Kiss of the Dragon (2001)

A betrayed intelligence officer enlists the aid of a prostitute to prove his innocence from a deadly conspiracy while returning a favor to her.

Director:

Chris Nahon

Writers:

Jet Li (story), Luc Besson (screenplay)

Stars:

Jet Li, Bridget Fonda, Tchéky Karyo

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jet Li	...	Liu Jian
Bridget Fonda	...	Jessica Kamen
Tchéky Karyo	...	Insp. Richard
Ric Young	...	Mister Big
Burt Kwouk	...	Uncle Tai
Laurence Ashley	...	Aja
Cyril Raffaelli	...	Twin
Didier Azoulay	...	Twin
John Forgeham	...	Max
Paul Barrett	...	Pilot
Max Ryan	...	Lupo
Colin Prince	...	Lupo's Assistant
Vincent Glo	...	Pluto
Vincent Wong	...	Minister Tang
Kentaro	...	Chen

Storyline

Liu Jian, a police officer from China, comes to Paris to help the vice squad apprehend a Chinese drug lord and his unknown French connection. The French connection is Richard, the head of the vice squad, who intends to kill the drug lord then frame Jian. Jian ducks a bullet and escapes with a tape of what really happened. By chance, Jian turns to Jessica - a US farm girl who is one of Richard's hookers - for help. She has her own problems, including the fact that Richard has her daughter locked in an orphanage to keep Jessica on the streets and silent about his activities. Can Jian protect Jessica, rescue her daughter, and give Richard the kiss of the dragon?

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Plot Keywords:

chinese | action hero | one man army | forced prostitution | title spoken by character | 

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Taglines:

Hito no koroshikata shika wakaranakatta [Japan]

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, language, some sexuality and drug content

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the scene were Jet Li attacks Max Ryan "Lupo", they were supposed to film the dialog scene separately from the fight that follows. However, after the dialog, the director didn't say "cut", and so Jet attacked Max. The take is in the final film - along with Max Ryan's very realistic frightened expression.

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Goofs

In the beginning when Liu Jian attempts to escape the French and breaks the door open after going down one level, he closes the glass door into the balcony. But when Richard and his men go into that room the balcony door is open.

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Quotes

[Richard with a gun to Isabel's head]
Liu Jian: Wait! You're making a big mistake.
Richard: Am I?
Liu Jian: In the second it takes you to kill her, I will have all the time I need to kill you...

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Alternate Versions

The Philippine theatrical version removes the following:

• When Inspector Richard is beating two men on separate occasions, the sights of their severely bloodied faces are deleted.
• The scene when the hooker stabs Mister Big in the chest and back with a needle edits out the close-up shots of the actual stabbing.
• During the grenade explosion that rips through the laundry chute, the shot of a man's lower half dropping to the floor is edited.
• When Max forcibly delivers a heroin injection into Jessica upon orders from Richard, the actual insertion into her arm is removed.
• The graphic shots of when Liu Jian impales Max's neck with a pair of chopsticks are removed.
• The sequence showing the results of the "Kiss of the Dragon" on Richard's face is trimmed (we don't see the slow motion shot and the close-up on his face after he falls to the floor).

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Connections

References Taxi (1998)

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Soundtracks

Adore You
(Lisa Barbuscia (as L. Barbuscia) / I. Faith)
Performed by Lisa Barbuscia
Published by Copyright Control (PRS) / Farren Music (BMI)
Produced by ELICIT (Rob Hoffman & Heather Holley) & Ian Faith
Courtesy of Blossom Recordings

User Reviews

Bruce Lee nostalgia

I was hoping this movie to be better than 'Romeo Must Die' and I was not disappointed. I truly believe this is Jet Li's English coming out movie (too bad it was released in the summer when other bigger movies come out).

I did not go to see the movie for the story line and those who don't won't be disappointed either. The action was great especially the final scenes. Bridget Fonda did not do much (found her irritating in some scenes) but then again, did not watch the movie because she was there.

Believable, maybe not ... Jet Li as the new Bruce Lee, most definitely!

8/10

Details

Country:

France USA

Language:

English French Mandarin

Release Date:

6 July 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

KOD: Kiss of the Dragon

Filming Locations:

France

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$13,304,027, 8 July 2001

Gross USA:

$36,845,124

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$64,437,847

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox, EuropaCorp, Quality Growth International Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1