“Kiss of the Dragon” doesn’t really come up with anything new in terms of plot or storyline and several of its action sequences and chases seem copied from other films before it too but there’s something about the intensity of the film that makes it work.

In this film, Jet Li (“Fist Of Legend”, “Romeo Must Die”) arrives in Paris on a secret assignment. He gets set up and everybody’s chasing him. It kind-of reminded me of “Chain Reaction” and “Bourne Identity” with pretty much any given martial arts film thrown in for good measure so it’s pretty exhilarating stuff.

Jet Li plays it cool as usual. He doesn’t yell like he’s Jean-Claude Van Damme (“Kickboxer”), he doesn’t goof around like Jackie Chan (“Rush Hour”) and he doesn’t deliver the one-liners like Arnold Schwarzenegger (“Predator”) but rather he gives people a good stare to let them know who’s boss and there’s a part where he does something inspired with a snooker ball. Bridget Fonda (“Jackie Brown”) plays a prostitute in need of help and she’s okay. Their chemistry is average. Burt Kwouk from the “Pink Panther” series of films is here but sadly doesn’t do all that much. The villains are average.

It’s a little too violent and dark at times and I dislike the heavy use of rap music but overall “Kiss of the Dragon” is a very exciting film. The action sequences are great and I as I said, the overall intensity works. It’s vastly better than Li’s “The One” or “Cradle 2 The Grave” although don’t go into expecting another “Fist of Legend” (although there is one scene involving a martial arts class here that’ll definitely bring back memories of it). It’s got good action sequences, a good star and the rest of it is alright so that’s probably all the justification you need to see it.