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

2 wins & 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.

---

Plot Keywords:

reference to albert einstein | death | prison | hong kong | kung fu | 

---

Taglines:

The Word On The Street Is...[Romeo Must Die]

---

Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, some language and brief nudity

Did You Know?

Trivia

Film acting debut of singer Aaliyah.

---

Goofs

Hong Kong prisons are managed by the Hong Kong Correctional Services and not by the Hong Kong Police (Officer's in blue) as seen in the movie.

---

Quotes

Kai: Let it go Po. This is a hassle we don't need.

---

Crazy Credits

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

---

Alternate Versions

The UK version was cut by Warner Bros. to get a "15" rating. 30 seconds of violence were removed including blood spurts from gunshots, a throat punch, shots of a scorching bowl being pressed onto Jet Li's hands and Li's burned hands being scraped whilst Li is dragged around, heavy punches, a head-butt and a throat chop.

---

Connections

References The Big Boss (1971)

---

Soundtracks

Rose in a Concrete World
Written by Joe (as Joe Thomas) and Joshua Thompson (as Joshua P. Thompson)
Produced by Joe (as Joe Thomas) and Joshua Thompson (as Josh P. Thompson)
Performed by Joe
Courtesy of Jive Records

User Reviews

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

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros.

Country:

USA

Language:

English Chinese

Release Date:

22 March 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Romeo Must Die

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$18,014,503, 26 March 2000

Gross USA:

$55,973,336

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$91,036,760

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