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redfiona99I am about to break the usual pattern here because I want to talk about three films, 'Cradle 2 The Grave,' the film 'Romeo Must Die' was supposed to be and the film 'Romeo Must Die' actually was.
I am aware that 'Romeo Must Die' might well be as good a film as 'Cradle 2 The Grave' but I prefer watching 'Cradle 2 The Grave', and I don't think that's just because it has Mark Dacascos kicking things.
'Romeo Must Die', the film it was supposed to be, is a very by-the-book action film. Good son who has rejected gang-involved family is dragged back in, he meets unknowing gang-princess from rival family, they meet and fall in love despite their families being at war, true love wins out and the good guys save the day.
Now, for whatever reason, and I don't know why, I don't want to know why, because I like to imagine that they went 'wait, Jet Li is how old and Aliyah is how old?!!', instead of that, in the film 'Romeo Must Die' actually is, we get a male/female friendship as the heart of the partnership that takes down the bad guys. Which is different.
And works really well.
It works better, I think, than the romance would have done in the film 'Romeo Must Die' was supposed to be.
I don't have to tell any of you that Jet Li is awesome, so I'll focus on Aliyah's performance instead. She bring both a realism (possibly because, for once, you had someone that was more or less still a teenager playing a teenager) and a sweetness to Trish O'Day which helps the film as a whole.
It's not the scene I'm going to talk about, but I do like the scene where Han climbs up to Trish's room, because in the film they actually produced, it's 100% out of concern for Trish and 0% wanting anything from her, even her love.
I also love how they support each other at the end of the film. It's sweet and lovely and something that moves 'Romeo Must Die' out of the realm of mundane action movie.
I would have preferred it if they'd changed the name along with the relationship, because a name like 'Romeo Must Die' gives an audience certain expectations but I believe the change came late enough on that all the publicity stuff had already been done and could not be redone.
The Scene Itself:
(Sorry for Turkish dubbing, it was the only copy of the scene I could find.)
Why The Scene Is So Good:
I can see why a lot of male good guys in film don't want to hit women. Not least of all it makes it easier to sell them as good guys and, more cynically, helps keep a film's rating down.
Sometimes though, that quality puts the character in an awkward situation, and films have to come up with a way around the problem. This scene features one of the more fun ways.
The main thing I like about it is that Trish is a willing participant (up until the end bit, but more about that later), she's not just getting dragged along as sometimes happens to the female characters in scenes like this.
Another thing is that the fight choreography is both funny and clever.
The other main thing I like is that Trish reacts to the assassin's death. And just because the woman was willing to kill her and Han, she doesn't glory in her death, she's shocked and saddened by it. Because Trish is good, it's not just a put on. And that's another lovely touch.
I am aware that 'Romeo Must Die' might well be as good a film as 'Cradle 2 The Grave' but I prefer watching 'Cradle 2 The Grave', and I don't think that's just because it has Mark Dacascos kicking things.
'Romeo Must Die', the film it was supposed to be, is a very by-the-book action film. Good son who has rejected gang-involved family is dragged back in, he meets unknowing gang-princess from rival family, they meet and fall in love despite their families being at war, true love wins out and the good guys save the day.
Now, for whatever reason, and I don't know why, I don't want to know why, because I like to imagine that they went 'wait, Jet Li is how old and Aliyah is how old?!!', instead of that, in the film 'Romeo Must Die' actually is, we get a male/female friendship as the heart of the partnership that takes down the bad guys. Which is different.
And works really well.
It works better, I think, than the romance would have done in the film 'Romeo Must Die' was supposed to be.
I don't have to tell any of you that Jet Li is awesome, so I'll focus on Aliyah's performance instead. She bring both a realism (possibly because, for once, you had someone that was more or less still a teenager playing a teenager) and a sweetness to Trish O'Day which helps the film as a whole.
It's not the scene I'm going to talk about, but I do like the scene where Han climbs up to Trish's room, because in the film they actually produced, it's 100% out of concern for Trish and 0% wanting anything from her, even her love.
I also love how they support each other at the end of the film. It's sweet and lovely and something that moves 'Romeo Must Die' out of the realm of mundane action movie.
I would have preferred it if they'd changed the name along with the relationship, because a name like 'Romeo Must Die' gives an audience certain expectations but I believe the change came late enough on that all the publicity stuff had already been done and could not be redone.
The Scene Itself:
(Sorry for Turkish dubbing, it was the only copy of the scene I could find.)
Why The Scene Is So Good:
I can see why a lot of male good guys in film don't want to hit women. Not least of all it makes it easier to sell them as good guys and, more cynically, helps keep a film's rating down.
Sometimes though, that quality puts the character in an awkward situation, and films have to come up with a way around the problem. This scene features one of the more fun ways.
The main thing I like about it is that Trish is a willing participant (up until the end bit, but more about that later), she's not just getting dragged along as sometimes happens to the female characters in scenes like this.
Another thing is that the fight choreography is both funny and clever.
The other main thing I like is that Trish reacts to the assassin's death. And just because the woman was willing to kill her and Han, she doesn't glory in her death, she's shocked and saddened by it. Because Trish is good, it's not just a put on. And that's another lovely touch.
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Date: 2016-04-17 01:29 am (UTC)