.I'm fully convinced that Jet Li & Jackie Chan's talents were wasted in America! They had no idea how to properly use them, and this film is proof of that in my opinion. I'm all for some great drama in an action movie, but the storyline is awfully clunky & heavy-handed. There are some decent action scenes for sure, but it forgets one main ingredient...fun! This movie suffers from the same problems that Exit Wounds suffered from! (Even with some of the same cast from that film) Andrzej Bartkowiak tries to make this film hip, funny, and action-packed with poignant drama. He doesn't have the skill to pull this off, and the cast certainly doesn't help. There is plenty of cringe-worthy dialog that is supposed to come across as cool, but ultimately fails. The family drama wears thin on you quickly as well.. As I said...there are some good fight scenes. That doesn't mean they are without issues though. For some reason, Jet uses wires in certain fight scenes! Why? He has so much natural ability. He uses that natural ability in many of them, but the wires were a bit of a buzz kill. I also got annoyed at the X-Ray of bones breaking. I didn't need to see that! It was pointless and ruined a lot of the impact for me. I will give this movie credit for something. I've never seen anyone kick somebody's ass like Jet Li did, while being hung upside down and hand-cuffed. That was rather creative. The acting isn't great. Jet tries his hardest, but is let down by the mediocre material. Listening to Jet use the word "Brother" was amusing at first, but the novelty wore off eventually. His chemistry with Aaliyah was awkward and unconvincing. I didn't buy their relationship. His best fight scene is the prison escape. Aaliyah is certainly beautiful and doesn't embarrass herself....i'll say that. She handled her part adequately, but she was out of her element when it came to being emotional. Delroy Lindo is on auto- pilot! He seems to be going through the motions in a big way. His son dies and all he can say is "They killed my boy!" with half-assed emotion. Anthony Anderson plays the unfunny comedic relief as usual! Nothing more to say about him. DMX is barely in this movie! Thank god for that. Isaiah Washington is OK in his role. This was one of Jet's misfires that he made in the states! He isn't used to the best of his ability by a long shot. Boring story, decent, but underwhelming fight scenes, and unlikable characters sink this one. I can only recommend this to Jet's die-hard fans. (Chances are, you've already seen it)4.8/10