Jet Li has spent the last three years trying to become a star in the U.S. He is already a huge one in his native China, starring in acclaimed martial arts movies such as "Fist of Legend" and "The Enforcer."
But American success is harder to attain. Li shot to fame in 1998's "Lethal Weapon 4," stealing the show from both Mel Gibson and Danny Glover as the ruthless villain. That led to a leading role in last year's "Romeo Must Die," which was a modest success and a decent movie, but nothing to write home about.
In "Kiss of the Dragon," Li's latest, he attempts to make an old-fashioned martial arts epic that hearkens back to the classic films of his past. Li, who also produces and gets story credit, should be commended for effort. The movie, however, is another story.
After a strange opening that involves a bunch of rabbits licking and eating another dead rabbit, we meet Li's character, who later comes to be known as Johnny.
Johnny is a cop from Beijing visiting Paris at the request of his government. He is assisting the authorities in Paris as they arrest a wealthy Chinese businessman on drug charges. Johnny's superiors wanted their best man on the job, and he is that man.
The French police, led by Jean-Pierre Richard ("The Patriot's" Tchéky Karyo), have set up surveillance in a fancy hotel and plan on arresting the man there.
It turns out that Richard is crooked, though, and after killing the man himself and some innocent bystanders, he frames Johnny for his crimes. But Johnny has the truth on videotape, so he must try to elude Richard and his men in Paris, clear his name and reveal the facts.
Tagging along with Johnny is a prostitute named Jessica (Bridget Fonda), who is the typical hooker with a heart of gold character only found in the movies. She was reluctantly working with Richard to get her young daughter back and teams up with Johnny after he tells her the truth.
The script, by Luc Besson (director of "The Professional") and Robert Mark Kamen (writer of "Lethal Weapon 3") could not possibly be any more conventional and predictable. Every character is a cliche and you can guess everything that happens before it does, right down to the ending. Like every other movie this summer, there is not a hint of creativity in "Kiss of the Dragon."
The movie is also disarmingly misogynistic and gratuitously violent. Every female character, save for Jessica's daughter, is a drug-addicted hooker that is brutally beaten, brutally killed or both.
The young girl even has a loaded gun pointed at the back of her head near the end. People are blown in half, stabbed to death and shot to death. The killing never stops and it's all repulsive and unnecessary. This is violence just for violence's sake and it's abhorrent.
A few of the fight scenes are entertaining, and Li is an incredibly quick and agile, but they become repetitive and it's nothing you haven't seen before. "Kiss of the Dragon" is just another bad summer movie.
Grade: D
"Kiss of the Dragon" started Fri., July 6 at theaters everywhere.
