Jet Li

Love, politics and loyalty threaten to tear apart three soldiers in this lavish historical epic from Hong Kong. In 1870, the power of the corrupt Qing Dynasty has been threatened by the rise of a revolutionary army, led by religious fanatics, and civil war is tearing the nation apart. Pang Qingyun (Jet Li), a good man who finds himself fighting for the Qing leadership, is one of the only survivors of a bloody battle in between revolutionaries and Qing troops, and is looking for someplace to go when he's offered shelter by a beautiful peasant woman, Lian (Xu Jinglei). Pang and Lian spend the night in each others arms, and he finds himself falling in love with her. Pang sets out to make his way home when he's befriended by Zhao Erhu (Andy Lau) and Jiang Wuyang (Takeshi Kaneshiro), a pair of bandits. When Jiang is attacked in an ambush, Pang helps save his life, and the three men become blood brothers in a gory ritual. Pang convinces Jiang and Zhao to join him in the fight against the revolutionaries, and with their help Pang is able to achieve some impressive victories. However, when Pang allows his own ego and dreams of glory to override his common sense and loyalty, Zhao and Jiang come to distrust their ally, and matters become worse when it is revealed that Lian is Zhao's wife. Tou Ming Zhuang (aka The Warlords) was a major box office success in China and Eastern Asia before making its way to theaters in Europe and the United States. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

An FBI agent whose partner and family were killed by a notorious assassin sets out for revenge as the elusive triggerman sparks a sprawling gang war between the triads and the yakuza in the feature debut from prolific music video director Phillip Atwell. FBI sgent Jack Crawford (Jason Statham) is a man driven by vengeance. After his partner, Tom Lone (Terry Chen), and his family fell to bullets fired by infamous hitman Rogue (Jet Li), Crawford makes it his life mission to ferret out the slippery killer. Complications arise when it begins to appear as if Rogue has a mission of his own to carry out, and as triad boss Chang (John Lone) prepares for all-out war against yakuza boss Shiro (Ryo Ishibashi), Crawford and Rogue also come face to face as the secrets of the past emerge in a hail of gunfire. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Two men cut off from the world in different ways become unlikely friends and protectors in this offbeat action drama. Danny (Jet Li) is a physically powerful but emotionally stunted man; never given any sort of proper education, Danny has learned little in his lifetime but how to fight, and his minder, Bart (Bob Hoskins), treats him more like a guard dog than anything else, using him in illegal no-holds-barred brawls that earn Bart plenty of money but only reinforce Danny's violent alienation. When Bart is injured in an auto accident, Danny is left to fend for himself, and stumbles upon Sam (Morgan Freeman), an elderly piano tuner who has lost his sight. Sam is the first person to treat Danny with kindness, and the music he plays soothes the troubled soul of the fighter. However, Danny's fighting skills soon come in handy when Sam runs afoul of a pack of small-time crooks who believe he knows too much about their operations. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Whether you prefer your kung-fu with a dash of humor or a drop dead serious, this collection of short martial arts films offers a little something from the entire spectrum. Films featured in this release include Crouching Waiter, Hidden Chef, Prison Warz, Cradle of the Blind, and Kung Fu Legends: Turbo. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

From the maker of Tupac Shakur: Thug Angel, Peter Spirer's documentary Modern Warriors explains the history and practice of martial arts fighting. Featuring martial arts legends Benny "The Jet" Urquidez, Don "The Dragon" Wilson, and Bill "Sugarfoot" Wallace, this program discusses the origin, evolution, and philosophy of many fighting styles. The bulk of the film deals with performance, especially no-holds-barred matches and street fighting styles. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

The Art of Action is a compilation film, hosted by Samuel L. Jackson, that offers clips from various action films that featured martial arts action sequences. Among the films excepted for this collection are Rush Hour 2 with Jackie Chan, Charlie's Angels, and the multiple-Oscar-winning Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The DVD release of the film features interviews with actors and directors. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

This action thriller co-written by filmmaker Luc Besson stars Jet Li as Liu Jian, a Chinese intelligence officer in Paris on an assignment that finds him in the midst of an international conspiracy. When Liu's investigation gets too close to uncovering the truth, his life is seriously jeopardized and he's forced to creatively employ his martial arts skills, which includes using a pool ball and the French flag as defensive props. In the meantime, romantic sparks fly between Liu and a sexy witness (Bridget Fonda), while the agent discovers that a trusted French peer (longtime Besson featured player Tcheky Karyo) is actually the double-crossing criminal mastermind he's seeking. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

William Shakespeare's streak as the hottest storyteller in Hollywood continues with this modern-dress variation on Romeo and Juliet. In this loose adaptation, Hang Sing (Jet Li) is a former police officer from Hong Kong who comes to the United States following the death of his brother, the leader of an Asian crime ring. Hang Sing discovers that his brother had become involved in a turf battle with an African-American gang, led by Isaak (Delroy Lindo). But his blood lust begins to subside when he falls in love with Isaak's daughter Trish (Aaliyah) and finds himself torn between his affection for her and his desire for justice against the men who killed his brother. Romeo Must Die was the directorial debut of noted cinematographer Andrzej Bartkowiak; the supporting cast includes Russell Wong and Isaiah Washington. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The narrative of The Hitman unfolds following the assassination of a sleazy Japanese businessman in Hong Kong. Various groups come together at a meeting held by the administrators of the dead man's Revenge Fund, which offers a $100 million reward to find the killer. Fu (Jet Li), a penniless mainlander, walks into the meeting by accident and is taken under the wing of Ngok Lo, a smooth-talking agent for professional hit men who proposes Fu help him track down the killer. Some of the funniest scenes are when Ngok Lo buys Fu new clothes and coaches him in Hong Kong ways. Ngok's daughter, a young lawyer who is unhappy with her father's background, seems to fancy Fu. Fu and Ngok are busy trying to stay one step ahead of the psychotic son of the murdered man, who is also after the assassin -- a reputed mythical Killing Angel. A genre film reflecting the current zeitgeist in Hong Kong following the Chinese take over, The Hitman was screened as part of the International Forum of New Cinema section of the 49th Berlin Film Festival, 1999. ~ Gonul Donmez-Colin, All Movie Guide

Martial arts master/doctor Wong Fei-hung (a familiar character in Hong Kong cinema) and his gang find adventure amidst the cowboys and Indians of the American West. The sixth in the enormously popular "Once Upon a Time in China" series of Hong Kong action films that was created by director Tsui Hark in 1991, this episode takes an entirely new direction for the series; it features plenty of broad comedy in the first half (though whether or not it was intentional is debatable), eye-popping stunts and excitement. In another unusual turn, it was also shot with scenes in English as well as the standard Cantonese. Wong's adventure's begins when he and his gang sail to San Francisco to oversee the latest branch of their Bo Chi Lam. They find a country where the Chinese are exploited and despised. Soon after arriving, the courageous Wong (Jet Li) loses his memory after the daring rescue of Aunt Yee (Rosamund Kwan), Wong's long-time love, who was just about to fall from a cliff. Separated from his group, the amnesiac Master Wong ends up with a tribe of Native Americans (all of whom are obviously white), who adopt him. Though they too know martial arts (as do the cowboys Wong encounters), but are no match for Wong, who proves his skill by single-handedly braving the spears, kicks and chops of an enemy tribe. Eventually, Wong reconnects with Aunt Yee and his gang; together they go on to have more adventures and battle a number of evil villains. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Hong Kong filmmaker Ching Siu-tung directed this lavish epic adventure set simultaneously in the present and in 1930s China, with the entire cast playing dual roles. International action star Jet Li plays Chow Si-kit, a bookish novelist whose writing is adversely affected by his problematic relationship with his wife Monica (Rosamund Kwan). Chow is best known for a series of books under the "King of Adventurers" banner in which his courageous alter-ego, an adventurer patterned on Indiana Jones from Raiders of the Lost Ark, uses his impressive martial-arts skills and prodigious cunning to fight the Japanese. Chow's personal life is threatening his deadline, however, so his assistants Shing (Takeshi Kaneshiro) and Yvonne (Charlie Yeung) decide to help him out by setting up a story line, which is then played out for the viewer. Hero Chow (Li again) is asked to purloin a letter from the Japanese embassy by the Chinese government. Writer Chow is upset that the story's heroine, Cammy (Kwan again) reminds him of Monica, so he makes her a villain. Chow and Shing's 1930s alter-egos, meanwhile, are looking for a magical box (not unlike the Lost Ark of the Covenant in the film's model) which can be used to divine the future or -- if the necessary safeguards are not followed -- bring evil onto whoever opens it. The box is also being sought by the Japanese military and a group of criminals called the Salt Gang, whose leader (Ngai Sing) makes the mistake of opening it without taking steps to protect himself. Monica then takes over the writing and sends the characters to the magical scripture which can help them use the box's power to defeat their enemies. Another version of the film cuts all of the modern-day material and adds new 1930s footage to explain the abrupt shifts in story line caused by the intervention of the multiple authors. Law Kar-ying co-stars with Billy Chow. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

This action parody is a Die Hard clone with an interesting twist. Kit (Jet Li) leaves the police force after the death of his family at the hands of a terrorist named "The Doctor." Kit becomes the bodyguard for Frankie (Jacky Cheung), a movie star who is famous for supposedly doing his own daring stuntwork. Frankie, a shameless send-up of action superstar Jackie Chan, turns out to be a drunken womanizer whose martial arts skills have waned; Kit secretly performs all of the actor's stunts. Frankie attends a gala event at a high-rise hotel when the Doctor shows up and takes hostages. While Frankie runs short of courage, it's up to Kit to confront his nemesis. Jet Li, whose serious action performances have often been contrasted to Jackie Chan's slapstick antics, is a perfect choice to play the "real thing" opposite Cheung's outrageous Chan caricature. It should be noted that the film's sharp jabs at Chan's onscreen credibility are funny and audacious, but also highly inaccurate. ~ Jonathan E. Laxamana, All Movie Guide