Romeo Must Die (2000)

Director:

Andrzej Bartkowiak

Writers (WGA):

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

Release Date:

22 March 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

In A World Of Vicious Rivalries And Violent Betrayals Only One Thing Is Sure.

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Brother | Hong Kong | Prison | Waterfront | Chinese Mafia

Awards:

1 win & 6 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sat. Feb. 13	6:00 PM	Telemundo
Sun. Feb. 14	11:30 AM	TNT

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Jet Li	...	Han Sing
Aaliyah	...	Trish O'Day
Isaiah Washington	...	Mac
Russell Wong	...	Kai
DMX	...	Silk
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
Matthew Harrison	...	Dave
Terry Chen	...	Kung
Derek Lowe	...	Chinese Messenger
Ronin Wong	...	New Prisoner

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, some language and brief nudity.

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Australia:MA (TV rating) | Malaysia:18PL | Iceland:16 | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:16 (w) (nf) | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:18 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:M | Norway:18 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:18 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (cut) | USA:R | Philippines:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Embarcadero Street, San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

Silver Pictures

Trivia:

The x-ray "bone-breaking" sequences in the film are similar to a famous scene in Sonny Chiba's The Street Fighter[Gekitotsu! Satsujin ken (1974)]. However, the one's in Romeo Must Die are far more advanced, presumably through the use of CGI.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During the explosion of the barge. Kai's face is fully illuminated on the both sides of his face which is not possible.

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: I'm pleased to hear that, thank you.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in "HBO First Look: Making 'Romeo Must Die' (#7.3)" (2000)

Soundtrack:

I Don't Wanna

The most violent "interpretation" of Shakespeare I`ve ever seen

"Romeo Must Die" is definetely the most violent "interpretation" of Shakespeare I`ve ever seen. Okay, interpretation is not the right word to use, but that is nevertheless what this movie at some point wants to be. I really liked Jet Li in this movie, and I`ve liked him since I first saw him in "Lethal Weapon 4" a couple of years ago. Fighting and betrayal is what "Romeo Must Die" is all about, and the fighting is very entertaining, although sometimes a bit cheesy, because some of the "Matrix-scenes", which is out of place outside the world of science-fiction. Still, "Romeo Must Die" is an actionflick you wouldn`t want to miss. It manages to be interesting enough, but the fighting is what makes it really good. 8/10