Agreement:95% of 241 voters agree with Sgt. T's reviews Gender: Male Location: Jackson,MS.
Bio: Born and raised in Chicago, a former Military Police Officer. Now a MS. State Capitol Police Officer. Hobbies include viewing and collecting martial arts films. Reading, weight training, and jogging.
Once again Joel Silver's mind melds hip-hop and martial arts with another mindless action/adventure. And guess what: the film as a whole was entertaining. For all lovers of Jet Li's HK-produced films, this is not for you.
Jet Li stars as a Taiwanese agent charged with recovering some stolen black diamonds that are actually tiny plutonium-charged weapons of mass destruction. They were illegally brought to the U.S. by Mark Dacascos's go between, but were soon stolen in a diamond robbery by DMX and his gang of specialists. What ensues is a double cross, kidnapping, and mayhem as all principal players chase after the black diamonds.
like "Romeo Must Die", the great supporting cast makes the movie. Tom Arnold and Anthony Anderson provide the comic relief. Gabrielle "Bring It On" Union and Kelly Hu supply the looks, and a good cat fight. Jet Li goes up against a midget emcee and some Ultimate Fighters such as T. Ortiz, R. Coulture, and C. Liddell in a great cage match. DMX has a great car chase scene, and of course Jet and Mark Dacascos square off in the grand finale.
Like all movies, there are things that do not work. My main complaint is that Jet Li and Mark Dacascos are limited by the script when it comes to showing off their fighting skills. However, this is a Joel Silver action movie and not an HK production showcasing martial arts. If you view this movie without expectations of martial arts action around every corner you may like it.
Recommended for Joel Silver action fans, Jet Li completists only, and hip-hop/blaxploitation fans!
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READER COMMENTS
AUTHOR
N
You have to be kidding me. The final fight wasn't straight. I don't need to see 3 fights going on at once. It's dumb and why I hate most Hollywood action films. All actors are horrible, the story is lame... this movie is just plain god awful.
"Lethal Weapon 4" was produced by Joel Silver, with choreography by Corey Yuen Kwai, and stars Jet Li going up against Glover and Gibson. Now Joel Silver uses Jet Li as his lead actor in "Romeo Must Die", after his introduction to your everyday western audiences who may have not seen any of Jet Li's HK productions. Jet stars as an ex-cop that escapes prison in China in order to investigate his brother's murder. This leads him to America, where he must find the answers as his father's gang is embroiled in a war with Delroy Lindo's
gang. Asians versus African-Americans with a hip-hop atmosphere! Very ambitious.
I actually enjoyed the film as a whole. Some of what Silver was shooting for worked and some things didn't. I thought the talented supporting cast did an excellent job in this film. Aaliyah in her first acting role was cute and funny. Isaiah "Drum Line" Washington turned in a convincing portrayal as Delroy Lindo's right hand man. Anthony Anderson was the comic relief, and Russell Wong was an excellent gang lieutenant for the Asian gang headed by Jet's father. I even liked DMX's line about guns don't kill, people do. What did not work was the limited use of Jet Li's fighting ability in the film. The x-ray sequences of breaking bones were annoying, but I guess if it worked in Sonny Chiba's "Street Fighter", why not here? I also thought the growing relationship between Jet and Aaliyah could have developed more. They could have at least let the man kiss her! Jet did his best in his second English-speaking role but he did seem limited by the script and his command of the English language at the time of this film.
With all this said, the total package for the script was entertaining in this mix of hip-hop stars and martial arts. Recommended for hip-hop fans, Joel Silver action fans, and Jet Li completists only.
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READER COMMENTS
AUTHOR
N
Sorry Sarge, but I'm non-compliant. Aside from the hippity-hop garbage and uninspiring story, the film ultimately fails in the action. The sloppiest wire fu ever concieved and it made no sense to put it in a film of this nature. And the x-ray scenes suck!
Iron Man (product link) Action/Adventure / Science Fiction Growing up, I was an avid comic collector and martial arts movie junkie. In the seventies anything with superheroes was a must-see, especially live action movies. Finally with the technology of today, a good comic-based movie can be made. I thought "Iron Man" was pretty good. The movie was true to the comic material as much as possible, and the special effects were great.
Robert Downey, Jr. was born to play Tony Stark, and Gwyneth Paltrow was a good Pepper Potts. Not everyone enjoys comic-based movies, but for the last few years Hollywood has been cranking them out with franchising in mind. For me, whether they are good or bad, I'm enjoying the ride, because during my childhood comic-based movies were good/cheesy or horrible!
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READER COMMENTS
AUTHOR
Y
I'm with you all the way. This movie had good depth and excellent special effects. Robert Downey Jr. played it better then anyone else could have.
I'd like for once to have a Marvel comic movie that doesn't utilize the crappy dialouge "Wooo-hooo"! Sorry, Sgt. T I'm insubordinate to your review. this film was awful.
Clans Of Intrigue (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Chor Yuen directed feature based on a Ku Lung novel. This film stars Ti Lung as the legendary hero/thief Chu Liu Hsiang. We watch as Ti Lung tries to solve the mysterious murders of three clan chiefs. This is a good action movie with good swordplay and a great cast. The end left a lot to be desired, but this is still worth viewing.
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READER COMMENTS
AUTHOR
Y
yes, this film should of been 3.12 stars not 3 1/2.
Rated a little too high. Beginning was great but the ending was fatally flawed, as I was not brilliant enough to forecast the twist before Ti Lung even uttered his first lines of dialogue.
Shaolin And Wu Tang (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Good film starring Liu Chia Hui/Gordon Liu, and directed by Liu Chia Liang. Fans of Gordon Liu will enjoy this one. We have the basic revenge plot in which Gordon Liu becomes a Shaolin monk, however the twist is that his co-star Adam Cheng also becomes a Wu Tang monk.
Good frineds in the begining, these two are learning the title styles from their respective masters until tragedy strikes. The Prince, portrayed by villain supreme Wang Lung Wei, hatches a plot to learn both styles and see which is the best no matter who gets hurt! This leads to both stars joining the title monasteries, which in turn leads to a grand finale that demonstrates which style is the best.
A very good film, with good action sequences. Again highly recommended for all Gordon Liu fans.
I saw this such a long time ago that I can't add much - but how could anyone not like the three leads? Gordon Liu is a great fighter, Adam Cheng a convincing swordsman, and Wang Lung Wei among the finest villains.
Dragon Squad [2005] (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Considering the all-star cast, this film could have and should have been a lot better. I think the director tries to do a little too much with the characters. You have a crack team of police specialists, led by a reluctant Sammo Hung, going up a against a team of trained terrorists, led by Heo Jun-Ho and Michael Biehn. To me the director tries too hard to get the audience involved with the main characters of both groups. He uses a lot of slow motion and glitzy MTV-inspired flashbacks to tell the various stories of the characters. There is plenty of action but it could have been done better. The biggest bright spot is the acting of Heo Jun-Ho, and the two fight scenes with Sammo Hung! This and the uninspired scenes of Maggie Q as a sniper for the enemy, equal up to about three stars. Decent police drama that cannot quite pull all its pieces together.
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READER COMMENTS
AUTHOR
Y
I'm conflicted whether to give a Y or an N. The veteran Chinese performers are good (I can't say that of the American), but the younger are less than pale reflections of them. I don't like most of the models turned actors who confuse posing with acting.
SPL: Sha Po Lang (product link) Crime / Drama Pretty good police movie directed by Simon Yip and chorographed by Donnie Yen. This is a straightforward police drama in which Simon Yam tries to arrest triad boss Sammo Hung by any means, even if he has to tamper with the evidence! Sammo Hung steals the movie with his criminal portrayal of the family-oriented crime boss. The end fight between Sammo Hung and Donnie Yen ranks as one of the top ten best fights of all time captured on celluloid.
As you now Sgt T, I am a huge Sammo fan and I enjoyed every minute of his fight with Donnie. I think people overlook how tight the fight between Yen and Wu Jing in the alley was!
I agree with everything you said with one exception. I honestly feel that this is a five star perfect movie just for how well it handles its many themes.
Kung Fu Hellcats (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Great actioner starring Chen Kuan Tai, with fight choreography by Lau Kar Wing and Wong Pau Gei. Chen and four others help a general escape the clutches of a corrupt president, back to where his loyal forces wait in another province. Once there he can stage a revolution to topple the corrupt official. Good fight sequences throughout, especially the grand finale where our heroes fight a humongous Judo expert from Japan!
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I had a very hard time with this film. While I thought Chen Kuan Tai and Wang Chung were their normal fantastic selves, the other 'Hellcats' didn't have the fighting ability or the acting ability to really carry their roles well.
The Hot, The Cool And The Vicious [DOUBLE FEATURE 1] (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Very entertaining film starring Don Wong Tao and Tan Tao Liang. One of the better 2 on 1 fight sequences for its time. The campy performance by Tommy Lee as a hunchbacked villain is hilarious and makes getting this film worth the action and laughs.
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READER COMMENTS
AUTHOR
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I thought it was funny when Tan punch a chick in the face. It looked Looney Toonish. Otherwise this film is worthless.
I'm almost embarrassed that I liked this as much as I did. Tan Tao Liang is not a talented actor, but his legwork is very fine. Don Wong Tao is nearly as good a fighter, and a much better actor. It's very good cheese.
Sgt T, you and I agree on about 99% of the movies we've reviewed and once again I agree with you. My only complaint was that I wish Tommy Lee was in the movie more because I thought he played a great villain.
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