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There is a scene early in “Kiss of the Dragon” where Jet Li, the Chinese cop, is searched for arms. ‘Acupuncture needles’ were found along a band located at his wrist but this certainly does not imply that he seams in his spare time. A tailor does not wear a wristband that has a hundred tiny needles shoved into it.
He goes on to say that a needle can be best used during the ‘head of a turbo’ for it is “undoubtedly illegal” and so it is. I absolutely loathe how the Jet Li character is also master of the full range of the martial arts and in this installment he happens to need them. Few of the many antagonists living in Paris is the opposition he is up against.
The storyline is said to be difficult to follow, but it is quite simple for those who keep a ledger of heroes and villains. Let me be honest, it does become muddy regarding reasoning and rationality, but still, what does one expect? In a film where the stunts are close to impossible, why expect the narrative to be logical? According to the story, Jet Li plays the part of the most proficient policeman in China, who is brought to Paris to help a bigshot with some under-the-table dealings that might involve illegal drug smuggling nurturing. The bigshot is in turn served by two hookers who indulge his lust only partially and then die. Jet Li is barely a step away from figuring out that the chief contractor behind the murder and drug smuggling, as well as most crimes in contemporary France, is Jean-Pierre Richard (Tcheky Karyo), a corrupt police inspector with an endlessly available roster of thugs.
You are only told that the plot comprises of action, apart from a few emotional moments of Jet Li alongside Bridget Fonda. She plays Jessica, a farm girl from North Dakota who is separated from her daughter and enslaved as a drug addicted prostitute by the evil Inspector. The rest of the plot tells itself.
You may not recognize him but Jet Li is one of the most famous martial artists around. He is quiet, compact, and good looking, and best of all, he does not show off. Because of that, he is the Alan Ladd of the genre. Li’s action sequences are a lot of work for him and the editor because they require actual skills, as well as performing amateur magic tricks like making a billiard ball float. There’s a great shot of a hand grenade and a laundry chute which only a stubborn person would wonder why a high class place like the Bristol Hotel in Paris had an alarm system that fails to detect fire explosions.
Fonda’s scenes primarily occur in sinister-looking dens that decorate slummy streets teeming with hookers that seem to have stepped out from the bustling Broadway musical “Sweet Charity”. One wonders how her character gets work with such great looking costumes, but she tends to be grimy and beat-up most of the time, which does make it easier for us to believe that she is an addict rather than a hooker. She is, however, convincing as a desperate woman who finds rather bizarre companionship from this Chinese cop.
The movie looks quite stunning as well. The producer and co-author of the screenplay is Luc Besson (“The Fifth Element,” “La Femme Nikita“), who gives his ace cameraman Thierry Arbogast to the director Chris Nahon. They achieve a certain gray-green, washed out noir feeling that is great for Karyo’s face, the face of a man who, if he ever happens to make it to the confessional, will take days or weeks to come out.
On its simplest form, I like the film. Its not multilayered or anything it’s just good action, performed and shot stylishly. The casting of Jet Li is ideal he is not too arrogant or flashy. His role lacks a reasonable amount of motivation, although one important point is he has never been to Paris up until now. He is an outsider in a familiar yet strange setting which allows him to connect with the character played by Bridget Fonda in a manner that provides the film with at least some emotional grounding.
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