History Film / RomeoMustDie

* BadAss: Han.

* ActorAllusion: Trish escapes from her father-appointed bodyguard, Maurice, by ducking out of a store when he's distracted. As she's escaping, you can hear him in the background shouting "I'm gonna find your Aaliyah-looking ass!" This was actually an ad-lib by the actor (comedian Creator/AnthonyAnderson) that got a laugh out of her.

* VillianousCrush: Mac appears to have one on Trish, who is no fool and realizes his true colors. His attempt to woo her falls flat and she makes it clear that he is just an errand boy for her father and means nothing to her.

An African American gang, headed by Isaak O'Day (Delroy Lindo), and a [[TheTriadsAndTheTongs Chinese gang]], headed by Chu Sing (Henry O) are [[MobWar at war]] on the streets of SanFrancisco over waterfront property rights. This rivalry culminates in the death of Po Sing, Chu's son, by an unknown assailant. In Hong Kong, Po's brother/Chu's other son Han Sing (Li), learns of Po's death, and promptly busts out of prison and heads to San Francisco to avenge him. Trish O'Day (Aaliyah) is the daughter of Isaak who does not want anything to do with her family's mob activities. Han meets with her and she ends up assisting him in trying to find his brother's killer. A romance also burgeons between them. Isaak has since decided to go legitimate for the sake of his children and become the part-owner of a stadium that will be built on the waterfront. The owners of waterfront properties who refuse to sell are being murdered, but by who? And are they the same persons that murdered Po?

* ParentalFavoritism: [[spoiler:While it isn't explicit, there are implications throughout the movie that despite rejecting his father to become a police officer, Han has always been Ch'u's favored son and chosen heir apparent.]]

* ActionGirl: Trish takes out an assassin that Han was unable to defeat. [[ParodiedTrope Because Han manipulated her limps because the assassin was a girl and he didn't want to hit a girl.]]

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: Several, since it stars Jet Li. The upside down prison fight and his notable bounce back during the FinalBattle are two of the more memorable ones.

* TheUnfavorite: [[spoiler:Kind of hard to pinpoint. While Po is the one who ended up going to America with his father, said father had him ''killed'' by his top lieutenant because he could possibly compromise a major business deal. Han on the other hand is the one who went to prison in order to help them escape China, though it's made clear it's not for his father's sake but for his brother, and that he rejected his father, by becoming a police officer. However, Ch'u seemed to favor him more than he did Po]].
** Issak's son, Colin, wrongly thinks he is this or the WellDoneSonGuy as his father won't let him help run his criminal empire but it's really due to Issak wanting a clean life for him. Sadly, Colin never gets the chance to fully understand or accept this before he is [[spoiler: violently murdered]].

* BadAss: Han
* BadassDamsel: Trish.

* DesignatedGirlFight: A variant, as when Han discovers that an assassin out to get him is a woman, he immediately stops attacking her because he WouldntHitAGirl, so Trish has to fight for him. Being that Trish doesn't know how to fight off an assassin on her own, Han manipulates her arms and legs so that technically ''she's'' the one doing the hitting.
** For what it's worth, Trish does tell him that it's perfectly okay to defend yourself against a woman trying to kill you; it simply made him feel better to have her land the blows.

''Romeo Must Die'' is a 2000 martial arts action film directed by AndrzejBartkowiak, and starring JetLi and {{Aaliyah}}.

* ActorAllusion: Trish escapes from her father-appointed bodyguard, Maurice, by ducking out of a store when he's distracted. As she's escaping, you can hear him in the background shouting "I'm gonna find your Aaliyah-looking ass!" This was actually an ad-lib by the actor (comedian Anthony Anderson) that got a laugh out of her.

* PapaWolf: Upon finding out who [[spoiler: murdered his son]], Isaak went to strangle said person in a mindless rage.

The film is regarded as Jet Li's breakout role in Hollywood (though he had formerly played the villain in ''LethalWeapon4''.) Though the title, and the fact that it involves a guy and girl from rival crime gangs hooking up might give you the impression that this is a send-up of ''RomeoAndJuliet''; in reality [[TokenRomance Han and Trish's romance is not really a major plot point]].

* DeadLittleSister: Han has a dead little brother in Po, [[spoiler:while Trish will have a dead older brother midway to the film.]]

* DesignatedGirlFight: A varient, as when Han discovers that an assassin out to get him is a woman, he immediately stops attacking her because he WouldntHitAGirl, so Trish has to fight for him. Being that Trish doesn't know how to fight off an assassin on her own, Han manipulates her arms and legs so that technically ''she's'' the one doing the hitting.

* DestinationDefenestration

* DrivesLikeCrazy: Han

* BattleAmongstTheFlames: A final battle occurs between Han and Po's murderer [[spoiler:Kai]] in a RingOfFire. This scene would be repeated in ''[[Cradle2TheGrave Cradle 2 the Grave]]'', by the same director and also starring Jet Li.

* TheStarscream: [[spoiler: Mac.]]

* TheUnfavorite

* IKnowMaddenKombat: Han adapts his kung fu to suit a pick-up football game.

* ActorAllusion: Trish escapes from her father-appointed bodyguard, Maurice, by ducking out of a store when he's distracted. As she's escaping, you can hear him in the background shouting "Get your Aaliyah-looking ass back here, girl!" This was actually an ad-lib by the actor (comedian Anthony Anderson) that got a laugh out of her.

* DesignatedGirlFight: A varient, as when Han discovers that an assassin out to get him is a woman, he immediately stops attacking her because he WouldntHitAGirl, so Trish has to fight for him. Being that Trish doesn't know how to fight off an assassin on her own, Han assists her in fighting the assassin off.

* TokenRomance: Seriously, this film has scarcely anything to do with ''Romeo and Juliet''. You could remove Han and Trish's romance (or even Trish's ''character'' if you get right down to it) and it would be exactly the same film.
** Even calling it a "romance" is a gross overstatement. The two share no intimate moments, not even a kiss, just a few hugs here and there.
** It was played up as a romance initially, with the leads sharing a kiss or two, but it didn't go over well with prescreen audiences.

* DesignatedGirlFight: A varient, as when Han discovers that an assassin out to get him is a woman, he immediately stops attacking her because he Wouldn'tHitAGirl, so Trish has to fight for him. Being that Trish doesn't know how to fight off an assassin on her own, Han assists her in fighting the assassin off.

The film is regarded as Jet Li's breakout role in Hollywood (though he had formerly played the villain in ''[[LethalWeapon Lethal Weapon 4]]''.) Though the title, and the fact that it involves a guy and girl from rival crime gangs hooking up might give you the impression that this is a send-up of ''RomeoAndJuliet''; in reality [[TokenRomance Han and Trish's romance is not really a major plot point]].

* ActorAllusion: Trish escapes from her father-appointed bodyguard, Maurice, by ducking out of a store when he's distracted. As she's escaping, you can hear him in the background shouting "Get your Aaliyah-looking ass back here, girl!" This was actually an ad-lib by the actor (comedian Anthony Henderson) that got a laugh out of her.