History Film / RomeoMustDie

* AtrackTheInjury: The final battle between Han and [[spoiler:Kai]] have Han having his palms scorched by a burning pan. [[spoiler: Kai]] took advantage of this by specifically targeting Han's hands, ripping out chunks of flesh and skin, and at one point stomping his foot down on Han's left hand (palm-first).

* The final battle between Han and [[spoiler:Kai]] have Han having his palms scorched by a burning pan. [[spoiler: Kai]] took advantage of this by specifically targeting Han's hands, ripping out chunks of flesh and skin, and at one point stomping his foot down on Han's left hand (palm-first).

* GirlsLoveStuffedAnimals: Trish has a few stuffed animals in her old bedroom and is even seen holding one close. This was reportedly Aaliyah's own stuffed animal and one she was given by her grandmother who had passed away recently.

* RealEstateScam: The various gangs are trying to drive people out of a community so they can buy up the land and sell it to the NFL to build a new stadium on. Isaak wanted to take it one step further and get partial ownership of the team instead of money, which would get him a long-term source of entirely legal income rather than a large one-time payoff. Unfortunately, his lieutenant decided he would rather have the money now.

* FamousLastWords: [[spoiler: "Damn, that some cold shit" for Mac.]]

* TheDragon: [[spoiler: Kai to Chu.]]

* TheTriadsAndTheTongs: Chu and his associates

* [[YouKilledMyFather You Killed My Brother]]: Han's motivation throughout the movie.

* PlatonicLifePartners: Han and Trish's chemistry seemed more like this.

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 ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'', in reality Han and Trish's romance is not really a major plot point.

* 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.

* FatalFlaw: Chu's is greed. [[spoiler:He killed his youngest son and several others over it, leading to his eldest son escaping prison and unraveling his plans anyway. By the end, he has his money, but has lost his top lieutenant and most of his allies, with the police hot on his heels and the other Chinese families calling for his blood once they figure out what he's done]].

* LaserGuidedKarma: All over the place. [[spoiler:In fact, Han outright tells his father that he's counting on this. Instead of killing Chu in retaliation for Po's death, Han will let either the police or one of the other Chinese families finish him off instead. Chu, realizing that he's screwed no matter what, defies the trope and commits suicide]].
* LeaveBehindAPistol: At the end. [[spoiler:Han meets his father in his office. As Han explains how he figured out the betrayal, his father pulls the pistol out of his desk and dares Han to kill him. Han instead reveals that he's already identified him to the authorities, and has chosen to let his father's fate work out as it may. As Han is leaving the office, his father shoots himself rather than face justice or the vengeance of the other crime families.]]

* MobWar: The whole plot. [[spoiler:It's fake. Nearly every major death shown onscreen was "in-house" -- Po was killed by Kai on Chu's orders, and Colin was killed by Mac behind Isaak's back]].

** Averted with Chu, who is quite happy to let one son rot in prison and [[spoiler:have his younger child killed]] in order to further his own goals.
* 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 Chu's favorite son and chosen heir apparent. His lack of regret in ordering Po's death further supports this.]]

* ThePromise: Han promised his mother that he would always protect his little brother. His inability to do so, due to being in prison to protect their father while Po was murdered, causes him immense pain, and is what strains his relationship with Chu.

* TheStarscream: [[spoiler:Mac.]]
* StuffBlowingUp: Including a barbershop and house boat.

** [[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 he'd rejected his father by becoming a police officer prior to that. However, Chu seemed to favor him more than he did Po, and it's heavily implied that he always has despite Han's rebelliousness]].
** Isaak'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]].

An African-American gang in Oakland, headed by Isaak O'Day (Delroy Lindo), and a [[TheTriadsAndTheTongs Chinese gang]] out of Chinatown, headed by Chu Sing (Henry O) are [[MobWar at war]] on the streets of UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco over Bay Area 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?

* BodyguardDitch: Trish does this to Maurice twice.

* WhiteSheep: Trish and Han both come from crime families. Trish becomes a law-abiding citizen while Han became a cop, though he was still willing to go to jail to cover for his family.

%%* TheTriadsAndTheTongs

%%* [[YouKilledMyFather You Killed My Brother]]

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 Han and Trish's romance is not really a major plot point.

* InspirationNod: Besides the title, there are a few nods to ''RomeoAndJuliet''. The movie starts with a fight between two gangs that is broken up by an authority figure. There's also a scene involving a balcony.

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

An African American gang in Oakland, headed by Isaak O'Day (Delroy Lindo), and a [[TheTriadsAndTheTongs Chinese gang]] out of Chinatown, headed by Chu Sing (Henry O) are [[MobWar at war]] on the streets of UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco over Bay-Area 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?

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 Han and Trish's romance is not really a major plot point.

* ActionFilmQuietDramaScene: The scenes between Trish and Han, as well as their scenes with their respective fathers, are sombre and quiet breaks from all the fighting.

* DissonantSerenity. Han. He is always calm, no matter what.
* EvilParentsWantGoodKids: It's obvious that Isaak loves his kids, and despite all his illegal goings, went through great lengths to give them a decent education, keep them out of the crime business, and go legit for them.

* LaserGuidedKarma: All over the place. [[spoiler:In fact, Han outright tells his father that he's counting on this. Instead of killing Ch'u in retaliation for Po's death, Han will let either the police or one of the other Chinese families finish him off instead. Ch'u, realizing that he's screwed no matter what, defies the trope and commits suicide]].
* LeaveBehindAPistol: At the end. [[spoiler:Han meets his father in his office. As Han explains how he figured out the betrayal, his father pulls the pistol out of his desk and dares Han to kill him. Han instead reveals that he's already identified him to the authorities, and has chosen to let his father's fate work out as it may. As Han is leaving the office, his father shoots himself rather than face Justice or the vengeance of the other crime families.]]
* LoopholeAbuse: Han gets repeated pounded in football, as it's him against a whole team, and he doesn't even know the rules. Then he gets told that it's legal to hit the man who has the ball. So he repeatedly passes the ball to members of the other team, beats them up, and then reclaims the ball.

* 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 Chu's favored son and chosen heir apparent. His lack of regret in ordering Po's death further supports this.]]

* SpotTheThread: Trish explains away Han's presence in her home to Maurice by claiming he's a delivery guy. Then as Maurice is leaving, he notices that Trish was cooking. If Han is a delivery guy, why is there no delivery food?

** [[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 rejected his father by becoming a police officer prior to that. However, Chu seemed to favor him more than he did Po, and it's heavily implied that he always has despite Han's rebelliousness]].

* LeaveBehindAPistol: At the end. [spoiler:Han meets his father in his office. As Han explains how he figured out the betrayal, his father pulls the pistol out of his desk and dares Han to kill him. Han instead reveals that he's already identified him to the authorities, and has chosen to let his father's fate work out as it may. As Han is leaving the office, his father shoots himself rather than face Justice or the vengeance of the other crime families.]]

* LeaveBehindAPistol: At the end, Han meets his father in his office. His father takes a gun out of his drawer and sets it on the desk as Han explains how he figured out the betrayal. As Han walks away down the hallway, a shot is heard, causing him to pause a moment before continuing.

* FamousLastWords: [[spoiler: "Damn, that some cold shit."]]

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

* TheTriadsAndTheTongs

* [[YouKilledMyFather You Killed My Brother]]

* BulletHolesAndRevelations: [[spoiler:In the final scene, the viewer is left to ponder for several seconds whether Chu shot at or killed himself.]]