'Kiss of the Dragon' flaunts exciting fight

By Joko E.H. Anwar

Kiss of the Dragon **1/2 out of four stars; Action, 100 minutes; Starring Jet Li, Bridget Fonda, Tcheky Karyo; Directed by Chris Nahon; A 20th Century Fox release

JAKARTA (JP): What do we get when a martial art/action film starring Hong Kong leading man Jet Li is produced by well-known French director Luc Besson?

We get a mindless, high energy action film with plenty of exciting fight scenes, stuntwire-free.

Remember the time when you hated The Matrix for changing the way fight scenes should be? Gone were the days of realistic fight sequences, substituted by wire-assisted choreography and computer generated effects.

For a while, you found it cool to watch such sequences in The Matrix and several movies that followed, like Charlie's Angels and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon to name a few.

But then, frankly, we got tired of it. Especially when filmmakers think they can make people watch their films, no matter how bad they are, as long as they have The Matrix-like fight scenes, complete with the obligatory techno music soundtrack.

In Kiss of the Dragon, you will get the chance to once again see those real rib-crunching, head-crushing fight scenes. And somehow, you feel like you are home again.

Alright, there may be some use of invisible wire in the fighting scenes, only they are not the prime attraction here.

But first, audiences should be aware that Kiss of the Dragon is not your viewer-friendly Jackie Chan fare. It is definitely not a very good idea to bring your young children to see it since there is no toning down of violence, sometimes making this film too extreme to watch.

Kiss of the Dragon is also played straight which is different from Jackie Chan's recent entries. Certainly, there are a significant number of humorous moments in the film, but they do not come from the well-choreographed fight sequences, which are very brutal.

One thing that may make you scratch your head is the story. It is amazing how stupid the plot is considering Besson co-wrote it. And, do no expect an enjoyable plot like in The Fifth Element here.

Li plays a decorated Beijing supercop, Liu Jian, who is sent to France to investigate a Chinese drug lord.

He meets someone in a bar who instructs him to go to the men's toilet where he meets high-ranking French police official Richard (Tcheky Karyo).

Liu does not suspect anything devious about Richard, despite witnessing him have his bodyguards beat up some guys for no apparent reason.

The movie takes a twist when, during a surveillance operation, Richard enlists the help of two prostitutes -- one of them played by Bridget Fonda -- to frame Liu for murdering the drug lord.

Escaping the trap, Liu begins wandering the streets looking for a place to stay, making one start wondering why he does not just go to the Chinese embassy.

But noooo... he has to follow some clues which lead him to a train station where he gets a cell phone! Then, he decides to stay at his contact's place which happens to be on the street where Richard usually finds his prostitutes.

It is there that Liu meets the Bridget Fonda character, Jessica, who is not just a prostitute with a heart, but also an American whose daughter is held hostage by Richard in order to force her to do anything he wishes.

The funny thing is, it never crossed Richard's mind to get rid of Jessica, the only person who can clear Liu's name from the murder charge.

Sound stupid?

Fortunately, we get many exciting action sequences that help compensate for the poor plot logic, thanks to the film's action director Cory Yuen, one of Hong Kong's top stunt choreographers. He has succeeded in staging many dazzling action scenes.

Yuen is well-known for his work in a number of Hong Kong films, including Fist of Legend with Li, and also, as you probably knew, The Matrix and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

Jet Li is good at playing a man who does not speak very much, due to the language barrier. He certainly has the charisma for the leading role -- just like other Hong Kong imports such as Jackie Chan and the super cool Chow Yun-Fat. The vicious villain of Lethal Weapon IV turns into a very likable stranger here, showing off his incredibly athletic talents.

Bridget Fonda also gives an endearing performance as the prostitute. In a scene where Li has to slap her face to wake her up in the toilet and then apologizes for doing so, she lightly replies, "That's okay. I'm used to it."

For commercial director Chris Nahon, who is said to be a protege of Besson, this film is his feature debut.

Despite its shortcomings, Kiss of the Dragon still makes an entertaining, somewhat vicious film. Still, you will get the sense that the filmmakers have made a decision to go out and make a silly action film for adults to enjoy.

Thankfully, the film is aware of its shortcomings and never becomes pretentious.

So if the idea of watching an entertaining, violent film is your cup of tea, this is definitely for you.