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 & 8 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 | prison | hong kong | kung fu | waterfront | 

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Taglines:

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

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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 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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Though the football stadium is supposed to be coming to Oakland, CA, the waterfront model in Mr. Roth's office includes the Vancouver landmark Canada Place (the large, white sails which jut out into the harbor), presumably to accord with other clear shots of Vancouver in the movie.

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Goofs

In the motorcycle/car chase after Han and Trish find the dead Chinese. The reflection of the camera truck pulling the Merc can be seen in the visor of the motorcyclist.

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Quotes

Mac: [Pointing the gun] Don't look at me boy! I'll put your ass on the news tonight!

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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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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.

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Connections

Referenced in 15 Minutes (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

In memory of Aaliyah

It was four years ago on August 25 that Aaliyah was tragically taken from us and the life of another great musical talent cut short. I decided to watch Romeo Must Die with Jet Li in her memory as it has a lot of her music(Come Back in One Piece", "I Don't Wanna", "Try Again" and "Are You Feelin' Me?"), and it is one great movie that I watch over and over again. DMX was also in the movie and he joined Jet Li again in Cradle 2the Grave , another movie with great action and great music. Thanks, Aaliyah, for the music you gave us.I never get tired of watching Jet Li in action and look forward to many more movies with him.