Romeo Must Die, 2000

William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is one of the famous romantic plays in drama. It depicts romance in its purest form and has wonderfully written characters and more wonderful scenes. The play has been an inspiration to many stories and plays. In fact, there is a genre in film that takes this play and places it in modern times. Today’s film takes the basic ingredients of the Shakespearean play and uses it to create its own unique story. Romeo Must Die is a film made in 2000, and it started Jet Li and Aaliyah, with Isiah Washington, Delroy Lindo, Anthony Anderson, and Russel Wong.

The film revolves around Hang Sing, played by Li, investigating the murder of his brother while trying to survive a turf war between the Asian and the African American gangs. 

The Shakespeare link

As the title suggests, Romeo Must Die is inspired by Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. With Han and Tish O Day, played by Aaliyah, are stand-ins for Romeo and Juliet, The Asian and African American gangs are a representation of the Montagues and the Capulets, with the settings moved from Verona to Oakland, California.

But besides this, and even with these two similarities, the film still has its own identity and charm. The idea of two lovers from two opposing families has been used as a basis for a story before, an example of that would be James Camron’s Avatar. And just like how it manages to distinguish itself with its unique settings and visuals, Romeo Must Die distinguishes itself with its’ story and characters, but embraces the connection to the Shakespearean play.

About the film

While the film doesn't have any themes that it tackles heavily, it does play around with some ideas. The first is family, as it shows us the state of the O’Day family and the Sing family and how dysfunctional they are despite that they care for one another. The other idea is gang war and how it affects the families involved, as each of the families suffers the loss of one of their family members. The last idea is the racial tension between the Asians and the African Americans, as this is one of the main reasons for the conflict between the two groups. While some can say that this is also a similarity to Romeo and Juliet, as both the Montagues and the Capulets hated each other, I’m hesitant to call this a similarity, because other films have used this rivalry.

I also can see the arguments that some might give that these are themes, but I hesitate to call them that. I would say that they are plot elements rather than themes because these ideas have a bigger impact on the plot rather than sending a message.

The main plot is simple and follows a linear path. There are subplots, but like the main one they also follow a linear path and they are easy to follow.

The film’s mystery is nicely thought off and is very intriguing and manages to involve all the main characters without being overly complicated. The dialogue is well-written and coherent, and the jokes are funny and nicely thought out. The film also uses the Chinese language in some of its scenes. This use increases the strength of the dialogue and the character’s identity in the film. And despite the main plot and subplots solving themselves in the third act, the film still manages to throw a nice twist at the end that makes watching the film worthwhile. The romance between Han and Tish in the film is extremely simple and yet very charming. It replaces the usual romantic scenes with funny and charming interactions that hint at a romantic connection. And while it’s not as intense as James Cameron’s Titanic or even similar to the play it's inspired by, the simple romance fits this film perfectly because the main priority is action. The film uses its soundtrack, sung by Aaliyah herself, to improve some scenes, one wonderful scene that comes to mind is the dancing scene with Han and Tish at the end of the second act and the start of the third act. 

The action scenes are very well executed. Jet Li does a phenomenal job in these fights, and so do the other actors, including Russel Wong and Anthony Anderson. The camera work is also nicely done, as it manages to follow the action without any trouble, the film also has a unique feature of showing an x-ray of how impactful the punch or kick is. The film doesn't overuse this feature, which I think is the right move as it will overshadow the actual fights and might get boring if they were overused. It also has a slow-motion feature that it uses frequently, but this feature manages to match the normal shots and complement them rather than working against them. The regular scenes are also nicely shot. For the most part, the film doesn't hide that it is a film from the year 2000, as all the angles of the camerawork from both the action scenes and dramatic scenes look like they are a work from that time frame, these angles and camera work, as well as the feeling they create, will become a stable in most of Jet li and other films from the 2000s. They aren’t something special, but rather a stable of cinema from that period. There are however some shots that look like they were shot from Days of Thunder or Melrose Palace, works from the 90’s. They aren’t bothersome, but rather they add to the film’s charm. I would go on to say that Romeo Must Die is a sign of the changing of the guard in terms of how films are made, a film that sends its goodbye to the 90s and welcomes the new millennium.

Notable performances in the film besides Li and Aaliyah that stand out are Isiah Washington as Mac, Delroy Lindo as Isaak O Day, and finally, the magnificent Anthony Anderson as Maurice, who does an outstanding performance as the comic relief.

Final thoughts

Romeo Must Die is an action comedy film with a hint of romance and a hint of mystery. It is a film made in the year 2000, and it clearly shows and doesn't shy away from that, and that's not a bad thing. The film is slightly inspired by Romeo and Juliet but manages to carve its own story and separate itself from Shakespeare’s work while paying homage to him. It is a charming film that kept me intrigued by its simple yet enjoyable story, its wonderful characters, and its funny, dramatic, and exciting scenes. And while some of the things in this film would be replicated in some films that come after it, it still manages to give a good watch. I gave this film 3.5 out of 5.