Directed by: Chris Nahon
Starring: Jet Li, Bridget Fonda, Tcheky Karyo, Cyril Raffaelli, Burt Kwouk, Didier Azoulay, and Max Ryan
Liu Jian (Jet Li) travels to Paris from his native China to
stop a drug kingpin and get to the bottom of his illegal doings in France. A
top cop in his home country, Liu utilizes his amazing Martial Arts abilities to
bring the baddies to justice. But he meets his match in the super-evil Richard
(Karyo), who commands an army of goons, who in turn keep a stable of his
prostitutes – all the while leading a double life as the head of the Vice Squad
in Paris.
As Liu tries to keep his bearings while in this foreign land, fighting Richard’s goons at every turn, he reluctantly teams up with one of his prostitutes, Jessica (Fonda) in the search for answers. It seems Richard is keeping Jessica’s daughter locked in an orphanage as leverage so she won’t spill the beans on his many, many illegal activities. His criminal empire seemed impenetrable…but he never had to contend with Liu Jian! Will justice be served, and will Jessica get her daughter back? Find out today…
As Liu tries to keep his bearings while in this foreign land, fighting Richard’s goons at every turn, he reluctantly teams up with one of his prostitutes, Jessica (Fonda) in the search for answers. It seems Richard is keeping Jessica’s daughter locked in an orphanage as leverage so she won’t spill the beans on his many, many illegal activities. His criminal empire seemed impenetrable…but he never had to contend with Liu Jian! Will justice be served, and will Jessica get her daughter back? Find out today…
Kiss of the Dragon is fast-paced fun, with a lot of the
typically-excellent Martial Arts Jet Li is known for. It has a lot of lively,
quick fights and is loaded with very impressive stunts. It’s all very cool and
slick. It has a nice, professional look and has tons of action – as well as a
likable hero and a very evil baddie. Just those things alone put it head and
shoulders above a lot of other movies of this kind. There is minimal CGI and
wirework – it’s mostly all-real fights (with a couple of exceptions, of
course). We appreciated the idea of Liu’s “acupuncture bracelet”, and the fact
that he has some knock-down, drag-out fights with guys that resemble Street
Fighter characters Guile and Balrog. The Guile guy is even seen reading a
“Where’s Waldo?” book at one point. We know this came out in 2001, but if
that’s not 90’s, we don’t know what is.
Another thing we noticed was that in the scene where Liu and Jessica go to the orphanage, the floor and room number where the daughter can be found is “B13”. District B13 (2004) is also a France-set Martial Arts extravaganza, and a Luc Besson production. This must have some significance to him. It was just a little thing we noticed.
Kiss of the Dragon is an entertaining ride that is well worth watching. The great Jet Li is in top form and a pleasant time will be had by all who view it.
Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett