Romeo Must Die | |
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Theatrical release poster
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Directed by | Andrzej Bartkowiak |
Produced by |
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Screenplay by |
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Story by | Mitchell Kapner |
Starring | |
Music by | |
Cinematography | Glen MacPherson |
Edited by | Derek G. Brechin |
Production
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Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date
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Running time
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115 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $25 million |
Box office | $91 million |
Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | |
Robert Christgau | A– |
Entertainment Weekly | A– |
Mixmag | |
Q |
Romeo Must Die is a 2000 American action film directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak in his directorial debut, and also fight choreography by Corey Yuen, and starring Jet Li and Aaliyah. The film was released in the United States on March 22, 2000. In the film, a Chinese former police officer travels to the United States in order to avenge his brother's death. He also falls in love with a rival mobster's beautiful daughter and they are struggling together against both the Chinese and the American mobs. It is considered Jet Li's breakout role in the English speaking American film industry.
The film's plot is loosely related to William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, but the feuding families are respectively black and Chinese. The film's setting is Oakland, California, but other than a few establishing shots, film production was entirely in Vancouver, British Columbia. This film was the acting debut of R&B singer Aaliyah. Romeo Must Die was released on March 22, 2000. The film grossed $91 million against a production budget of $25 million.
Po Sing (Jon Kit Lee) is waiting for someone in a club in a predominantly African American neighborhood when a group of angry patrons try to start a fight with him. His father's right-hand man Kai (Russell Wong) and his Asian henchmen pull Po out of the club after a brief fight with the bouncers before the meeting can take place. The next day, Po is found murdered. Word of Po's death reaches his brother, Han (Jet Li), a former police officer who is imprisoned in Hong Kong. Han promptly escapes from the prison to investigate.