Romeo Must Die (2000)

Romeo Must Die is one of Jet Li's first movies made for North American audiences, with the exception of Lethal Weapon 4 (1998), where he played the villain. Romeo Must Die uses classic themes from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet , such as featuring two feuding families and a love interest between two members of the opposing families. Jet Li plays Han, also referred to as Ackbar on several occasions (possibly a reference to the Star Wars series). Instead of the Capulet's and the Montague's in the classic play, Romeo Must Die features the O'Day's (a black family) versus the Sang's (a Hong Kong family). The family feud also typifies the "East meets West" theme present in movies such as Shanghai Noon (2000) and Rush Hour (1997). The classic plot structure for the movie does not feel contrived, but instead is a refreshing remake of a classic story with a martial arts twist and a happier ending.

The O'Day family and the Sang family both want to acquire property on a four mile section along the bay in San Francisco so that the NFL can build a new stadium. The blacks own half of the land, while the Asians own the other half. Both families want to consolidate the property and turn over the deeds to NFL businessman Roth for huge sums of money. The rivalry between the two families intensifies with the death of Mr. Sang's son, Po.

Po's brother, Han, went to prison for his father and is locked up at the time of his brother's death. When he hears of the incident he is infuriated and attempts to escape. In an impressive display of agility and martial arts skill Han renders several guards unconscious while hanging upside down and chained in a special cell. After escaping from his seemingly impossible predicament he flees Hong Kong for San Francisco. Han becomes involved in the conflict and meets up with Trish (played by Aaliyah) from the O'Day family. A series of fight scenes, family conflicts, and treacherous acts make Romeo Must Die an interesting movie with several plot twists towards the end.

One of the most innovative aspects of Romeo Must Die is the special technology used three times throughout the movie to emphasize especially painful deaths and injuries. One moment the moviegoer sees a flesh and blood person on screen and the next moment the visual effect shows viewers the inside workings of the body and the skeleton itself. The effect is useful when Han breaks a guard's arm at the start of the movie. It is also used when a dangerous women combatant flies through the air onto a protruding metal object, which promptly penetrates her heart. Finally, the effect is best demonstrated at the end of the movie when Han breaks the spinal cord of his traitorous opponent. The crunching is blasted through the speakers and moviegoers see his spinal cord shatter from his lower back up to his neck as he is lifelessly thrown to the ground.

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