Hey folks, Harry here. After reading Nayland Smith's review, I wanted to run with someone who I know... talking about ROMEO MUST DIE. Now Quint. Well, Quint is the exact target demographic for ROMEO MUST DIE. He's the high school graduate, white male fanboy. Except for me showing him SWORDSMAN II, he has only seen BLACK MASK and LETHAL WEAPON 4. I did show him SWORDSMAN II about two weeks ago (or so), so it's pretty recent in his mind. That film, made him wish for this film to be... more than it was. Can you imagine what would have happened had I shown him the ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA films or FIST OF LEGEND or.... god forbid... IRON MONKEY? I'll be seeing this film early Friday, can't help it... it has Jet Li... I simply can not NOT go see his latest film. I just want a ultracool director, great script and fantastic choerography. That's all I ask. The man can be a god, when you ain't shifting all around his fight scenes. But I go into this film with low expectations. We'll see...
Ahoy there, oh you most Constant of Readers. 'Tis the infamous resident Crusty Seaman back once more this time with a look at Jet Li's newest flick Romeo Must Die.
The flick's about a turf war between the Asians and the Blacks in some big American city. The head Asian boss' son is murdered. Bad movie. Not only is it the big man's son, but also Jet Li's brother. Li has to break out of a Hong Kong prison (a very cool scene, by the way) and figure out who is behind the killings and ultimately avenge his brother.
I have serious issues with this movie, unfortunately. I was hoping Jet Li wouldn't go the Chow Yun Fat route and do mediocre American movies. Oh boy. I'm not an expert on Jet Li films... I've only seen Black Mask, Lethal Weapon 4 and Swordsman II, but all three of those films are better than Romeo Must Die.
At the same time I can't call this movie a piece of shit. These kind of reviews, the shaky hand review, are the hardest kind to write. The action sequences were cool, but personally disappointing. The drama that connects the action is boring and cliched. Plus one thing that really bugs me: Why when all the big Hong Kong action stars do American movies does there always have to be a Gangsta Rap soundtrack? It gets distracting at times.
The performances were pretty decent. I thought Delroy Lindo was great, but the pacing on the film was so bad it almost offset his performance. Jet Li is as charismatic as ever. Some of the comedy that was done worked well, but those scenes were few and far between.
My biggest problem with the film is what they did with the action scenes. I went into the movie with the "whatever the movie is, I'm sure the action stuff will rock" attitude. The cuts were too quick, the camera movement too wild. It was confusing at times. It deadens the thrill and the awe when the cuts are so quick. Look at Matrix. There were long cuts in the action scenes where lots of attacks and defenses happen. Look at Episode 1. My favorite part of the duel is when Obi-Wan goes after Maul solo right after the laser beam door thingy moves. That scene is so full of energy and is a wide, continuos cut. Imagine if every time the lightsabers connected the angle would change. It would get very tangled. You lose the believability when it is all over the place.
Things that were cool: The X-Ray vision during the fighting scenes. This movie uses it to its fullest. I know it's not an original idea, but they do it in an original way. It reminded me a lot of the "how bullets really kill you" scene in Three Kings... to a degree. The action is a lot better than most US action movies. Yes, I'm talking to you Steven Segal.
Things that sucked: The final battle scene is wayyy too short. Jet Li spends more time beating up the comic relief of the movie than he does on the main bad guy. The choppy action scenes. The unskilled pacing.
Then again, this comes from someone who had come off of Swordsman II, which is Jet Li at his best in those weird, funky Kung-Fu/Fantasy Hong Kong films. I saw Romeo Must Die with a friend that hasn't seen most of Li's other stuff and he loved the movie. So, take that into consideration. If you're a diehard Hong Kong film fan, then I bet you'll be disappointed with this movie. If all you've seen from Jet Li is Lethal Weapon 4, then I bet you won't be disappointed.
Maybe my expectations were too high. From the trailer I was expecting to see the next badass American action film that was done in the Hong Kong style. The Matrix and Face/Off are the only two I can think of that have successfully done this.
Anyway, as always, if you like this kind of movie, I suggest you see it for yourself and get your own perspective. Don't take my word for it, or anybody else's for that matter.
It's time for the ol' sea salt to finish his drunken ramblings. I gotta get going. I have an appointment to keep. I need to go drink to Mr. Hooper's leg. Till next time.
Farewell and adieu to my fair geeky readers.
-Quint AICNquint@aol.COM
