 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
This generation’s answer to Bruce Lee can be found in Jet Li, with his succinct dialogue and absolutely kick-ass martial arts ability. In Li’s recent American film, Kiss of the Dragon, where he also takes writing credit as well as star billing, he displays inventive new ways to defeat his opponent and charm audiences with his wit. Li has many films in China but to his America credit is, Romeo Must Die, and Lethal Weapon 4. This is Li’s first American starring role. He plays a Chinese intelligence officer Liu Jian sent to Paris to help aid the French police in capturing a Chinese heroin drug lord. This storyline is not much of storyline, the plot has many holes and Bridget Fonda (Monkey Bone) as Jessica the American prostitute in Paris is pathetic. So overall for a story this film would not make the grade, but as an action film, well we are talking a very different curve all together. As action films go this one has all the qualifications, lots of explosions, a high body count, great hand-to-hand combat scenes, a completely ruthless, conscious-less villain in Teceky Karyo (The Patriot) as French Inspector Jean-Pierre Richard and the hero shows he has a heart. Just in case you missed it, the evil villain in this film is who should be the good guy, the police inspector, but in a predictable storyline it would be the cop. This guy is so corrupt he controls the drugs, prostitutes, hoods and he must have a government official or two in his pocket because he gets away with MURDER. Li on the other hand is smart, quietly responds, is good natured, does not have a troubled or haunting past, no family issues, he just loves his job. In an interesting twist, he also has acupuncture needles banded to his wrist, which he uses for healing, comfort and the coolest death scene ever, the kiss of the dragon. As for the story, Li arrives in Paris and meets up with the Inspector in a covert way. After witnessing the Inspector pistol whip someone and have one of his thugs finish him off, the inspector takes Li’s weapon (gun). Karyo is the one in charge and he told him he would not need it, Jian whom he nicknames Johnny, would be safe. The story moves to an elegant hotel where Li hooks up with the surveillance men and Karyo. Once the drug lord leaves with two prostitutes Li is called up to a room close to the kingpin. Fonda is one of the prostitutes when all the action takes place she is puking in the bathroom. Karyo is such a swell guy he keeps her drugged on Heroin despite the fact she doesn’t want it. The prostitute stabs the guy Li came to arrest. Li races to the room, beats up the guys in the hallway races in and places a needle in the guy to save him. Karyo enters and shoots the drug lord and prostitute with Li’s gun. This whole elaborate plan was to frame Li and eliminate the drug competition. Well eliminating the drug competition is the only thing I can think of as why he would go to so much trouble to get rid of him and frame a guy he just met. Even though Karyo can blow up a section of the hotel, riddle it with bullets and pretty much kill, and destroy anything he wants, he still had to frame Li for this murder. These are the holes in the story. Li escapes and hides out but not before a cool series of action scenes, a grenade in the laundry shoot. When this explodes it leaves the bottom half of a body, this was good. Well trying to find Li, Karyo fires round after round of bullets into a passenger boat, guns down people in a tunnel and explodes a store in little China. How could he get away with so much violence, all in the name of trying to catch one guy wanted for the murder of a drug lord? Holes, holes and more holes. The character of Jessica enters again later. Fonda is under control by the Inspector because he took her daughter and she knows too much. While Li tries to find a way out of France he stops to help out Jessica. There is no nudity of any kind, and it is a very violent film. I don’t care if it doesn’t have a good story, all I wanted was some kick ass action scenes and Kiss of the Dragon directed by Chris Nahon delivers. My rating is an eight on the About-Movies.com scale. I am out of here.
Last updated: Saturday, October 28, 2006 05:37:38 PM Click Here to get back into frames.
|
