Parents' Guide to

Romeo Must Die

By Nell Minow, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 18+

This hip-hop Romeo and Juliet is awful.

Movie R 2000 115 minutes
Romeo Must Die Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 10+

Based on 2 parent reviews

Elizabeth H.
Elizabeth H. Parent of 10-year-old
April 8, 2023
age 10+

Classic

The official review is really unfair. This movie is a classic, showcasing talents like Jet Li, Russell Wong, Aaliyah, etc. The soundtrack alone makes it worth the watch, and the interracial relationship was ahead of its time. Not overly violent for a rated r movie.

This title has:

Great role models
yoka
yoka Adult
February 26, 2009
age 10+

its my luck to see this site

not very important
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In this hip-hop take on Romeo and Juliet, Isaak O'Day (Delroy Lindo) is a gangster who dreams of going legit. He loves his children, Colin (D.B. Woodside) and Trish (Aliyah) deeply and wants to protect them. But Colin wants to "be a man," and for him that means taking matters into his own hands. Kai Sung (Russell Wong) is the leader of the rival gang. Like O'Day, he has a son who wants to be a player. He and O'Day are trying to get the deeds to the shoreline property in their districts, to turn it over to a sleazy developer. When Sung's son is killed, his brother Han (Jet Li) breaks out of a Hong Kong prison to come to the US to avenge his death. He meets Trish, and they find that they have more in common with each other than with their sides in the fight.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2):
Kids say (3):

ROMEO MUST DIE is a tired tale of rival gangsters. Fans of martial arts will do well to wait for it to come out on video, so they can fast-forward through all the meaningless exposition and endless shots of people giving mean and meaningful looks at each other and get to the good stuff.

There are some nice fight scenes, though it seems an insult to Jet Li's extraordinary talent to trick them up with computer graphics. If we want to see people suspended in the air while they kick each other, we can rent The Matrix. Little flashes of x-ray shots of bones being crunched are an interesting touch. When you're fast-forwarding the video, be sure to stop and see it.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about racism and the way that children prove their independence, or maybe just how such bad movies get made.

Movie Details

  • In theaters: March 22, 2000
  • On DVD or streaming: August 1, 2000
  • Cast: Aaliyah, DMX, Jet Li
  • Director: Bart Bartkowiak
  • Inclusion Information: Black actors
  • Studio: Warner Bros.
  • Genre: Action/Adventure
  • Run time: 115 minutes
  • MPAA rating: R
  • MPAA explanation: violence, some language and brief nudity
  • Last updated: April 1, 2023

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