In Oakland, San Francisco the streets are ruled by two rival gangs - the Chinese and the American Mafia.  When the son of the Chinese boss is brutally murdered, old wounds start to flare up.  Han Sing (Jet Li), the brother of the murdered man, is currently serving time in a Hong Kong jail but when he hears the terrible news he escapes and takes up the trail of the killers.  Arriving in San Francisco, Han accidentally runs into Trish O'Day (Aaliyah) and their is an instant attraction.  Unbeknownst to him though, she is the daughter of the leader of the American Mafia who Han believes to be the men behind his brother's murder.  Han and Trish decide to team up to find the real men behind the violence and attempt to unite the two families in peace.

Loosely based on Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet', 'Romeo Must Die' was Jet Li's first starring role after he appeared on the Hollywood scene in 'Lethal Weapon 4'.  The premise of combining a classic love story with kung fu shows potential and, with the right handling of the concept, could easily have proved to be a winner. Sadly though, it isn't quite as good as it could have been and the film never really manages to settle on a specific area of expertise.  As such, it flirts with the idea of being an all out action movie whilst attempting to explore a love story but the lack of depth in the characters (particularly the lesser ones) and shallow script leave it lingering somewhere in no man's land.

The fights in 'Romeo Must Die' lean heavily towards what is known in the fan community as 'Wire-Fu'.  This is a form of combining martial arts moves with wires to enhance the action sequences and is favoured by action choreographer Yuen Kwai.  When used in moderation it can be extremely successful, but sadly its use here borders on the extreme and leaves you wondering why Jet's natural talents are so blatantly ignored.  In numerous scenes it is easily possible to notice that a manoeuvre is being performed by an actor holding onto wires, so much so that his hands remain in the gripping position.  This aside though, there are still some decent fights to be found here which is normally the case when Jet is involved.  His Wu Shu stances and forms are second to none and it's nice that he doesn't get too restricted by the stereotypical Hollywood style of action, so hardcore fans should definitely still take note of 'Romeo Must Die'.

Even with the obvious criticisms, 'Romeo Must Die' still earns itself three stars because next to the competition it has to get extra marks for attempting something new combined with the Hong Kong style of action (even if it is taken a little too far here).  Jet fans should be sure to pick it up and casual viewers will no doubt enjoy the action so it remains a worthwhile purchase.