Kiss of the Dragon (2001) - DVD Review

Film:
DVD:

Written by: Luc Besson & Robert Mark Kamen, based on a story by Jet Li
Directed by: Chris Nahon
Starring: Jet Li, Bridget Fonda, Tcheky Karyo, Ric Young, Burt Kwouk

Features:

• Audio commentary with Nahon, Li and Fonda
• Jet Li "Fighting Philosophy" featurette
• Fight Director Cory Yuen "Action Academy" featurette
• Police Gymnasium Fight: Martial Arts Demo
• "On the Set Action" featurette
• Storyboard to Scene Comparisons for "The Laundry Chute" and "The Orphanage"
• "Kiss of the Dragon" featurette
• Action Gallery Production Stills
• Theatrical Trailer
• TV Spots
• Theatrical Trailers for Behind Enemy Lines and Planet of the Apes

Released by: Fox
Region: 1
Rating: R
Anamorphic: Yes

My Advice: Avoid it.

It's a sad year when a French foreign language period piece (Brotherhood of the Wolf) is a better martial arts movie than a Jet Li endeavor. And Kiss had Luc Besson going for it! And was filmed in France! Coincidence? I think not. But seriously, this movie is unbelievably weak. Li put together the story for this, and it honestly feels like he just wrote down a grocery list of things he wanted to see happen in the film--whether it makes any sense or not. "I want to throw down with a gigantic, muscular black guy." Done. No idea where the guy came from, he just shows up and they fight. "I want to go up against twenty-five black belts." Done. Walk through a door and who should be conveniently practicing? Twenty-five guys with black belts!

After watching the film I was convinced that this used to be the feature film version of the video game Final Fight: villains show up and you pummel them. Sure, there's some plot about somebody being kidnapped, but no one remembers that--they remember kicking ass on a subway train. Same thing here: the Parisian police force is apparently completely corrupt--every single last one of them--and they can open fire with automatic weapons anywhere they want to within their jurisdiction. Amazing. Don't get me wrong--the fight sequences are good, but why even have the pretense of a plot if you're just going to make it preposterous?

Worst remake of The Hustler ever.

What's really sad is that this is actually a formidably loaded title in the DVD department. The commentary is of mild interest, but a little frustrating dealing with the accents of both Li and Nahon. Most amusing is the fact that Li and Fonda both talk about other projects, past and future, quite a bit when you'd think they'd be talking about this one. Also of note is that they both talk on the disc's extra features about how the story is important, good characters are important--neither of which exist in the film. Fonda apparently took the role script unseen--bet you she never pulls that stunt again.

The featurettes regarding Li go further into his love of story and plot, which is a head-scratcher in light of this film and Romeo Must Die. Some of the behind the scenes glimpses are fairly worthy as well, but I've got to tell you that the best part of this disc is the fact the production gallery stills automatically advance, as opposed to having to click the right arrow on your remote a hundred times.

If you're a huge fan of Jet Li films, you might want to be a completist and own this. But a slew of moderately interesting features can't save a very laughable flick. Everyone else should flee.

• Click here to buy it from Amazon.
• Click here to buy it on Blu-Ray from Amazon.
• Click here to buy other, perhaps better, Jet Li stuff from Amazon.