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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Li and Fonda shine in this plot-driven action thriller, October 11, 2003
I find myself finally indulging my long-nascent love for martial arts movies, and this road has taken me rather directly from Bruce Lee and the Bruceploitation films of the 70s and early 80s to Jet Li, whom I consider to be the most worthy successor to Bruce Lee working today. I won't even compare him to the Dragon because he is definitely his own man, one steeply trained in both the physical and philosophical ways of the martial arts. He has a compact yet powerful, no-nonsense approach to his fight scenes, and what you get is pretty much the real deal - no invisible cables, no stuntman, no fakery, and most importantly no cheesiness. Kiss of the Dragon is my first Jet Li film, and I am glad to say that I was in no way disappointed. There may not be as much fighting in this film as you might find elsewhere, but this is by no means a bad thing. This film revolves around the story and main characters, and the forging of such a strong plot- makes the fight scenes, when they come, all the more enjoyable. Long gone are the days when martial arts movies had weak or nonexistent plots serving no other purpose than to move the film from one fight to the next.Kiss of the Dragon is set in France, which is not your typical setting for kung fu action. Jet Li plays a Chinese cop named Liu Jian, one of China's best, sent to France to help the authorities there nab a Chinese drug dealer. The expected drug bust goes as far removed from planned as can be (at least from Liu Jian's point of view). The whole thing was a set-up by the French police chief (played to the despicable max by Tcheky Karyo), leaving Liu Juan on the run and accused of murder. Liu Juan must evade the authorities and somehow get the proof he needs to put the real bad guy away. Bridget Fonda, an actress I have admired for some time, is wonderful in the role of Jessica, a sort-of witness to the initial murders and reluctant cohort to Richard. She is a reluctant prostitute whom Richard keeps under his thumb; he has her daughter, so her options in life are quite limited - until she eventually meets up with Liu Jian, that is. It is at this point we see the moving humanity that lies beneath the bedraggled, desperately hopeless prostitute that Jessica has been forced to become. Liu Jian vows to get her daughter back, and you can pretty much rely on the fact that he will have one more chance to tell Richard face-to-face not to call him "Johnny." There are a lot of action sequences in this film, all of which are quite good, but these only complement rather than subsume the gripping movement of this story. Jet Li takes on all comers, including a room full of police cadets, making use of his hands, feet, and mind along with any helpful props that he finds readily available. I particularly enjoyed the scene wherein he beat up a few corrupt French authorities with the French flag - I could watch that all day. It was also nice to see several bad guys attack him at once, rather than patiently waiting for each other to be taken out one by one. The final confrontation may have the look of letdown at first, but the viewer is soon rewarded with a rather gruesome and certainly deserved downfall of a thoroughly disgusting fellow. It is here that you will discover the significance of the movie's title. I could not help but wonder at the lack of reaction to all the mayhem by innocent standers-by, however. These guys basically shoot up half of France, turning a fancy hotel into a war zone, battling it out on tops of boats and buses, blowing up buildings, etc., yet there was no observable sense of panic or sound of mind-shattering screams coming from the significant population slated to become collateral damage statistics. The DVD comes absolutely loaded with extras. You get a commentary by Jet Li, Bridget Fonda, and director Chris Nahon, a featurette on the making of the movie, a fascinating exploration by Jet Li of his martial arts style, background, and philosophy, a look at the choreography (including a few preparatory demos) of the action sequences with Jet Li and fight choreographer Cory Yuen, a theatrical trailer and half dozen TV spots for the film, and a couple of storyboard to film comparisons. Jet Li is the best martial arts actor working today, and Kiss of the Dragon has everything a good film of this type needs: a great story, characters you really come to care about, terrific action sequences, and a quite satisfying ending.
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