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Kiss of the Dragon (2001)

© Jonathan L. Bowen

Kiss of the Dragon, a Fox release, is another American Hong Kong action film with Jet Li starring as Liu Jian, who is a highly skilled Chinese police officer. Jian comes to Paris, where the movie’s events unfold, to protect and assist an important official on business that involves drug trafficking. Inspector Jean-Pierre Richard (Tcheky Karyo) is not the moral law enforcer his job requires, but instead is the central villain in the film and has access to numerous henchmen. After a supposed prostitute assassinates the official Jian is assisting, Richard accuses him of committing the murder and Jian must work to clear his name while he also helps Jessica (Bridget Fonda) with her struggle against Richard and her attempt to take back her daughter.

The action in Kiss of the Dragon is fairly impressive and the fight scenes are more impressive than those in Romeo Must Die, but unfortunately the movie is significantly less enjoyable. Acting does not usually make a film that much worse, especially not a major Hollywood release, but Fonda’s performance is absolutely terrible. She constantly cries, moans, and complains, which just ruins the film. Her acting is unquestionably the worst of any film released during the summer of 2001. Li is always enjoyable, though, and his energy and presence improves any movie.

Romeo Must Die does not boast nearly as much action as any of Li’s earlier Hong Kong films, but the movie has a strong soundtrack and the chemistry between Aaliyah and Li is much better than with Fonda. Aaliyah’s performance did not seem nearly as enriching and enjoyable until after Kiss of the Dragon arrived in theaters, when most moviegoers would have paid double the price just for anyone to replace Fonda.

Most of the action in the film is fist fighting and traditional martial arts, which is typical of Chan and Li films, though Li uses surrounding objects to great effect. For instance, kicking a pool ball out of the pocket of a billiard table directly into a villain’s forehead was just one of many inventive stunts in the film. Although Li does not wield a gun throughout the movie, the villains have nowhere near the physical skills of officer Jian, so they are bristling with firearms.

The movie’s conclusion is much more satisfying than Romeo Must Die, at least considering the action is superior and the scenes longer. Not only is there a strong fight sequence between Li and two brothers, but there’s also a more unbelievable, but more enjoyable, fight sequence with Li breaking into a dojo full of martial artists. Of course, he has no problem with teaching them a few new tricks, though many of them may have been in too much pain to see them.