Romeo Must Die (2000)
cast: Jet Li, Aaliyah, Isaiah Washington, Russel Wong, Delroy Lindo, and Henery O
director: Andrzej Bartkowiak

You know the secret to why Jackie Chan's autobiography was a ghost written piece of fluff. The answer would be that Jackie, because of early training in martial arts, was never given a proper education and is functionally illiterate. Chan relies mostly on his own brainstorms for movie ideas and I'm sure the occasional pitch from a producer or screenwriter.

Jet Li isn't illiterate, quite the opposite actually, and here in "Romeo Must Die" (Li's first starring role in an American film after a supporting debut in "Lethal Weapon 4") Li proves he is a novice when it comes to Hollywood productions and pitches from producers. And while producer Joel Silver played a role in getting Jet Li into American cinema, as well as helping bring us three good "Lethal Weapon" films: let's not forget he also made us sit through the series fourth installment, the ignorant "Predator 2," the over zealous and foolish "Conspiracy Theory," and the forgettable Robin Williams-Billy Crystal comedy "Father's Day."

It maybe a long time before we can forgive him for "Romeo Must Die," as Silver gradually slips away from the formulas that gave him a place in the world.

By all accounts, "Romeo Must Die" is a mess with very few moments of any kind of orchestration. The plot of the film is as underdeveloped as you can possibly get. Even worse are the characters that swarm it. Not one single character in the film has any kind of past or present and it doesn't take long before the entire production is literally unscrewed as the cast goes from one conventional scene after another.

Most of the film's substance is as predictable as it is self-indulgent and sometimes just plain ignorant. In breezy suburban neighborhoods people don't notice dead bodies hanging from light posts in broad daylight (eventually a paperboy notices the body). Guards standing right outside of a holding cell can't hear four other guards being beaten to within an inch of their life until it is too late, never mind not recognizing a prisoner dressed up in a guard outfit.

"Romeo Must Die" follows Han (Li), a former police officer who took the heat for his family's criminal affairs so his father (Henery O) didn't have to be sentenced to death by the Hong Kong government and he could escape to America with his other son Po (Jon Kit Li supporting another bad haircut a la "The Corruptor").

One night while in a predominately-Black club in Oakland Po, his girlfriend, and two Chinese lesbians are asked to leave because they are known associates of the Chinese gang (controlled by Po and Han's father) that rivals a local Black gang. In a horribly formatted action scene daddy's #1 (Russell Wong) shows up and kicks the living daylights out of everyone in the club (even a gentlemen dressed to something of the effect of Jim Kelly).

But does that even make any kind of sense logically? If you were a known rival of a Black gang, A. Would you go to their favorite joint to hang out? And B. Why would they even consider letting you in the first place? (later on in the film, Li's character actually has trouble getting in just because he is Chinese).

It hardly makes sense like most of the loose-leaf notebook script.

And then Po turns up dead. Meanwhile in Hong Kong, big brother Han finds out (what seems like minutes after it actually occurred) and busts out of jail. You'd think a man of Li's stature and the unjust reasons that put him in the hole would have been incentives to break out a long time ago.

Without any hassle, Han shows up in America: neatly dressed with near perfect English. Where does he stay? Easy: he breaks into his brother's penthouse and lives smoothly. Remember, the police never quarantine places like that off to search for possible clues in a murder case. Also remember owners don't want vacant penthouses moved out of, families don't want their son's belongings (especially this family who is so sourly bitter towards their son's gangland death), and no one ever under any circumstances pays attention to new occupants constantly coming and going from a place where they are unrecognizable.

For wheels Han hotwires a taxicab, again, in broad daylight and picks up Trish O'Day (Aaliyah--R&B queen making her big screen debut) who is the straight daughter of the Black gang's superintendent, Issak O'Day (Delroy Lindo in a most forgettable role). Trish of course wants nothing to do with her family's mob actions, but is courted by dumb racially demographic henchmen and a vile partner (Washington) who follows her under her father's orders due to the paranoia that his daughter might be killed in revenge.

When Han discovers the last phone call, his brother made was to the record store Trish works at he gets involved to try to seek out the truth about his brother's death. A war between gangs for control of waterfront businesses that can be bought out for a new football arena, and who is behind a series of mysterious knock-offs that have claimed members from both gangs.

"Romeo Must Die" is a bad film by all accounts and an outright embarrassing one for Jet Li have taken part in considering he wisely turned down a role in Tsui Hark's "Knock Off" with Jean-Claude Van Damme. It is hard recalling such a disappointing venture for the usually excellent wu shu star: even the overrated "The New Legend of Shaolin," the forgettable "Fong Sai Yuk II," and the immature "High Risk" had some qualities.

"Romeo Must Die" does not. True it has a very slick credit sequence, a neat motorcycle chase, and an appealing computerized look into the human body seconds before it is fatally wounded. Aside from that, there is nothing whatsoever of interest: scene after scene butts heads with its predecessor due to a skinny script and bad editing. The writing refuses to allow the actors and their characters to mesh. And just when Jet Li is showing off his true talents as a martial artist--a scene is computer generated to capitalize on a situation that needs no technology.

What "Romeo Must Die" needed was a serious re-write.