Release Date:
Friday, July 6, 2001
Thank you, Jet Li. We are so happy that you took the initiative and stopped using wire-fighting techniques in your latest, Kiss of the Dragon. While the idea of anti-gravity kung-fu works in certain instances (like the computer fantasy world of The Matrix or the fairy tale days of yore in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), it became tired faster than you can say Whassup? In KOD, Li gets down and dirty, while kicking the sweet fromage out of a bunch of villainous Frenchmen.
KOD is not entirely cliché-free (witness Bridget Fondas hooker with a heart of gold), but the influence of producer Luc Besson (director of La Femme Nikita, The Professional, and The Fifth Element) turns a routine chop-socky film into something more stylish. Li plays a Chinese special agent who gets double-crossed by a team of French cops (led by Tchéky Karyo, slowly becoming one of the all-time best screen villains) and has to fight his way through a trumped-up murder charge while also protecting a prostitute (Fonda) who is trying to rescue her daughter. Like all movies of this kind, the fight scenes make the film, despite some slow parts. The payoff: a bone-crunching, climactic showdown between Li and a pair of bleach-blonde thugs (picture a hipper version of Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdomes Master Blaster). KOD rocks because Li keeps it real.
KOD is not entirely cliché-free (witness Bridget Fondas hooker with a heart of gold), but the influence of producer Luc Besson (director of La Femme Nikita, The Professional, and The Fifth Element) turns a routine chop-socky film into something more stylish. Li plays a Chinese special agent who gets double-crossed by a team of French cops (led by Tchéky Karyo, slowly becoming one of the all-time best screen villains) and has to fight his way through a trumped-up murder charge while also protecting a prostitute (Fonda) who is trying to rescue her daughter. Like all movies of this kind, the fight scenes make the film, despite some slow parts. The payoff: a bone-crunching, climactic showdown between Li and a pair of bleach-blonde thugs (picture a hipper version of Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdomes Master Blaster). KOD rocks because Li keeps it real.