Romeo Must Die

Directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak, Romeo Must Die follows Jet Li’s Han Sing as he arrives in the United States to look into the murder of his brother (Jon Kit Lee’s Po) – with complications ensuing after Han finds himself falling for the daughter (Aaliyah’s Trish O’Day) of his father’s rival (Delroy Lindo as Isaak). Filmmaker Bartkowiak, armed with a script by Eric Bernt and John Jarrell, delivers a sporadically engaging yet predominantly tiresome actioner that is, for the most part, unable to justify its seriously padded-out runnning time (115 minutes!), as the movie, which admittedly does open with a fair degree of promise, has been saddled with a wheel-spinning midsection that’s primarily focused on Han’s less-than-enthralling investigation into his sibling’s death – with the decidedly erratic atmosphere compounded by Bartkowiak’s head-scratching emphasis on certain palpably pointless digressions and subplots (eg an impromptu football game pitting Han against Trish’s romantic rival). It’s clear, then, that Romeo Must Die‘s periodically passable vibe is due almost entirely to its charming lead performances and smattering of compelling interludes (eg a car chase that turns into a hand-to-hand fight in which Han uses Trish’s body as a weapon), although it remains just as apparent, in terms of the former, that the complete and total lack of chemistry between Li and Aaliyah compounds the picture’s arms-length feel. And while the movie closes with a series of high-octane action sequences, Romeo Must Die has long-since alienated the viewer and confirmed its place as a meandering misfire that should’ve topped out at an hour and a half.

*1/2 out of ****