Romeo Must Die (2000)

An avenging cop seeks out his brother's killer and falls for the daughter of a businessman who is involved in a money-deal with his father.

Director:

Andrzej Bartkowiak

Writers:

Mitchell Kapner (story), Eric Bernt (screenplay),

Stars:

Jet Li, Aaliyah, Isaiah Washington

1 win & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jet Li	...	Han Sing
Aaliyah	...	Trish O'Day
Isaiah Washington	...	Mac
Russell Wong	...	Kai
Delroy Lindo	...	Isaak O'Day
D.B. Woodside	...	Colin (as DB Woodside)
Henry O	...	Ch'u Sing
Jon Kit Lee	...	Po Sing
Edoardo Ballerini	...	Vincent Roth
Anthony Anderson	...	Maurice
DMX	...	Silk
Matthew Harrison	...	Dave
Terry Chen	...	Kung
Derek Lowe	...	Chinese Messenger
Ronin Wong	...	New Prisoner

Storyline

In this modern day Romeo and Juliet, kung fu action star Jet Li plays Romeo to hip-hop singer, Aaliyah Haughton's Juliet. Li is an ex-cop investigating the murder of his brother, who had ties with the Chinese mafia in America. Aaliyah plays the daughter of the American mob boss. Neither side approves of their romance, so, obviously, kung fu action ensues, with a soundtrack by Aaliyah.

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Plot Keywords:

death | hong kong | prison | waterfront | kung fu | 

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Taglines:

In the city ruled by criminals, two families have forgotten their fear. He will make them remember.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, some language and brief nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros.

Country:

USA

Language:

English Chinese

Release Date:

22 March 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Romeo debe morir

Filming Locations:

Embarcadero Street, San Francisco, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£551,829 (UK) (13 October 2000)

Gross:

£1,379,488 (UK) (27 October 2000)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros, Silver Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A similar scene where Han is using a fire hose as a weapon of choice is used again by Jason Statham's character Frank Martin in Transporter 2.

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Goofs

When the car is being chased by the motorcyclists, one motorcyclist (BMW) accelerates and pulls up to the left side of the car multiple times with the gun in the throttle hand.

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Quotes

Isaak: Mr Sing you have my deepest, deepest condolences.
Ch'u Sing: Thank you.
Isaak: What happened to your son was tragic Mr Sing, very unnecessary. I want you to know i'll be looking into this myself personally.
Ch'u Sing: You will forgive me if I'm not easily moved.
Isaak: Mr Sing... with all due respect, there is no way in the world that anybody in my camp would be foolish enough to touch your family, any more than anybody in your camp would be stupid enough to touch mine. It just wouldn't happen.
Ch'u Sing: Our business venture will continue.
Isaak:
Isaak: [...]

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Crazy Credits

The credits during the opening of the movie are first given in Chinese characters and then are translated into English.

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Connections

Referenced in Judging Amy: Romeo and Juliet Must Die - Well, Maybe Just Juliet (2001)

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Soundtracks

"This Is a Test"
Written by Rapture Stewart, Eric Seats, Chanté Moore and Stephen Garrett
Produced by Rapture Stewart and Eric Seats (as E. Seats)
Performed by Chanté Moore
Courtesy of MCA Records

User Reviews

Action with Depth.

Not usually a fan of this type of all-out Action movie, "Romeo Must Die" knocked me off balance when I found it to be one of the best films I have ever enjoyed. Producer Joel Silver (Who also produced "The Matrix") describes the film as an "Urban rendition of Romeo and Juliet" and although this is a very simple way of looking at the film, it's not far off the mark. Like the great Shakespeare work, there are two opposing families in this film, each looking to make big commercial gains in the world of real estate development. Caught up in their lies, greed and violence are Trish O'Day (Played by Aaliyah) and Han Sing (Played by Jet Li). The story revolves around their quickly blooming relationship and the opposing families around them.

The film boasts some serious eye candy with some of the best special effects you'll see. Luckily, this is not the only good thing going for the movie as the eye candy is wonderfully supported by some fantastic performances from the cast. In her first feature movie, Aaliyah is absolutely breath taking as Trish O'Day. Showing the kind of charm and 'x' factor that few will ever have, she alone makes this film a must see. Jet Li's performance is, as always, about his skills as a martial artist but his scripted acting continues to improve. Another stand out performance for me was that of D.B. Woodside who plays Trish O'Days brother - Colin. Although not such a major role, D.B. excels in this role. High end production values mean the film has a real style and "gloss" to it and everything fits in place and the story moves along at just the right pace. In fact, "Romeo Must Die" is a shining example of how good story telling does not need to be lost in a sea of special effects and glossy American values. Jonathon Ross describes the film as "Fast, Furious, Fun", which is definitely true, but there is more to this film that the audience can take away with them. The reason the film works is that it works on two levels - storyline and action. You can enjoy both aspects and take from them what you like. This is a brilliant film and I highly recommend it.