Kiss of the Dragon

Rating:
Summary: Jet Li RULES!!!
Review: I read so many bad reviews on this movie I was actually afraid to go see it. But of course I did, and guess what? Those lousy reviewers are wrong again. This movie rules! Liu Juian a.k.a Johnny, is a cop sent from Beijing to Paris on an assignment he doesn't know about. When the people he came to help turn against him and frame him for a murder he didn't commit, he and Jessica (Bridget Fonda) a prostitute, who has been abused by those mean people, team up to go against the traitors. This movie was the best movie I have seen in the theaters this year. Being a Jet Li fan, I waited months for this movie to come out, and now that I've seen it (Twice) The waiting was deffinitly worthwhile. Jet Li and Bridget Fonda look so cute together! The scenes where they are together light up the screen. I am so buying this movie when it comes out on video (Too bad I have to wait so long for it to come out on video) The action was good, the story was good, Jet looked good, the whole movie rocked!!

Rating:
Summary: Kick ass thriller with awesome fight scenes
Review: "Kiss of the Dragon" is an awesome thriller. It contains some of the best fight scenes in recent cinema history. Yes, better than Crouching Tiger and The Matrix. Jet Li is getting better with eaxh film and this is definitly his best american film yet. The story is weak and the acting could have been better. Li actually gives a good performance here, very subtle. As for the fight scenes: There are about 6 or 7 depending on how you count. The 2 best fight sequences come right after each other at the end of the film, te first involves Li and a room full of Black Belt studnets, 20 vs 1. The next fight scene involves Li and 2 twin arain brothers, each take turns on Li and Li quickly shows them who's the boss. This is thwe best action film of the year. Li is poised to become a huge american action star and this film is a huge step in the right direction.

Rating:
Summary: Stylish Action with subplots!!
Review: This movie is real hot .... Jet Li's first big American theatrical lead comes over with a mighty blow. Producer/screenwriter Luc Besson (Subway, Professional) gives up his kickin cinematigrapher to the director. Mystikal soundrac is great during the fight with the twins. Jet Li himself does some ultra-cool deadpanning like Christopher Lambert or Steve McQueen. I hope this movie makes a bitchload of money.

Rating:
Summary: K.O.D. Review by, George Alvarez
Review: Personally I thought this movie was extremely great. This movie exceeded all of my expectations to its highest. First of all with its almost immediate and to the point action suspence buried me in my seat and wanted for more. I especially liked the fact that Jet Li really played his role and so did Briget Fonda to the "T". The story line was great and got me interested right at the beginning of the movie. The fighting was awesome and I really enjoyed seeing a mix of martial arts collide. With Jet Li's awesome shaolin wu shu kung-fu and the anonomous duo of European kickboxers fighting and outwitting action really got me to get into the movie with ease. As a fellow lover of martial arts and a martial artist I really love Jet Li's style and fighting style. Jet li never seases to amaze me in what he does in his movies. Also I really like the romantic like ways in the movie between Briget and Jet Li. When I saw how bridget acted and her situation in the movie really interested me because it was very realistic. And I really liked how Jet Li and Bridget got along in the movie. So in conclusion I state that if there was a Sixth Star in this rating system this movie really does deserve it. And I Personally want to to congradulate Jet Li for this great movie he wrote and for his great performance in acting and fighting. Also To Bridget Fonda for her perfomance for making me believe that she was really in that situation she was in, was just perfect. So Congradulations To you both. Also I recommend that if you havent this movie and you like action to watch this movie. And if you have seen this movie and you didn't like it you probably missed a lot of things so I recommend you to watch it again and watch closely. And Thank You very much Jet Li for bringing out this movie I enjoyed it a lot, and Congradulations.

Rating:
Summary: Jet Li the new Dragon
Review: Kiss of the Dragon is probably one Jet Li's best movies. Unlike Jackie Chan who uses a comical sidekick to cover for his shakey english, Jet Li uses no one, and speaks perfect english with a barely recognizable accent. Jet Li used no wires for this film, and relied on his razor-sharp moves, physical prowess, and fast, hard hitting power. The movie has a good plot, and the end fight reminded me of certain moves Jet used in "Fist of Legend". I recomend this movie highly.

Rating:
Summary: Jet Li - my type of hero
Review: I adore Jet; I have most of his DVDs. Hint: NEVER buy the English dubbed versions of his movies - the movie scores and sound effects are not nearly as effective. I know at this time we don't have a choice regarding Fist of Legend, but an email to Miramax could help solve that because they own the DVD rights to the original Cantonese language version, per information provided to me by Tai Seng Video.

Now for Kiss of the Dragon - only 4 stars because I didn't get enough of Jet

I've seen it twice, and the next time will be on DVD for two reasons: 1) Jet is so incredibly fast in his martial arts scenes that I will be able to slow down 2x or 8x just to see exactly what he is doing; without all that wire fu, he just blazes 2) I will be able to skip over any scenes with Bridget Fonda. That final scene with Jet sitting on her character's hospital bed with that song in the background about getting together almost made me lose it. Get real, Liu Jian is a highly trained professional (first in all of his classes, 5 promotions) that has never married because of his devotion to his job. Does anyone think he would get together with Jessica, a hooker who doesn't seem particularly interesting, talks too much, and wallows in the victim role? Who in the audience would want them to?

Jet's characters frequently do not "get the girl", and I love it! [Not counting Aunt Yee in the OUATIC series.] Some critic wrote that Jet's character in KOD was no James Bond. To that I say "Thank, God". James Bond's picture appears along the dictionary definition of hubris, his attitude toward women borders on misogynistic, and Bond couldn't cut it without all that high tech gadgetry. Give me Liu Jian with his dedication to the job, and his shyness around women, and his body and acupuncture needles as a weapons.

Another critic angle that raises my ire is the criticism of Jet's English. What xenophobes. Get a clue: English is a tough language to learn when it is a second language. I've heard Jet speak in interviews, and I think he does a damn good job. I find his accent charming.

Jet, if you happen to read this, tell your next director (after "The Hero"*)to forget this hip hop music trend. Tell him/her to be creative and try music that is contrapuntal to the action. Or how about taking a clue from some of the wonderful scores in your Hong Kong films? Or Ang Lee's marvelous use of percussion instruments during the action scenes of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"?

*I've seen "The Emperor and the Assassin" - a great movie - Jet, please tell me that you aren't going to die in "The Hero", even if it means altering history.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: This is Jet Li's best American film, restoring my faith that he may still break into American cinema. With dazzling action scenes, beautifully choreographed by Corey Yuen, this movie takes a more realistic aproach to martial arts action. While the plot could have been a little thicker, if you're a Jet Li fan, you'll definitely want to see this. Part of what makes this movie so great are some of the little things that his fans will notice, such as the concept of fighting a dojo of Karate students, taken from his earlier movie Fist of Legend. Certain shots are also recognizable from some of his earlier works, such as The Enforcer (or "My Father Is a Hero", the shot where he's backing away and defending against three opponents at a blazing speed). It still has a great deal of originality, and a little more of a Jackie Chan-esque resourcefulness in the action scenes. If you're wondering why I go on about the action so much, it's because that's all the movie really is. The plot is moved along through and with the action-no fighting just to show off the actor's prowess, almost every fight has a purpose. I'll try to word this without giving too much away; I think they planned on something else at the end, if you'll notice that Richard, in his final scene, says "I got you", and yet there's no other mention of Jet's wound-not even a visible bandage. Minor loopholes in the plot like that and lack of motives are the only complaints I can find about this stunning peice.

Rating:
Summary: "MEGA.. AWESOME NON-stop KunG FU ACTION"
Review: Just saw this hit Kung fu action crime flick.. today, best of Jet Li since Lethal Weapon 4. This movie is worth the watch.. its not a joke.. like the original Jackie Chan flicks.. this has everything you would never get tired of.. JET LI is the MASTER OF KUNG FU.. better action flick than Romeo must die. Watch it, rent it or buy it.. when its released. This has a story to it at least.. but go watch it.

Rating:
Summary: Good follow up for Jet after RMD
Review: I've always been a fan of Jet Li since his movie career took off in Hong Kong, unfortunately his transition to Hollywood has been a bit more rocky than Jackie Chan and Chow Yun Fat. Alas, admirers of Jet's work can be happy with his newest film, Kiss of the Dragon, a kick butt summer blockbuster that emanates his charisma during every action scene. Jet plays a top Chinese officer Li, assigned to Paris to assist the French police in an sting operation only to find himself betrayed and pursued in a foreign country, with nobody to trust, it's up to Li to uncover the conspiracy to prove his innocence. Simple story, topped with lots of action sequences.

What more can I say about Jet? The guy is simply amazing to watch, whether it be one on one or twenty on one, the fighting has a wow factor not even Jackie's stunts can beat at times. Better dialogues and a more polished accent, it wasn't as difficult this time to decipher what Li is trying to say. Tcheky Karyo is the ruthless inspector Richard, running the show in Paris with an iron fist, weeding out everyone that stands between him and his goal, intense but often unbelivable, just why he's angry at the world we will never know. Bridget Fonda plays the prostitute Jessica, a pawn of Richard who got entangled in the conspiracy, not a big part of the story, Fonda's character is more for dramatic purpose, although many of her scenes seem to drag on rather than developing the plot further.

Overall a decent action film, definitely a must watch for Jet Li fans, and possibly the matinee showing for the casual movie goers. By the way, those needles used by Jet are actually arcupunture needles, in the wuxia/martial arts world, people can focus their chi at their finger tips and by pressing the correct pressure points, they can immoblize or relax their opponents' muscle (see Crouching Tiger and Xena.) I guess to incorporate that in the modern sense it'd be more believable to use needles to achieve the same result, and not because they are covered in tranqulizer as I hard some people commented. I highly recommend Kiss of the Dragon!

Rating:
Summary: Good action, bad plot
Review: The action scenes were really nice, and sometimes too unrealistic (like in the police station when he fights off a whole class of black belt karate students with batons) Jet li's acting is getting better with time. Briget Fonda's acting was not bad, but it was not great either, she seemed more like a annoying little sister than a prostitute. The plot of the movie was a real let, the start of the movie really hyped the plot, but then it turned out to focus on Briget Fonda and about saving her daughter. In the end you really questioned why Jet li was in Paris. My suggestion is to see the movie if you like action, but don't see if you like a good plot.