KISS OF THE DRAGON (2001)

MORGAN'S RATING

Action superstar Jet Li and internationally acclaimed filmmaker Luc Besson join forces on the acquisition Kiss of the Dragon. This thriller revolves around a Chinese intelligence officer who goes to Paris on assignment, and becomes embroiled in a deadly conspiracy.

Jet Li (Liu Jian), Bridget Fonda (Jessica), Tcheky Karyo (Jean-Pierre Richard), Ric Young (Mister Big), Burt Kwouk (Uncle Tai), Laurence Ashley (Aia), Cyril Raffaelli (Twin), Didier Azoulay (Twin), John Forgeham (Max), Paul Barrett (Pilot), Max Ryan (Lupo), Colin Prince (Lupo's Assistant), Vincent Glo (Pluto), Vincent Wong (Minister Tang), Kentaro (Chen), Stephane Jacquot (Richard's Right Hand Man), Stefan Nelet (Tang's Assistant), Peter Sakon Lee (Tang's Assistant), isabelle Duhauvelle (Isabel), Yannick Derrien (Bodysearch Boss), Francesca Disca (Red Hair Hooker), Taira (Fat Hooker), David Gaibson (French Minister), Bertrand Waintrop (Customs Official), Alain Zef (Video Technician), Nicolas Herault (Video Tech), Jean-Marc Huber (FatThug), Franck Tiozzo (Thug), John Maczko (Thug), Claude Brecourt (Concierge), Jean-Georges Vongerichten (Barman), Francois Nguyen (Chinese Bodyguard), Jocelyne Isaac (Subway Agent).

KISS FEAR GOODBYE!

PRODUCTION INFORMATION

DIRECTOR: Chris Nahon. WRITERS: Jet Li, Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen. PRODUCERS: Luc Besson, Jet Li, Steve Chasman and Happy Walters. CO-PRODUCER: Bernard Grenet. ORIGINAL MUSIC: Craig Armstrong, Chino XL and Thomas Bangalter (song). DISTRIBUTORS: 20th Century Fox.

QUOTES

Richard: There is a time for diplomacy and a time for action. Diplomacy is dead.

CRITICAL COMMENTS

"Kiss of the Dragon will probably please hard-core action fans who have become inured to plot idiocies, but it remains a terrible waste of talent." -- Andy Klein, New Times Los Angeles

FACTS

RELEASE DATE: July 6th, 2001 (USA) DVD RELEASE DATE: January 22nd, 2002 (USA) BOX OFFICE OPENING: $13.3 million (USA) BOX OFFICE RESULT: $36.8 million (USA) BUDGET: $25 million (USA) SHOOTING DATES: September 2000 -- January 2001 - The "Kiss of the Dragon" that Jet Li uses in the film is an actual acupuncture technique that can kill a person if placed correctly. However, the real name is different and kept secret by many acupuncturists. - At the orphanage, Jessica's daughter is listed as Isabel Kamen. Isabel is the real first name of the girl who played the daughter and Kamen in the last name of the film's writer, Robert Mark Kamen.

"What goes on when Li isn't fighting the bad guys isn't worth discussing; it's that stupid. But it will erase any lingering doubts about why Li has catapulted so high so soon." -- Jay Carr, Boston Globe

"You, the average taxpaying citizen, need to see this movie like Bill Gates needs to win the lottery." -- Cody Clark, Mr. Showbiz

"Seeing this movie won't get you into MIT, but it's passable fun and all wrapped up in 95 minutes -- a mere smooch compared to a lot of movies these days." -- Mike Clark, USA Today

"I like the movie on a simple physical level. There is no deeper meaning and no higher skill involved; just professional action, well-staged and filmed with a certain stylistic elegance." -- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun Times

"Li jumps into a series of martial arts sequences of flying fists and balletic moves that truly reinvigorate a genre that has gone stale even in Asia." -- Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter

"The characters in Kiss of the Dragon are more cardboard than usual for an action movie." -- Robert K. Elder, Chicago Tribune

"Mr. Lee will come out of Kiss of the Dragon smelling like a rose; the combat couldn't be better. But next time around, he should leave the script to more capable hands." -- Elvis Mitchell, New York Times

"Kiss of the Dragon does have a sense of its own absurdity, but that doesn't prevent it from cloaking the inherently comic kung-fu genre in a seriousness so solemn that it could be French." -- Mark Jenkins, Washington Post

"It will separate hard-core Jet Li followers from the fair-weather fans." -- Bob Graham, San Francisco Chronicle