The writers of The Fifth Element, Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen, have teamed up again to deliver Jet Li in the action thriller Kiss of the Dragon. Li stars as Liu Jiuan, a Chinese agent so dedicated to his job that he has no friends, no family, no dreams. He is sent to Paris to help the French police capture a Chinese gangster, but France's top cop, Jeanne-Pierre Richard (Tcheky Karyo), has set Liu up to take the fall for a brutal killing he himself carried out.
On the run in a strange city, Liu keeps a low profile until he unwillingly becomes friends with an American hooker, Jessica (Bridget Fonda) who just happens to hold the key to his innocence. But Richard is always one step ahead of them he has Jessica's daughter.
Li and Fonda make a great team; their relationship is at the core of the film, as neither character has ever been able to put his complete trust in another person before. The action scenes, directed by Corey Yuen, are fast and furious and very violent, featuring mesmerising moves by Li, especially one involving a billiard ball. Chris Nahon, in his directorial debut, makes excellent use of the location, including numerous shots of famous Parisian landmarks as the bad cops try to machine-gun down Liu in the streets and sewers and on the Seine.
Directed by Chris Nahon. Starring Bridget Fonda, Burt Kwouk, Tcheky Karyo, Lawrence Ashley, Jet Li.
2001.