Review – Kiss of the Dragon

Despite a couple of shaky spots, this formulaic martial arts flick does the job it sets out to do: entertain for 90 minutes or so and not much else. The plot is some weak mish-mash about a Chinese cop (Jet Li) who journeys to Paris to work an international drug bust only to find himself framed for murder by corrupt French cops. Then a prostitute (Bridget Fonda) with a kidnapped daughter gets stirred into the mix. Oddly enough, the quest for the daughter makes for a much more compelling plot than the drug nonsense. Regardless of excuse, the real point here is of course the under-cranked, jump-cut, rocked-out flying fists of kung fu death fight sequences, which with Li kicking much Frenchy-boy ass are pretty much guaranteed to delight American audiences. I’ve seen plenty worse martial arts movies, though I concede I’ve seen a few better ones as well. Mildly amusing