Kiss Of The Dragon [HD]

Li and Fonda shine in this plot-driven action thriller
I find myself finally indulging my long-nascent love for martial arts movies, and this road has taken me rather directly from Bruce Lee and the Bruceploitation films of the 70s and early 80s to Jet Li, whom I consider to be the most worthy successor to Bruce Lee working today. I won't even compare him to the Dragon because he is definitely his own man, one steeply trained in both the physical and philosophical ways of the martial arts. He has a compact yet powerful, no-nonsense approach to his fight scenes, and what you get is pretty much the real deal - no invisible cables, no stuntman, no fakery, and most importantly no cheesiness. Kiss of the Dragon is my first Jet Li film, and I am glad to say that I was in no way disappointed. There may not be as much fighting in this film as you might find elsewhere, but this is by no means a bad thing. This film revolves around the story and main characters, and the forging of such a strong plot- makes the fight scenes, when they come, all...

Solid!
This is the movie that turned me onto Jet Li. Still to this day, I say this is his best movie. Jet has done around 30 films, mostly overseas, but none have displayed the perfect combination of story and action. Jet's remake of Bruce Lee's "Fist of Fury" ("Fist of Legend") has superb straightforward martial arts, but the story pales in comparison to "Kiss." "My Father Is A Hero" had a nice story, but it could have used a few more fight scenes to spruce it up, plus the main villain was cheesy sporting a pair of sunglasses. The recent "Hero" (Not the "Father is my Hero"), well...was beautiful, but was more of an art/fantasy film. "Kiss" is raw and a "heavy-subtle" that balances nicely.

The fight scenes are incredible and full of impact. The story, which carries a very dark tone, never lags. You really feel a sense of hatred towards the main villain and feel for the prostitute. Finally, a martial arts movie where the story isn't ridiculous. There are occasional...

WOW, a martial arts movie without wire-works
I decided to see this movie when it came out expecting to see what I saw in the usual Jet Li movies, wire-works (some of you kung-fu movie watchers know what I am talking about, but if you don't, wire-works is when the actor or stunt man is suspended in air or swinging on a cable performing unusual fighting moves). Wire-works are cute, but I do not like them because they are slow and take me away from the action most of the time. This movie HAS NO WIRE WORKS in the action sequences. I was so happy, finally a martial arts movie for the new millennium not caught into the new-old trend to hit Hollywood. The martial arts scenes are fast, rough, brutal, and are simply what Bruce Lee fans want to see. There was a fight scene Jet Li had in a dojo that reminded me of Chinese Connection a.k.a. "Fist of Fury".

The story was not bad; it was good for a martial arts action movie. Personally I would have made the movie a bit longer (like 10 or 20 minutes) to make sure people know...

Click to Editorial Reviews