TrueJoshNight Truly Dreadful Film

SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

ChanBot i must have seen a different film!!

Aubrey Hackett While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Dangb81 Let me start by saying I adore the late Aaliyah. For her first role, she did a pretty good job. She played the part well and this part was made for her. However, I enjoyed the soundtrack more than the movie itself. Not saying it was a horrible movie, it was just OK. I wish the fight scenes were more authentic. You could tell they were choreographed. When I watch a movie like this, I want it to look like people are really fighting each other. I also felt that Jet Li and Aaliyah lacked in the chemistry department. Sure, they look good together as friends and/or partners in crime, but nothing more and I mean nothing. Anything beyond that seemed forced. I actually felt the entire cast lacked in chemistry. There were a couple of twists that were unexpected and the plot was OK, but nothing to really knock your socks off. It is entertaining if nothing else is on TV, or if you just want to watch the beautiful Aaliyah in action. For me, it is a bit nostalgic for that reason. Also, I was still a teenager when this came out and this was the movie to watch at that time. Again, not the worst movie, but not the best. I will admit that I have probably watched this at least 5 times. Sometimes, I just can't say no because although it is not perfect, it is still entertaining.

SnoopyStyle 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.

owenhanleymail 'Romeo Must Die' is a film so loosely based on its original Shakespearean source material, 'Romeo and Juliet', that I believe that their relationship to one another does disserves to both. The plot of the film focuses around two rival gangs vying for more money than the other and how this affects the main characters Han and Trish. The rivalry takes the form of plans to develop a sports stadium. This is easily the least engaging part of the story. From boring golf meetings to uninteresting characters this unique plot point offers simply a backdrop for the events of the film. This is a flaw the film carries throughout the story whilst I can confidently say that the characters are the saving grace of the movie. Unfortunately they rarely develop engaging drama for the characters to be involved in. The major issue I had with the film was pacing. This movie definitely would have been aided by heavy cutting. Roughly the first twenty minutes, in my opinion, are completely unnecessary and I believe the movie should have begun with the prison scene. Not only is this the first time we are introduced to our protagonist Han but his break out is the most interesting action scenes in the entire film. Arguably one of the best I've ever seen in film but it is heavily truncated but terribly executed exposition; and when I say that it was the best action scene in the film that actually holds a lot of weight because this movie is abundant with action. Obviously with Jet Li as the main actor you should set your expectations at a certain level but this movie goes far and beyond that. Action after action after action with the bare minimum of story during the first half leaves the viewer feeling disconnected. It would have been of far greater value to cut some of the fight scenes and replace them with more interaction between Han and Trish, the female protagonist, especially since the chemistry between the two was very palpable. As stated previously the characters and their relationships are what I found to be the peaks of this film. The three core relationships in the film, Han and Trish, Han and his father, and Trish and her father, all hit the correct notes. From the flirtatious nature of the protagonists to Han's damaged past with his father the actors are very crucial in the portrayal and the strong response they encourage. Whilst I know the romance plot is very important to this movie I particularly found the conversations between Trish and her father Isaak the most powerful. Isaak is the leader of a mob family but is not blind to the realities of his world. He is making plans to secure a legal income based future for his children. This comes to a front when Isaak's son and Trish's older brother is murdered. Isaak only wishes to help his children and whilst Trish initially blames him for her brother's death she doesn't play the stereotypical spoilt child. She instead recognises what her father is trying to do and agrees to trust him. Every time these two interacted I felt as if the film should have dropped the unnecessary ties to Shakespeare's writing and had a larger focus on these very dynamic characters. However, that's not the film we have and it leaves us with the relationship between Trish and Isaak and my greatest take away from the film. The third also falls apart in minor ways. Firstly due to the pacing issues it feels a long time coming and as result I was thinking about it more than I should have; this lead to me realising the slight twist ending where the henchmen of both of the families would betray their respective superior. I feel like this was supposed to hit a lot harder than it did but I feel like it was communicated and foreshadowed far to on the nose. Perhaps this also on the actors playing the roles, especially the Mac character because from the second he appears on screen you can't help but question his motives. This is contrasted nicely against Han's father who we are ambiguous about until he opens up to his son. However, before that moment he genuinely could have gone either way showing shades of good and bad; and coincidentally that is how I would also describe this film. There was huge potential here and the execution is done very well in regards to the primary characters. Unfortunately pretty much everything outside of that from the music, to the editing falls flat or worse. Overall I see Romeo Must Die as a platform for the main actors and the screenwriters and bar that it is a lackluster action film with untapped potential.

Amanda Boyle 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.