Kiss of the Dragon Review
by Tim Wick
I think I have figured out what is bothering me about this movie.
I really enjoy action films. A little butt-kicking can be a lot of fun
amidst the theatrical angst of a Moulin Rouge and the intelligent angst of
A.I. For this reason (and this reason alone), I have suffered through
such films as The Mummy Returns, Tomb Raider, and A Knights Tale in
vain hope that they might be something more than a waste of time and money.
Perhaps I am trying so hard to like Kiss of the Dragon because it is - at
least - better than the other three films I just mentioned.
Being better than a bad movie, however, hardly makes a film worth seeing.
Kiss of the Dragon really isn't a film worth seeing.
What is disturbing about modern film making is how quickly Hollywood can
assimilate - and ruin - a style that they know nothing about. In the case
of this film, the style I am talking about is Hong Kong martial arts films.
Despite casting Jet Li in the starring role, it manages to miss just about
every point that makes those films work.
Li, who wrote the story, gets more than his fair share of martial arts
scenes. Since his gun was taken away from him in the first few minutes, he
certainly can't shoot anyone, so he has to kick, punch and acupuncture them
into submission. I'm not really complaining about that. Giving Jet Li a
gun is kind of like giving Keanu Reeves lines to speak. It just doesn't
look natural.
Problem is, the director of this film (first timer Chris Nahon) has
apparently never seen a Jet Li film aside from the equally misguided Lethal
Weapon 4 and Romeo Must Die.
Hong Kong films have - for the most part - moronic plots. That's fine. You
aren't in the theatre to watch the plot - you are in the theatre to see a
bunch of guys get their butts handed to them by Jet Li, Michelle Yeoh or
Jackie Chan. The fights are elaborate and meticulously filmed. Why?
Because those are your money shots! That stuff in the reason the butts are
in the seats (at least the American butts).
Because the fight scenes are so elaborate, the last thing you want to do is
a bunch of quick cutting. You want to have the fight unfold with a few
camera angle changes as possible. The audience wants to see how much better
Jet Li is than an army of stuntmen. If he only throws a couple punches
before the camera angle changes, we all figure (rightly so) that we could
probably do that fight just as well as he did.
So far, the only American film that has understood the importance of
focusing on the action is The Matrix. Kiss of the Dragon is as inept at
the form as everyone else.
Now back to the plot, which is - as I said - not really relevant.
Well, that's a good thing. Tcheky Karyo plays the villainous police
lieutenant (or captain or sergeant or whatever the heck he was), Richard who
has it in for Jet Li. I'm not giving anything away here. The minute you
lay eyes on this guy you know he's not just evil - he's SUPER - EVIL. No
problem there - I'm cool with the uber evil bad guy. Problem is, I can't
figure out how this guy manages to stay on the police force given the number
of innocent bystanders he and his cronies gun down on an hourly basis.
After a while, you think someone would notice that there are a whole lot
more dead people when he's on the job.
Finally, we have Bridget Fonda as the American prostitute (oh, that's right,
the film takes place in Paris - as if that was important) who befriends Li.
Richard has her little girl, you see, so she has to work for him to get the
precious child back. Poor Fonda, and actress I typically enjoy, is forced
to deliver such lines as "My life is hell and Richard is the devil." Small
wonder she seems to be phoning in her part.
But this movie still could have worked. Plot holes, stupid dialogue and a
bad guy who was looking to move up on the all time meanest bad dude in a
movie list could easily have been forgiven if the fight scenes had been well
done.
But the sad fact is, they weren't.
I tried so hard to like this movie. I TRIED. When I walked out of the
theatre, I was thinking it was OK. As I thought about it, I realized that
given the competition this year has presented, I would have thought My
Dinner with Andre was a better action film.
Want a good Hong Kong action flick? You can rent at least two of Jet Li's
better stuff for the price of this movie. While you are at it, go ahead and
get Point of No Return to enjoy Bridget Fonda (yes, I KNOW the original
French version is better but I like this one too). I'll bring the popcorn.
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