| Product: |
Kiss of the Dragon (DVD) |
| Date: |
27/06/02 (337 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Action , action, and more action.
Disadvantages: A weak storyline and some poor acting.
~ ~ My local video shop (Xtravision) has a special offer on at the moment. Any two new releases (VHS or DVD) at only €8 for two night’s rental. Applies to games as well, but as I’m not much of a games fan these days, that’s not too much benefit to me. Anyhoo. It means that the old movies have been getting a right hammering from the ‘mad cabbie’ of late.
Last night I watched a martial arts movie called “Kiss of the Dragon” (2001) starring Jet Li, a would be successor to the martial arts Crown held for so long by the late Bruce Lee, and co-starring Bridget Fonda as Jessica, a forlorn American hooker working the streets of Paris.
~ ~ The only other movie that I can recall seeing Jet Li in was Lethal Weapon 4, with Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, where he plays a Chinese bad guy called Wah Sing Ku who is importing heroin into the USA. (Of course, he gets his ass kicked by Mr. Gibson in this one) He seemingly made another movie recently called ‘Romeo Must Die’, that doesn’t seem to have been as popular as this movie, but which I haven’t seen yet. (so no comment)
In this film he plays the good guy, in the shape of a Chinese detective Liu Jian from the People’s Republic of China, who is sent over to Paris to help out the local fuzz in their battle against the Chinese Mafia.
But it all goes horribly wrong, when he is framed for the killing of the Chinese Mafia boss by Inspector Richard, (Tcheky Karyo) who just happens to be the French connection (no pun intended) for the Asian drug ring.
This scene sets up the real first action sequence of the movie, when the Chinese drug lord is stabbed to death by a prostitute under the control of Inspector Richard, (prostitution is yet another of his criminal enterprises) and Liu Jian tries to go to his aid.
He barely escapes with his life, but not before he quickly and efficiently despatches a plethora of bad guys, and nicks a v
ideotape of the actual murder of the Mafia boss by the prostitute and Inspector Richard.
He thus finds himself on the run in a strange city, with no friends, and the totally psychopathic French Inspector hot on his trail.
By the way, I thought a nice touch was having Jet Li hiding out at a local Chinese bakery run by an old guy called Uncle Tai (Burt Kwouk) who played the enigmatic manservant Cato in the Pink Panther films starring Peter Sellers in the 1960’s.
He later befriends another of the other prostitutes who witnessed the killing at the hotel, and who can give him the skinny on the wicked Inspector Richard. Jessica, (Bridget Fonda) is an American who has fallen into the clutches of the evil and sadistic Inspector, who has put her out to work on the streets, after first ensuring her continued compliance by getting her hooked on heroin, and by kidnapping her young daughter and putting her into a local orphanage.
Liu Jian enlists her aid, but not until she elicits a promise from him to rescue her young daughter from the clutches of the bad guys.
~ ~ From the first action sequence to the end of the movie, the action in this film is practically non-stop.
It was co-written by Luc Besson and directed by Chris Nahon. Luc Besson is better known for his direction of blockbuster hits like Leon and Nikita, and he also directed another couple of French movies, Taxi and Taxi 2, that I watched recently and thoroughly enjoyed.
He didn’t disappoint me in this movie either. The fight scenes are visually spectacular, and I would put them on at least a par with anything I have ever watched from the likes of the late Bruce Lee, or the new Hollywood pretender to the martial arts throne Jackie Chan. (Rush Hour)
There are no hidden wires or trick photography here, (at least, none that I could spot) and the final scenes where Jet Li confronts the corrupt French policeman by breaking into the local cop shop, despatching along th
e way a formidable set of young blonde twins, (played by Cyril Raffaelli and Didier Azoulay) are among the best martial art sequences I have ever seen.
The budding relationship between Jet Li and Briget Fonda is sensitively handled, and the director doesn’t use the usual ploy of having the hero bed the lady at the earliest possible opportunity, in the hope of titillating his audience. Instead, he develops an emotional attachment between the two, which is far more effective.
~ ~ All is not roses in the camp however, and one strong criticism I would have of the movie would be the totally over the top acting on the part of Tcheky Karyo, who plays the bad cop. It is so bad that at times I was in danger of laughing instead of taking him seriously.
And Jet Li wouldn’t seem to have quite mastered all the intricacies of the English language as of yet, but I would say he is a fast study, and this will improve the more parts he plays. And he has a smouldering and menacing look about him that really grabs you by the short and curlies right from the off. It’s very hard to believe that this guy is nearly forty years of age, such is his agility and fitness level. Jackie Chan look out. There’s a new challenger for your title of martial arts King on the block!
The storyline is simplistic to say the least, with only a bare minimum of (very corny) plot being thrown in to provide the necessary vehicle to highlight the awesome martial art expertise of Jet Li.! But what it lacks in the storyline department, it more than makes up for in non-stop visual action.
Incidentally, the ‘Kiss of the Dragon’, which gives the film its title, is a very real and jealously guarded acupuncture technique that is used either to put a person to sleep, or to actually kill them. (it’s not called this in real life though) Jet Li, a former martial arts champion from a very early age, uses it to great effect throughout the movie, but to te
ll you any more would be too much of a spoiler.
~ ~ But be warned. This film is not for the squeamish, or those with a weak disposition. The violence appears very real, and is VERY graphic, with people being blown in half, bleeding real blood (or as near as it gets) when they are shot, stabbed, or kicked to death, and even on one occasion being skewered with a handy pair of chop sticks.
I watched this on widescreen DVD, but to be honest, apart from the usual perfect sound and graphics, there are no real extras worth the mention, with only the usual fare of chapter selection, and the choice of subtitles for the hard of hearing.
If you are a fan of the action movie genre, and more particularly the martial arts, then I guarantee that you will thoroughly enjoy this movie. If these are not your bag, then avoid this movie like the plague.
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