When a movie is somewhat lacking in plot I am usually the first to complain. Sometimes however, its good to just sit back and watch bad guys get the hell beaten out of them by a superhero action figure. Action for action's sake is not necessarily a bad thing, its just rather difficult to pull off effectively enough to please your audience who has seen most of it before, usually done bigger or better. Kiss of the Dragon doesn't exactly add much originality to things, martial arts movies are pretty much a much of a muchness, but it does it with such flair, adrenaline and charisma that you can't help but be swept along by it all.

Kiss of the Dragon stars martial arts sensation Jet Li, a guy who you ought to have heard of by now and if not, then this is a movie to check out to see why I think he's worth making a fuss over. Whereas someone like Jackie Chan plays his martial arts persona for as much comedic effect as anything else, Li plays his perfectly straight and to be perfectly honest...he is simply awesome to watch in action. Kiss of the Dragon features some of the most stunning fight scenes I have seen for a long time(ever?) in a movie and better still - NO MATRIX STYLE TRICKERY!!! Yes thats right, the stunts are real...well ok, with a little bit of camera trickery of course.

Li is a Beijing cop, who finds himself in France investigating a case but finds that the law enforcement agency is filled with crooked cops. He is framed by a high ranking officer, but also manages to acquire the idnetity of the real killer on videotape which if he manages to present it to the authorities on time will clear his name. The problem is that the whole Parisien police force is out to take him out before he can manage this and his only hope seems to come from a junkie prostitute (Bridget Fonda) who can bring his persecutor down, but who also refuses to help until he manages to get her daughter out of his clutches.

In other words the entire
movie is one long chase.

But a great, action packed, adrenaline fuelled chase at that and one which I would highly recommend. Li manages to instill some character into his part which is more than can be said of many of his martial arts counterparts(Jackie Chan aside, but he is a whole different prospect)...Chuck Norris, Steven Segal, Jean Claude Van Damne...need I say more. He also manages to exude a fair amount of charisma as well and he has a certain on screen presence which draws you to him. Kiss of the Dragon succeeds in keeping you amused from start to finish by not trying to hide its faults under flashy, expensive special effects, or ludicrous plot contrivances but going straight for the jugular with its action scenes instead. Its fast, its furious, it is quite ludicrous at times but ultimately very satisfying for a little no-brainer action packed fun. Its a definite recommendation for a Friday evening viewing experience.