In Kiss of the Dragon, martial arts star Jet Li literally leaves his victims on pins and needles: Perfectly placed acupuncture needles are part of his arsenal. One expertly employed needle can cause paralysis. Another can kill a person by forcing all the blood to the head. (That charming maneuver gives the film its title -- and accounts for the film’s static -- and gory -- finale.) Fortunately, Li also finds ample opportunity to kick and chop because, frankly, sticking pins in folks isn’t riveting cinema. Li would have benefited from sticking pins under the screenwriters. Their story shifts from overly complicated to utterly simplistic -- and neither option holds much appeal.
Li plays Liu Jian, a top-secret Chinese agent assigned to work in France with Parisian cops on a case that’s never fully explained. It’s apparently some sort of French Connection drug bust, but I’m just guessing. From the start, Liu has problems. The chief French cop, Richard (a hammy Tcheky Karyo), shows himself immediately to be a turncoat. In fact, he’s a very bad, very busy fellow: running a drug business, an extortion racket and a string of prostitutes on the side. One of those hookers -- the one with the heart of gold -- is Jessica, a forlorn Midwestern American girl, trapped into prostitution and strung out on heroin because Richard has kidnapped her daughter. Jessica is played by Bridget Fonda, a talented actress without much to do and deserving better. As luck would have it, of all the doors in all the streets in all of Paris, this particular prostitute hangs out in front of Liu’s. They become reluctant buddies -- and Liu now has two reasons to bring down Richard and his assorted thugs.
Li performs an impressive variety of fight moves and action stunts to justify the film for martial arts fans. But first-time director Chris Nahon mistakenly puts the best action scenes early in the film, leaving the finale with little impact. The effect is like air phfffting out of a balloon. Probably the smallest of all action-film stars, Li makes his size work for him. For example, he battles a Scandinavian thug who seems 7 feet tall -- and impressively goes through him like a chain saw through a poplar. Li has an undeniable screen presence -- and legitimate martial arts credentials. He would have profited from a more legitimate script.