Two families, bound by tradition, are locked in a brutal war. Asian and African American gangs are vying for control of Oakland's waterfront. But when the first causality is the Asian warlord's son Po, the gang war becomes more dangerous than either side ever imagined. News of the murder gets back to Po's big brother Han, a decorated ex-cop wrongly imprisoned in a Hong Kong jail. And it's only a matter of time before Han makes his way to American shores. An outsider in his own family in search of the truth, Han uncovers nothing except more questions. And he has become a target, not only to the African American camp, but also to faceless assassins whose firepower reaches far beyond the working-class waterfront. In a world of vicious rivalries and violent betrayals, Han has no choice but to declare war himself. But unlike the others, who can only use weapons, Han is a weapon. And falling into his sightlines can be a deadly mistake.
Despite its thin veneer of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet tragedy, this is a martial-arts adventure featuring Jet Li (Lethal Weapon 4) and recording star Aaliyah as reluctant members of the Chinese and African-American mobs who are drawn to one other despite their crime lord families' disapproval. Aimed specifically at fans of Hong Kong action pictures, the story introduces 36 year-old Jet Li as a disgraced ex-Hong Kong cop who escapes from jail to arrive in Oakland, California, in time for his younger brother's funeral and, of course, to avenge his murder. The plot that ensues is not logical yet utterly predictable. But who cares? Audiences flock to see Jackie Chan, Chow Yun-Fat, and now Asian superstar Jet Li for the fighting not the fiction. And the intricate fights are impressively staged by cinematographer-turned-director Andrzej Bartkowiak, who did the visuals for Lethal Weapon 4. One cool, computer-enhanced sequence that impressed me showed precisely what happens inside the human body when bones crack and break. But the audience seemed to respond best to a stunt in which Jet Li polishes off five opponents while hanging upside down, tied to a rope by one foot. Russell Wong, Henry O, Delroy Lindo, and Isiah Washington co-star and popular R&B singer Aaliyah makes a creditable feature-film acting debut - plus makin' music with hip hop star DMX. Credit writers Mitchell Kapner, Eric Bernt, and John Jarrell for trying to give their stock characters, bound by tradition, some background and depth. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, Romeo Must Die is a violent, fast-paced 5 - but recommended for fight fans only.
