Kiss of the Dragon

Plot synopsis:
Liu Siu-jian (Jet Li), a Chinese intelligence agent, is sent to Paris to help apprehend Chinese mob boss Mr. Big (Ric Young), who is involved in heroin smuggling. He meets Inspector Jean-Pierre Richard (Tchéky Karyo), a corrupt and violent French police detective, at a hotel. Richard tricks Liu into believing he is simply providing reconnaissance of a meet involving Mr. Big. The plans are changed when Mr. Big is introduced to two prostitutes, one being Jessica Kamen (Bridget Fonda), an American woman, who takes him to his room to service him. While Liu and the rest are watching through the surveillance camera, Mr. Big kicks everyone out except for the two prostitutes. After pretending to seduce him, one of the prostitutes then stabs Mr. Big. Overseeing the events from a surveillance room, Liu rushes to stop the killing, but Richard enters shortly later to shoot Mr. Big and the prostitute with Liu's police-issued handgun, framing Liu for the murders.
Realizing he has been set up, Liu manages to escape from the hotel with a surveillance tape showing Richard shooting Mr. Big. Chinese liaisons are sent to France after the events to investigate the matter, as Richard makes Liu the primary suspect. However, the liaisons do not believe the story Richard provides. Liu manages to contact one of the liaisons, and passes on to him the tape that reveals the truth. Due to French police surveillance, the meet between the liaison and Liu is spotted, and the liaison is assassinated. Liu is then forced to flee from a horde of cops and even GIGN commandos. After Liu escapes, he is forced to maintain a low profile.
As he considers his situation, he meets Jessica, whose daughter was kidnapped by Richard to force her into prostitution. Liu discovers Jessica was the second prostitute at the hotel during the night of Mr. Big's murder. He realizes she can prove his innocence, but she refuses to go without her retrieving her daughter, Isabel. Liu decides the tape would provide the best evidence, and sends Jessica to Richard's office to steal the tape. Jessica manages to get the tape, so Liu and Jessica head to an orphanage where Isabel is kept. However, Richard anticipates this move after discovering Jessica has stolen the tape, and ambushes the couple at the orphanage. During their escape, Jessica is shot in the chest. Liu manages to get her to the hospital in time, and becomes driven to retrieve her daughter. Liu arrives at the police station where Richard is holding Isabel hostage, and fights his way through Richard's henchmen to his office. Once at the office, Liu rescues Isabel, getting shot by Richard in the process. To save Isabel, Liu kills Richard by sticking an acupuncture needle into the back of his neck in a forbidden location known as the "kiss of the dragon," which stimulates all the body's blood to travel to the brain to cause a painful death via a brain aneurysm. Liu survives the gunshot wound, and returns Isabel to her mother.

Tags: comedy, murder, violence, cult, action, suspenseful

Review:
KOTD is the perfect excuse for action, with minimal plot and impossible odds.Basically, Jet Li plays a Chinese cop Lui Jian who travels to Paris to help the police bring a crime boss to justice.
I know I sure sighed with relief that Liu Jian (played with subtle excellence by Jet Li) wasn't driven by some emotionally haunting past, like the death of a wife and child, as is so typical in super-cop action films.
But despite its few formulaic shortcomings, Kiss of the Dragon still delivers.What really stands out in this film is the way the fight sequences flow with the rest of the story, unlike so many other movies that seem to be constructed around a few preconceived action scenes.
I expect most of these Hong Kong martial-arts films to be packed with action but most feature either a little humor (Jackie Chan) or beautiful scenery ("Hero," etc.) or wild special effects ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and more).....but this one features a mean edge.
I'm not used to seeing these Asian films with a lot of profanity (mainly f-words) or bloody scenes almost to the point of being gross, which one scene was in here.The hero is likable guy played by Jet Li. Despite his martial arts penchant for violence, he has a soft, boyish look to him and doesn't seem to fit the type.
While Li might be criticised for being one dimensional' in his movie roles, it has to be said that he is one of the best martial arts actors going around at the present time.Liu, a Chinese intelligence officer, goes to Paris on assignment and becomes embroiled in a deadly conspiracy.
The finale action sequence has Liu refer to the title of the film, whereby the use of a needle technique called Kiss of the Dragon', which is highly illegal, as it must be, which can disrupt the body's blood flow, making all the blood travel to the head and then killing the person as it tries to escape from whatever cavity it can.
This scene was astonishing to see being played out.The supporting cast in Kiss of the dragon' consists of Jessica (beauty Bridget Fonda), a girl who is forced to take drugs and be a prostitute by French Police inspector Richard (Tcheky Karyo).
Jet Li has done some good movies, such as `Lethal Weapon 4' and Romeo Must Die' where he shows off all his martial art skills.
Quite well choreographed fight scenes with good realistic violence a la Bruce Lee. The plot is rather formulaic, as is much of the dialogue (I expected better from Besson), but the movie has a bit of the 'Nikita' flair (guys going crazy with fully automatic weapons in public places).
It seems as if every movie like this replaces a story and characters with silly special effects and high-tech action sequences involving martial arts fighting.
Jet Li starred in 25 successful Asian films before making his debut in America as the villain in the lackluster "Lethal Weapon 4." His last film, "Romeo Must Die," was a pitiful action extravaganza that borrowed elements from Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet." Before this film, I could not stand this martial artist turned actor.
"We went back to the basics," explains Jet Li, "keeping the fighting simple and based more in reality." Liu's principle fighting weapons are not guns or swords, but acupuncture needles, which play an important role in the mysterious "kiss of the dragon" revealed at the movie's climax.
Fights , attacks and exciting combats very well staged by great fighters , in fact , here are only seven wires used in the entire movie, the only scenes involving wire work were when Jet Li had to jump up to kick the pool ball and when Cyril Raffaelli performs his one-and-a-quarter backwards somersault-kick ; the result is a strong entry for art martial buffs .
With even the Chinese embassy unable to bring Liu in, he is forced to try and expose the corruption and take the fight to them.With so many of Jet Li's American movies being pretty messy disappointments, it was no surprise that I just gave this a miss when it came out at the cinema and never got round to seeing it on video.
Of course, this doesn't really compare to the best of Li's Hong Kong material but it is still much better than the rest of his American stuff and is worth a look for fans of martial arts action..
"Romeo is Bleeding" is also quite good, but Li has a story credit on this one and the script was written by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen, the schlocky team behind enjoyably cartoony action films like the Transporter and Taken franchises.
The story isn't really all that great, like most Besson pictures ("Leon" being the main exception), but the action is terrific (Li's regulars collaborator Corey Yuen was the martial arts choreographer on this film).
I really loved this movie...It's even better than Romeo must die.Story is about a China Cop who is sent to France to find a heroin smuggler with the help of french police but soon gets implicated in the murder of the criminal by the corrupt Frenchmen who themselves are part of a crime syndicate involving drugs , murder and flesh trade.The story by Jet li is really good, the action sequences are awesome and show Jet li in his best ever performances, fast moving and active yet humble and simple.The film is fast-paced and thrilling, and will keep you at the edge of your seat for 1.5 hours Watch it...you won't regret it..
Kiss of the Dragon (2001) is another Jet Li's finest action martial artist film!
Kiss of the Dragon was Jet Li's third French movie he ever made that was not a Chinese film.
falsely accused of murder, he must team up with a seductive call girl (Bridget Fonda) to save himself, her and her daughter.The basic plot is about Liu Jian (Jet Li) a police officer from China, comes to Paris to help the vice squad apprehend a Chinese drug lord and his unknown French connection.
The Dojo stick fighting is my favorite scene and the fight between Jet Li and Cyril Raffaelli is my favorite realistic martial arts fight.Overall: Kiss of the Dragon is my fourth favorite Jet Li film that I love to death and I am owning it on Blu-ray disc.
The rating this film gets 10/10.Kiss of the Dragon is a 2001 action film starring Jet Li, Tchéky Karyo and Bridget Fonda.
There is relatively little wire work, unusual for a modern Kung Fu film, resulting in some great fight scenes, especially between Jet Li and Cyril Raffaelli, who plays a henchman.
Despite Li's character being a good police officer and a surprisingly good portrayal of the Communist Chinese government, this film was still banned in the People's Republic of China, a fact that Li was not very happy about.10/10 Grade: Bad Ass Seal Of Approval Studio: 20th Century Fox Starring: Jet Li, Bridget Fonda, Tchéky Karyo, Ric Young, Burt Kwouk, Max Ryan, Kentaro, Cyril Raffaelli, Didier Azoulay Director: Chris Nahon Producers: Luc Besson, Jet Li, Steve Chasman, Happy Walters Screenplay: Luc Besson, Robert Mark Kamen Story by Jet Li Rated: R Running Time: 1 Hr. 38 Mins.
The movie presents some wonderful fight scenes with Jet Li. I especially love the battles with the "twins", two look-alike bodyguards.The beautiful Bridget Fonda, a truly underrated actress, stars as a woman who has been victimized and forced into prostitution.
Martial Arts Movie for Action Fans with Jet Li in Hyperdrive and the Carnage Never Stops.
This is Comic-Book Stuff with Our (Super) Hero Displaying Powers Absent in Mortal Men. It is All Ramped Up, Over the Top, Very Violent, and the Movie Takes No Prisoners.Luc Besson from Behind the Scenes Delivers, Along with His Superstar Jet Li, an Action Movie that Pulls No Punches and is a Ride-Along of Ridiculous Fight Scenes that are Always a Hoot for Fans of this Type of Stuff.
Jet Li faces off against the French police in this silly martial arts action flick, brought to us by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen.
The plot, where Jet Li's character, Chinese intelligence officer Liu Jian, is betrayed by Inspector Richard of the French police, who don't really operate like any police force I've ever seen...
It's a silly, one man army action movie dedicated to Jet Li fans who wanted to see more realistic fight scenes, and that is what we fans get.
With writing credits such as Taken, The Fifth Element and Leon under his belt, you can be pretty sure that with Luc Besson's name attached to it; you're in pretty safe hands.Critics have been rather harsh on Director Chris Nahon's feature debut, but this really is worth a watch or seven.Let's start with the basic plot (however far fetched it may be):We're set in Paris with our Hero Liu Jian (who cares what his name is, we all know we'll refer to him by nothing other than Jet Li) who's come all the way from Beijing to help apprehend a notorious drug lord and his French asset.
From here on we get what we came for: First-rate martial arts kick-assness!!The action is what really makes this film worth watching.
So Jet Li's character teams up with a prostitute played by Bridget Fonda to take down the bad guys with some martial arts and acupuncture skills.
This is also the first movie I seen Cyril Raffaelli in and he does some cool acrobatic fighting in this against Jet Li. Overall this is a entertaining action popcorn flick that is worth seeing with some other friends or relatives that enjoy this type of genre.7/10.
This movie makes the interesting decision to tell you nothing about its story for at least the first 20 minutes, which is nothing but a bravura sequence of martial arts action that is highly enjoyable even though you have no idea what's going on.
Jet Li is a favorite with martial arts lovers worldwide,and this offering of his will not fail to satisfy them.The plot is not original-Li is a Chinese inspector in Paris to help the French police arrest a Chinese criminal,but ends up being in the line of fire himself.
What makes the film special is Bridget Fonda's role.She plays a prostitute who teams up with Li to identify and catch the real villain,Tcheky Karyo who plays the chief of police in Paris.The bond of trust that develops between the two is very absorbing to watch,and looks convincing.However,the fight scenes deserve mention.They are very original and ultra-violent.The scene with Li and the " Twin "is perhaps the most violent I have ever seen Jet Li do on-screen.A very good film ..
A Chinese policeman's ideals are like our childhood memories of a boy scout, and Li plays the eagle scout to the max: trustworthy, brave, reverent...and of course he is always good to his word, Fonda: "...but...you promised." Li:"Yes...I did." Karyo, who I first so loved in La Femme Nikita, is excellent as a sadistic power monger, especially with those dying words, "Kiss my ..." Well...you know.
Where the movie shines is the chemistry between the two leads and especially the action.Not since Bruce Lee have a seen the combination of great martial arts and for want of a better description a COOL lead.
Jet's character never does anything too unbelievable; he does get hurt from time to time, but he thinks on his feet, and it's a joy to watch the terrific fight scenes which had my friend and myself almost feeling some of the blows, you'll be glad you're not one of the baddies in this.Bridget Fonda is a slight letdown in this, as she is not particularly convincing a lot of the time, though she has some very good moments which redeemed her overall.
Overall this is a brutal, well-made, well-paced martial arts action film with a wry sense of humour, showing the Americans how to use a Hong Kong movie star.
"Kiss of the Dragon" is the kind of action flick that has immediately became one of my most highly favorite action films of 2001.There was never a single time when I became dissapointed watching this exciting action packed in your face film that I would gladly buy on DVD.Jet Li is definitely on the rise and it shows in this film.I really appreciate this film as an action film.Jet li reminds me of the ultimate action actor who stepped out of nowhere with a big bang squashing previous action stars like Jean Claude Van Damme.(Face it,Jean Claude Van Damme's films aren't getting that good,especially when "Replicant" is going direct to video.)"Kiss of the Dragon" is in my opinion not the kind of movie I would enjoy but it might also be the one action film that I might as well be addicted to.The fight scenes are incredible and Jet li is the most invincible man I have ever seen..
Luc Besson's "Kiss of the Dragon" wasn't above average in the action department, but it had a heck of a good thriller-like plot, and really good dialogue - much less cheesy than most films of the genre.
Bridget Fonda turns in a shallow performance as the prostitute who is befriended by Li and ends up helping him.Obviously the film is neither plot nor character-driven, and a lot of the action sequences work well.
STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All CostsDon't even try to follow the plot in Jet Li's latest flick,for it is so contrieved and bears so little significance to anything,it's unbelievable.The acting's truly awful too.Li is his typical blank self,Bridget Fonda is the cliched action movie heroine and Tchecky (hopefully spelt right) Karyo is his routine mad French villain he kinda worked to better effect in Bad Boys.There is only one reason you should part with cash to see this flick:the martial arts.Li is phenomenal here,with some truly rousing one-on-ones that set the screen alight.Disengage brain and enjoy.***.
Tchéky Karyo is brutal in his role as the corupt cop, man i like this guy.Real good police/corruption story blended perfectly with action/kung-fu.Excellent production standards for style.I hope to see a lot more Jet Li movies with these high quality production values,and interesting storys..
So rather than go through the standard *yawn* plot and say what a good guy Jet is and how hard done by Bridget Fonda is as the hooker, I'll explain why you REALLY NEED to see this movie if you are even a passing fan of martial arts flicks.Reason # 1: Jet – nicknamed Johnny in the film – objects to some nasty stuff the corrupt French cops are doing they decide to kill and frame him in that order.
The fight is great and the concluding move especially cool, but this is merely a brief prelude to Reason # 5: Johnny decides to stop all this running stuff and confronts his problem head on, by walking into the French Police HQ and taking down everyone – and I mean EVERYONE – in one scene he accidentally gatecrashes a martial arts training session and gives the students an impromptu lesson in just how far they all have to go all at once.Reason # 6: While the Kiss of the Dragon element is a little hokey (not to be spoiled here), the implementation of the move itself is extremely memorable and immensely satisfying.
He's supported by great actors, Tchéky Karyo & Bridget Fonda.The story is fleshed enough for an action movie, but surely nothing special.
Thus the scene is set for Jet to dodge the police and the thugs while trying to clear his name.Bridgitte Fonda is a great actress - she plays a reluctant prostitute who is meant to show the victim a good time.
and it's nice to know that Li is playing amongst other(fighting) things.The actors in this movie could have done better but in a way i was not expecting theater but entertainment with style ..so..i got it!Please don't look at this movie if you believe martial arts are crap and action flicks are over..
The opening part was impressive because the assault on Jet Li could begin every moment.Bridget Fonda performed less on the prostitute role but the humor makes it acceptable.A must-see movie for every martial-art adept..
I am not a fan of martial art movies, and would probably have avoided it, if it was not produced by Luc Besson (director of the original 'Nikita' and of the '5th Element') and acted among other by the excellent Bridget Fonda and Tcheky Karyo.
Jet Li may not entertain in that way but he is an amazing martial artist and so unbelievably quick, while giving off a bad ass aura and glare that is the nearast to rivalling Bruce Lee himself.In kiss of the dragon, you have a pretty average hollywood actioner with some brilliant fight sequences put in.
I like the fact that the bad guys are Frenchmen and that the setting is in Paris.Enjoy this movie for Jet Li's fighting skills, but do not expect a great plot and script..
Yet as a martial arts movie it fails on one all-important level:  The filming of the fight scenes!
Other than that, Kiss of the Dragon is an excellent martial arts film for Jet Li fans and the like.
This is a good martial arts movie, and proves that Jet Li has a place in American film.
The Kiss Of The Dragon is a real good fighting film if you like fast pace martial arts.
Jet Li's Kiss of the Dragon has some really good martial arts sequences, I won't deny that.
jet li was great and spoke english very well, a lot better than he did in romeo must die, a far less fun movie than this kick-ass martial arts extravaganza!.