Kiss of the Dragon

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Kiss of the Dragon

Kiss of the Dragon: Some good old-fashioned butt-kicking

At the dawn of the martial arts genre, one could always count on a hero who could be staring 25 opponents in the eye... then decide to stand his ground and fight them off. Over the years, the styles of movie-making within this genre have become more diverse thus giving us a wider range of entertainment which is a very good thing. Be it Jackie Chan's comedic kung-fu or the aesthetic gracefulness of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the martial arts genre has been steadily evolving. But that original martial arts hero mentioned before has been long-lost... until now. In Kiss of the Dragon, Jet Li brings back a tough-guy routine that reminds us why we liked those old movies so much.

The fight scenes which (let's face it) are why we're watching this movie, are very well choreographed. There is nothing held back as bones are breaking, necks are snapping, and teeth are flying. Jet Li reportedly received negative feedback from his previous movie Romeo Must Die. Apparently, fans were disappointed by the fight scenes saying they looked too fake and were not believable. Who can really jump 3 stories in the air right? But with Kiss of the Dragon, the wires are gone and it's Jet Li at his best. Particularly in a dojo scene which paid tribute to Bruce Lee's Chinese Connection. In this scene, Jet Li is in enemy territory when he stumbles upon a dojo filled with opponents waiting to get a piece of him. Of course he dives right in and takes them down with balladic grace. True to form, when reinforcements arrive, all they find are wounded karate students writhing in pain. Then there are the fights with the so called "sub-bosses" who have been standing in the background throughout movie ready to lay some hurt down. In Kiss of the Dragon these sub-bosses are 2 blonde muscle-heads with whom Jet Li tangles with simultaneously. This is the kind of thing that has not been seen since the old Bruce Lee movies and boy has it been missed. Overall, Jet Li succeeds in recreating a style that reflected the old school movies that we know and love.

The story... well... did anyone actually go to this movie to pay attention to the story? After seeing horrible plots for numerous Jean-Claude Van Damn and Steven Seagal movies, no one really expects a martial arts movie to have a good story. After all, it's always some guy who's avenging the death of his master, father, brother, or whoever. But the story for Kiss of the Dragon is actually pretty good considering the genre. A Chinese cop (Jet Li) is sent to France to help in an investigation. He is framed for a crime he did not commit by the same people he was sent there to help. He meets a prostitute (Bridget Fonda) who witnessed the crime and can clear his name. But the people who framed him are holding the prostitute's daughter. So before she can help him clear his name, he must help to get her daughter back. All throughout, the relationship between Jet Li and Bridget Fonda is being delicately played up so as not to make us gag. Except for a few awkwardly sappy moments, it's a success.

The main reason that this movie was so enjoyable was that it brought back memories of long-lost martial arts glory. A classic formula that pits the hero up against a pyramid of bad guys until he gets to the big boss. Not to say that all martial arts movies should all be done like this, but every once in a while would be nice.

-Tso