The film has two feuding families - one African-American, the other Asian - battling for control of a lucrative waterfront property that is central to a real estate deal. When one of the Asian family members is murdered, the man's brother Han (Jet Li) comes from Hong Kong to avenge the death. He promptly meets and falls in love with the daughter (R&B singer Aaliyah) of the African-American patriarch (Delroy Lindo). The inter-familial battle rages around them with more deaths occurring, threatening to tear the couple apart. By the way, you know that ending to "Romeo & Juliet" - the one where they both kill themselves? Well, Romeo Must Die changes all that in favor of an ending in which Han breaks a bad guy's spine. (I am certain that the Bard would have chosen that ending too if he'd thought of it.)

Jet Li doth kicketh some butt in Romeo Must Die

I have long been fascinated with the infamous Hong Kong style of action, and I was looking forward to Romeo Must Die. As he showed playing the villain in Lethal Weapon 4, Jet Li has major charisma on screen. There is an intensity to his persona that makes him credible as either a heinous villain or a determined hero. He knows how to fight, too. Unlike the comic antics of Jackie Chan, Li's fight scenes are often brutal, reminding us that martial arts are as deadly as they are balletic.

The problem is that Romeo Must Die doesn't give him much to do. Too much time is devoted to the squabbling families, leaving Li only about 1/4 of the film in which to appear. When he does come on screen, the action is well-staged. I particularly like the film's technique of turning the image into an X-ray whenever Han delivers an especially nasty bone-breaking hit. Although great fun, there aren't enough of the action scenes.

As for the screenplay, it is simultaneously overcomplicated and underdeveloped. Some of the things that happen in the real estate deal are not clearly explained, which just led me to confusion. I think that if the filmmakers were going to devote so much time to this plotline, they needed to clarify it in their own minds. As it stands, the families are developed enough to detract from the movie's action but not developed enough to make the audience care about them.

Jet Li clearly has a future in American action movies, but he needs one that lets him do what he does best. Romeo Must Die isn't it. In its story structure and characterization, the film is no better than your garden variety Steven Seagal movie. Jet Li - and martial arts fans everywhere - deserve better.

( out of four)

Romeo Must Die is rated R for violence and profanity. The running time is 1 hour and 52 minutes.