Jet Li kicks ass (Kiss of the Dragon (DVD))

Member Name: sunmeilan

Product:	Kiss of the Dragon (DVD)
Date:	21/02/08 (97 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A good action movie

Disadvantages: Not much of a plot

A Chinese intelligence officer, Liu Jian, is sent to France to work with the French police on a case. However, on arrival, he is betrayed by Inspector Richard, the man in charge of the case, who frames him for a series of murders. Trying to avoid being caught and charged, Liu Jian becomes involved with Jessica, a prostitute, who just happens to have been part of the attempt to frame him. In return for her testimony to his innocence, he agrees to rescue her daughter from Richard's clutches. Can one man fight the French authorities and win? And will he be able to rescue Jessica's daughter at the same time?

Following an appearance in the fourth Lethal Weapon film and the lead role in a lesser known film called Romeo Must Die, this is Jet Li's first real attempt to make his name in the West. However, in Asia, he has long been famous for his martial arts skills - which are not an act - Jet Li (or Li Lian Jie as I know him) was a martial arts champion before he moved into acting. In Kiss of the Dragon, he plays a man who believes that actions speak louder than words - just as well, because his English isn't all that good. As far as character development goes, there is very little; we see his relationship with Jessica blossom, but that is the only time we see him as anything but a one man fighting machine. However, this is an action film and from that point of view, Jet Li delivers time after time. I don't usually enjoy action films, but his skills with his limbs and acupuncture needles are really breath-taking to watch. My only gripe is that, having seen a number of his former films, I know that he is capable of much more acting-wise.

Jessica, played by Bridget Fonda, is another seriously under-developed character. An American in Paris (at least she has an American accent), it is never really explained why she is there or why she was forced to turn to prostitution, although she hints that it is because of an ex-boyfriend, all of which would have made her a much more sympathetic character. I'm not that familiar with Bridget Fonda as an actress, but I got the impression that she could have given much more had she been given the chance.

There are a string of other actors, many of whom don't say a word, but just fight. There are a couple of familiar faces. Burt Kwouk, best known as Cato in the Pink Panther films and Entwistle in Last of the Summer Wine, plays the man who shelters Liu Jian. Then there is John Forgeham (Frank in Footballers' Wives) who plays a thug. Inspector Richard is played by Tcheky Karyo and is one of the few characters who has more than a couple of sentences to say. I wasn't impressed by his acting though. As a police officer gone badly wrong, he is just not that convincing, even for a role in an action film.

As so often happens with action films, the plot is the weakest part. There are lots of opportunities to broaden it and add some depth to the characters, but Li and his co-writers obviously decided that that would be superfluous. Despite this, I still think this film works. Perhaps it is Li's fighting skills, perhaps it is the fact that it is a martial arts film set in France, but having seen the film numerous times, I still enjoy watching it - there is something fresh about it that stops all the fighting becoming boring.

This is a very violent film, hence the 18 rating. The violence starts from more or less the first shot and is relentless. I am not usually a fan of such pointless brutality, yet there is a strange beauty to it that only martial arts films can have. I am not condoning it, but from a visual point of view, it is much pleasanter to watch than films with guns and knives.

I have to admit to being slightly biased when it comes to Jet Li. Having seen a number of his Chinese films, I know that this film is not just a one-off and even that he is capable of much more than he gives in this film. I do prefer his Chinese-language films simply because he talks more and so there is more depth to his characters, but as an attempt to break into the West, I think this is pretty good. Four stars.

The DVD is available from play.com for £5.99.

Classification: 18

Running time: 98 minutes

Summary: Not Jet Li at his best, but still a good film