neumu [ cinematronic ]




	Kiss Of The Dragon
	Chris Nahon Jet Li, Bridget Fonda, Tcheky Karyo 2001 Special edition — in English, French, Chinese; widescreen; closed caption; English subtitles; audio commentary by director Chris Nolan and stars Jet Li and Bridget Fonda; Jet Li featurette; fight choreographer Cory Yuen featurette; martial arts demos; storyboard-to-film comparisons; production featurette; theatrical trailer.		The second attempt by Hong Kong martial-arts star Jet Li ("Once Upon a Time in China," "Black Mask") to crack the English-language market as a lead actor is a step up from his first shot, "Romeo Must Die." For starters, it's written by popular French action director Luc Besson ("The Fifth Element"), and the opening sequences are blasts of screen-ripping intensity, as a highly decorated Chinese cop on the trail of an international drug ring is set up to take the fall for a murder in a Paris hotel. But a few creatively choreographed fights promise more than the muddled movie eventually delivers. Li, a step slower than in his glory days, rises to most occasions. He faces off against a Parisian police captain (glowering Tcheky Karyo of Besson's "La Femme Nikita") and defends the questionable honor of an American junkie/hooker (Bridget Fonda) tangled up with the villains. Ultimately, the whole shebang sputters under the weight of its implausible plot and ludicrous dialogue.