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Romeo Must Die
Warner Bros.


6.3

based on 27 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 13 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

FILM:

MPAA RATING: R for violence, some language and brief nudity

Starring Jet Li, Isaiah Washington, Russell Wong, Aaliyah, Delroy Lindo, and DMX

Loosely based on Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," this crime plot features Jet Li as an emprisoned son of a Chinese crime family who escapes his Hong Kong prison and flees to Oakland to avenge the death of his brother who is killed by the rival black crime family. Both families become involved in competing corrupt schemes to finance the building of a waterfront football stadium.

GENRE(S):	Romance
WRITTEN BY:	Mitchell Kapner (story) Eric Bernt John Jarrell
DIRECTED BY:	Andrzej Bartkowiak
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: August 1, 2000 Video: August 1, 2000 Theatrical: March 22, 2000
RUNNING TIME:	115 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

Has a great look and an edgy feel, along with some broad swaths of humor.

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

This is not for the Merchant-Ivory crowd, but action fans will feel their pulses quicken.

LA Weekly Ernest Hardy

Doesn't even come close to being a good movie, but it is a lot of fun.

Dallas Observer Luke Y. Thompson

May not have the best script in the world, but it brings Jet Li to the big screen in a way that all action junkies, not just the video-store geeks, will appreciate.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

Who needs iambic pentameter when you have Jet Li around?

TNT RoughCut Ryon Justin Horne

Although Romeo Must Die sets new standards for action films, the action drowns to a predictable and ridiculous plot.

Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir

A canny, ingeniously crafted guilty pleasure.

Film.com Sean Means

The gravity-defying harness maneuvers popularized in the U.S. with "The Matrix" -- ... look really cool, but seem out of place in a realistic gang-style action movie.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

Doesn't take advantage of its own possibilities, either as a hard-boiled gangland battle or as a soft-boiled, interracial Shakespearean love story.

USA Today Susan Wloszczyna

A plodding, play-it-safe rendition of "The Family Feud."

Boston Globe Jay Carr

The reason to sit through its uninspired, formulaic moves, however, is its half-dozen spectacular fight sequences.

Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector

The hinted romance, featuring Aaliyah, makes for some decent drama and some fine comedy.

Time Richard Corliss

Doesn't touch (Li's Hong Kong movies). But it is trying something clever.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

In fact, when not kicking butt, (Li)'s kind of a blank spot in the center of the screen.

Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan

Based on "Romeo and Juliet" the way a martini is "based" on vermouth.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

Aspires to rise above the conventional drugs-and-action genre and succeeds about half the time.

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

Just don't think about what's going on, and you should be OK.

San Francisco Chronicle Bob Graham

Li is a phenomenon.

The New York Times A.O. Scott

Sadly, if this movie was a fight, they'd have stopped it.

Mr. Showbiz Kevin Maynard

Li's light touch and explosive fighting skills deserve a better vehicle than this overcooked pot of New Jack suey.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

To be fair, the film is trash and doesn't aspire to very much, but it's bad trash -- inept -- and that really isn't forgivable.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

The fight scenes are splendidly choreographed...but they're shot in that grating, thoroughly American flashcut style that leaves you wondering just who the hell is hitting who.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

Then there's the utter lack of sexual chemistry between Li and Aaliyah, sucking all the urgency out of the relationship between the star-crossed lovers.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

(Li)'s scenes are so clearly computer-aided that his moves are about as impressive as Bugs Bunny doing the same.

San Francisco Examiner Wesley Morris

Between fights, the film can't even rely on the luxury of Lindo, Isaiah Washington, Russell Wong, Rottweiler rapper DMX or the scary Henry O as Han's father to make it watchable - the dialogue is wreaking more havoc than Li.

Village Voice Dennis Lim

The wall-to-wall rap score is as kinetic as the acrobatic fight choreography, and nothing else matters.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

So needlessly convoluted, so crammed with subplots within subplots, it simply forgets about its gangland "Romeo & Juliet" premise.

The average user rating for this movie is 6.3 (out of 10) based on 13 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Lyan H. gave it a10:
forget the critics this movie was great. It had a perfect balance of action, drama and romance and I believe Aaliyah did great to say this is her first film.

Jim W. gave it a7:
The movie plot wa decen, but za computer grafics were of poo quality. I am ashamed to be asian and know that my fellow breathrens have so polly video ezited zis vizeo.

Hamsandwich gave it a0:
This movie was enjoyable if you are blind, deaf, and can't hear. You would find it interesting if you were temporarily unconcious or temporarily brain dead. The plot was less interesting than the paint drying behind the television T.V. set. There was no love in this, homey.

isaac j. gave it a10:
His a good actor..would i like to see is for him and jackie battle it out or team up with each other..i think they would make a awsome movie together...don't u think????

Jack D. gave it a 4:
Could have been so much more.

Elliott gave it a 1:
Mind-numbingly bad. Only the occasionally dazzling action scenes can save the film from the absolute lowest rating possible.

Dan F. gave it a 9:
It has excellent action with a surprisingly good plot, what else does there need to be?

Romeo Must Die Warner Bros.

Romeo Must Die
Warner Bros.