Romeo Must Die

Romeo Must Die is set in Oakland, California, where a Chinese crime family and an African-American one are fighting over control of the waterfront and its warehouses. After the younger son of the Chinese boss is found dead, his older brother Han Sing, a former police officer, escapes from a Hong Kong prison and returns to the United States to find out who was responsible. His investigation brings him into contact with Trish O'Day, daughter of the rival family's patriarch, and the two grow close even as the conflict between their families escalates. What begins as a search for a killer turns into something larger, with Han pursued by both sides.

The film was directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak, a longtime cinematographer making his debut behind the camera, working from a screenplay by Eric Bernt and John Jarrell. It was the first of the five features he directed, followed by Exit Wounds in 2001, Cradle 2 the Grave in 2003, Doom in 2005, Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li in 2009 and Maximum Impact in 2017. Jet Li plays Han opposite Aaliyah as Trish, with Delroy Lindo, Isaiah Washington, Russell Wong and D.B. Woodside among the supporting cast.

Produced by Warner Bros. Pictures and Silver Pictures on a budget of about 25 million dollars, the film took roughly 91 million dollars worldwide. Audience responses were mixed but favorable: it holds a rating of 6.1 out of 10 on IMDb from more than 72,000 votes and 6.3 out of 10 on TMDB, while critics gave it 4.8 out of 10 across 94 reviews.