Romeo Must Die

REVIEW
Martial arts superstar Li gets his first Hollywood starring vehicle, and, despite some good actions scenes, this convoluted actioner doesn't capture the excitement of his Hong Kong works. Li is a gangster's son who falls for a rival gangster's daughter (Aaliyah) and gets caught up in gangland rivalries on the Oakland docks. Way too long, Romeo Must Die is packed with lesser hip hop and R&B music, making it just a trendy time-killer. Some of the action scenes are impressive, and Li's stuntwork is amazing, but the wirework is obvious and badly used, and, for some reason, some genius thought to enhance Li's astonishing physical abilities with CGI effects. Lindo adds class to the project, but this is for die-hard Li fans only.