Romeo Must Die

Asian and African-American crime families war over bringing a new National Football League stadium to a dilapidated Oakland waterfront. The Shakespearean love tragedy suggested by the title is a mere hiccup in a story that is more about the current mating of hip-hop and Hong Kong action sensibilities than plot or character. The movie is quite comic at times and really rocks when martial arts star Jet Li (Lethal Weapon 4) is busy kicking ass and taking names. It rolls over dead when taking its thin greed and revenge story arcs too seriously. Songstress Aaliyah costars as the African-American Juliet. Directed by Speed cinematographer Andrzej Bartkowiak.