# Romeo Must Die (2000)

### reviewed by
Alex Ioshpe

DIRECTED BY: Andrzej Bartkowiak WRITTEN BY: Eric Bernt (I) and Mitchell Kapner CAST: Jet Li, Aalyah, Delroy Lindo, DMX

MPAA: Rated R for violence, some language and brief nudity. Runtime: USA:115

    RATING: 4/10

    "Modernization must die"

In our time. In our modern world, where the cool rule, it's hard to imagine that Shakespeare is becoming 'the man'. And yet - film after film, after film, is based on his everlasting magic. In Warner Brothers' latest production, Shakespeare is kicking ass to a rap beat, while his magic and intelligence slowly fades away.

Though the producers of The Matrix have vaguely based their picture on William Shakespeare's 'Romeo And Juliet' , its title sequence with a frightening rap song and a black limo making its way through the dark streets of New York, is very hard to associate with Shakespeare's poetry. The film takes place during a silent war between the two major mafia families in the city - the Afro Americans against the Chinese. The youngest son of a Chinese mafia chieftain is found murdered. The Afro-Americans are immediately suspected, but a peace treaty is signed between the two godfathers. It is at this point that Han (the Romeo of the story) finds out about his brother's death. Escaping from a prison in China, he returns to United States to avenge his brother's fate. But before he can restore justice with his Kung Fu kicks, he falls in love with a mysterious beauty. The only problem is that she is the daughter of his enemy..

There's only a weak echo of Shakespeare's talent in this disappointing production. And there are more problems besides its title. Of course we don't call it a deformation of a great masterpiece. We call it 'modernization'. It seems that the producers fear that the audience will not respond to lyrics, without any car chases and gun fights. This lack of respect for the audience I find very disturbing. Kenneth Brannagh has already proven that Shakespeare doesn't need to be updated, because his tales are grounded in the basics of life and human nature. And as long as love, hate, honesty and corruption do exist, everyone will understand and embrace Shakespeare. I must admit that I found 'Rome Must Die' very confusing. I can forgive Andrzej Bartkowiak, since it is his first attempt at directing. He manages to create an incredible atmosphere and directs with a firm precision. Unfortunately he completely forgot about character- and story developments. His latest picture is therefore visually impressive, but intellectually hollow. The love story between Han (Jet Li) and Trish (Aalyah), and the mafia intrigues are undeveloped and simplified. Jet Li is one of the most amazing fighters to ever hit the silver screen and Aalyah has a magical voice. Their achievement save this film from being completely braindead, but they are not actors, and therefore can not act. They are nothing more than two celebrities put together. The other actors, including Isaiah Washington, Russell Wong, Henry O and DMX all give the standard mediocre performances. Delroy Lindo is the only one that projects a coherent image of reality. But there's more than acting to worry about. Even with Li's incredible skills in martial arts, the action scenes (though technically excellent) are too long and story updates simply embarrassing. To make a long story short: 'Romeo Must Die' is not intelligent enough to be a thriller, not sensual enough to be a love story and too serious to be a fun action film. It is certain that Bartkowiak would be much better off with o this embarrassing and completely unnecessary parallel to 'Romeo and Juliet', so the film is completely stuck - not sure of what to be. And in the end it's nothing. There are no performances worthy of notice, no interesting character- or story surprises. So again, the only good thing about it is its technical achievement. This film can boast of great sound, fast paced editing, solid cinematography and some very well coordinated action sequences. The music is another factor that prevents you from leaving the theatre. It is mostly provided by Aalyah's enchanting voice and several carefully inserted rap songs by various artists, that create a kind of 'ghetto feel' to it. But when I think back, it's not much I remember from this 'production'. As in almost every summer movie, there are some interesting scenes, but most of the moments that I remember are associated with massive special effects. It is not a film that will get any attention for its artistic qualities, simply because it doesn't have any. For someone who has never read Shakespeare, it's another popcorn film. For those of us who has, it's a waste of money, time and brain cells.

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