I was sorely disappointed with this movie, which is a shame because the basic idea was interesting and there was a lot going for it. When i first heard of the title, i was thinking that anyone hoping to do anything like a "Romeo and Juliet" with the rival families being Afro-American and Chinese, the couple played by an R&B singer and martial artist must be out of his mind. It would be the boldest thing in cinema history, a turning point in popular racial/cultural thinking. OK OK, viewed in such a climactic sense, this flick doesn't even scratch the surface, and obviously wasn't hoping to. I guess it did deliver the R&B and martial arts though....
So what was good. Not a lot. Aaliyah was as hot as ever and yes i was hoping for some romance between her and Jet Li, even if the whole Romeo and Juliet thing could never really have worked. Thing is, it would have been the rarest things in cinema history. I can not think of a single film which would even attempt romance between a female Afro-American and a male Chinese, and i stress the sexes here. By not realising what potential this had, this film was never going to be good. I can understand why the romance was not quite there though. The coupling was hardly possible and Jet Li was about 17 years older than Aaliyah. And also, Jet Li's not cut out for it. He's not really a male icon even in the far east...He's known for one thing, martial arts.....A kissing scene would have been bizarre yet unmissable...given how he reacts in the few romantic scenes he has done (none of them have kissing)...
The bad. I don't know how it is for the Afro-Americans here but as an ethnic Chinese i found the stereotypes tiresome. I've been to HK and i'm pretty sure they don't beat prisoners hung upside down with batons (they do talk about horse gambling though). They don't call HK one of the Four Tigers for nothing. I advise anyone who wants to know anything about HK and not just the stereotypes to watch how they portray themselves to a Chinese audience. Something like Infernal Affairs for example. And yes HK is distinct from China. Jet Li was actually using Cantonese with that guard, not Mandarin, which is what he uses for the rest of the film. And you would be very lucky to meet anyone in HK who knows proper kung-fu. Your better chances are in fact in China. All HK did was produce a lot of kung-fu movies and start-off the genre because they had a thriving a movie industry which the mainland didn't have at the time.
Also, like a lot of the critics here, i have issues with the fight scenes. What's with the unrealistic wire-work. We all know what Jet Li can do without the wire, and even with the wire i have seen a lot better. What made it worst was the enhancements, speed-ups and x-ray sequences. For a moment i thought i was watching sci-fi and no longer took the film seriously. What were the director and choreographer thinking.
Yeah OK, so i didn't really didn't like this movie and i don't think i'm the only one given the IMDb rating.
So what was good. Not a lot. Aaliyah was as hot as ever and yes i was hoping for some romance between her and Jet Li, even if the whole Romeo and Juliet thing could never really have worked. Thing is, it would have been the rarest things in cinema history. I can not think of a single film which would even attempt romance between a female Afro-American and a male Chinese, and i stress the sexes here. By not realising what potential this had, this film was never going to be good. I can understand why the romance was not quite there though. The coupling was hardly possible and Jet Li was about 17 years older than Aaliyah. And also, Jet Li's not cut out for it. He's not really a male icon even in the far east...He's known for one thing, martial arts.....A kissing scene would have been bizarre yet unmissable...given how he reacts in the few romantic scenes he has done (none of them have kissing)...
The bad. I don't know how it is for the Afro-Americans here but as an ethnic Chinese i found the stereotypes tiresome. I've been to HK and i'm pretty sure they don't beat prisoners hung upside down with batons (they do talk about horse gambling though). They don't call HK one of the Four Tigers for nothing. I advise anyone who wants to know anything about HK and not just the stereotypes to watch how they portray themselves to a Chinese audience. Something like Infernal Affairs for example. And yes HK is distinct from China. Jet Li was actually using Cantonese with that guard, not Mandarin, which is what he uses for the rest of the film. And you would be very lucky to meet anyone in HK who knows proper kung-fu. Your better chances are in fact in China. All HK did was produce a lot of kung-fu movies and start-off the genre because they had a thriving a movie industry which the mainland didn't have at the time.
Also, like a lot of the critics here, i have issues with the fight scenes. What's with the unrealistic wire-work. We all know what Jet Li can do without the wire, and even with the wire i have seen a lot better. What made it worst was the enhancements, speed-ups and x-ray sequences. For a moment i thought i was watching sci-fi and no longer took the film seriously. What were the director and choreographer thinking.
Yeah OK, so i didn't really didn't like this movie and i don't think i'm the only one given the IMDb rating.