Kiss of the Dragon

Rating:
Summary: ONE OF JET LI'S BETTER U.S. FILMS
Review: A CHINESE COP [JET LI] GETS FRAMED FOR A DRUG OPERATION. AND NOW HE MUST FIND A WAY TO CLEAR HIS NAME. AN OK MOVIE. HAS SOME PRETTY GOOD FIGHT SCENES AND AN OK PLOT. THE ENDING IS PRETTY COOL. BRIDGET FONDA PLAYS AN EX-DRUG ADDICT/HOOKER NAMED JESSICA. IF YOU'RE A FAN OF JET LI, YOU SHOULD LIKE THIS ONE A LOT.

Rating:
Summary: Most ridiculous plot that I have seen in years
Review: I will start by saying I would rate this movie a 5 star if it were just for the action and martial art scenes that you are interested in. There are some very impressive fighting sequences for certain. I myself have been a martial artist for many, many years. Jet Li is a master for certain. I prefer the sword myself as I have trained heavily in that skill. I will say that very few martial artists can disarm a well trained sword fighter who is also trained in kung fu or some other form of a martial art, and most would die in seconds if they tried. I would say that in one scene if Li had a sword he could easily have taken out a large group of black belt martial artists, but not with nanchucks or billy clubs. First off, in todays world, fighting one on one is a fantasy. In Samurai Japan that happened quite frequently as they valued honor and duty beyond all else. Even in large battles, fighting would begin as one on one, Samurai to Samurai. So in reality, today, he would have been swarmed immediately and laid to waste. A sword though, could have made a huge differnece. Just a plug to any aspiring martial artists out there. Of course, it is a stone cast shadow if your up against a gun, hehe. I hope that never happens to you.

That being said, the plot and story line for a drama/action movie that takes place in modern Paris is completely ludicrous and in my opinion a slap in the face of all French people. Lets face it, in this movie the French police make the LA cops look like cub scounts in the way they mistreat innocent bystanders. How can a chief inspector murder so many innocent people and create such havoc in an effort to apprehend an unarmed chinese policeman? This includes his own men also. To top it off he is not even held accountable by his government for the mahem that he has caused - go figure? I don't know of any police in the world that would allow that to occur.

The first scenes where the supposed air captain takes out two automatic weapons and lays waste to an emtpy(???) hotel lobby is absolutely ridiculous, not to mention earlier scenes with incindiary grenades and complete devastation and murder, please!!!!! How can Jet Li fall eight floors onto a laundry table and get up immediatley without any effect? How stupid can you get? Or when Jet Li takes on over 25 apparent martial art black belts and walks away unscathed. How outrages! Even Bruce Lee never accomplished that feat in his films. Or how about French Ninja police (do they esixt?) who jump from the bridge onto the ferry, hahahahaha. Give me a break! The writers of this movie had there heads up where the "sun don't shine" for sure. If I were French, I would be completely insulted by this movie. Yes it is true that in most European countries the police shoot first and ask questions after, but certainly not with total disregard for innocent life and property. I can't believe that producers would back and fund such tripe in this day and age when there are so many magnificent books that they can base a story upon. Watch this movie once for the action scenes. It is worth a rental. Don't ever buy it or you will be very unhappy when you want more than just the action and come to realize just how ridiculous and shameful this movie really is.

I am not French and I know that they as a group don't particularly like Americans, of which I am one. Nonetheless, this movie is extremely demeaning of the French police and French people in general, in my opinion.

Rating:
Summary: Finally, a Jet Li film w/o strings and glamour to carry it
Review: Being a martial artist myself (Taekwon Do) and a fan of movies of that sort, my husband brought home Kiss of the Dragon and I was expecting this film to be the same old Americanized Jet Li, etc. film we know we've all seen. I was glad that I was wrong. Finally, an American martial arts film that finally got it right: no strings, no superficial acts or effects just to get the masses to see it... beautiful hard core fighting just like the old Chinese kick ass flicks, but with a better plot (simple yet interesting) and better acting. It was refreshing to see Jet Li (and his supporting actors) shine in his role both as an actor (very underestimated) and as a true martial artist. This film does away with the ho-hum bling-bling/hip-hop, "gangsta" movies that are aimed towards MTV socialites by placing the story in a classy setting (Paris) and making use of beautiful cinematography. Kiss of the Dragon has an urban European flare that, in turn, gives us a delicious and interesting combination. The special features are pretty good compared to most and Jet Li's interview is especially good because he discusses his training and achievements w/o gloating. Kiss of the Dragon is one of the best martial arts films that I've ever seen in my short life, and I hope that there are more just as fulfilling yet to come! ~Andrea

Rating:
Summary: Great
Review: Very good fight scense with a good plot. Jet li and Bridget Fonda go well together. There are many extreme fight scense where you are just amazed by Jet's speed. Worth the buy.