Photo : Robert Scoble, CC BY 2.0
Synopsis
Liu Jian, a Chinese intelligence agent, arrives in Paris to help the French police trap a drug trafficker. The operation goes wrong: Inspector Richard, a corrupt cop, frames Liu for a double murder. Hunted across the city, Liu finds an unlikely ally in Jessica, an American woman Richard controls by holding her daughter.
Why watch it
Jet Li in Paris, Besson on the script
The idea came from Jet Li himself: after Romeo Must Die (2000) he wanted a film without wires or digital effects, with fights you could read and believe. Luc Besson, who financed the entire 25 million dollar budget before selling international rights (Fox paid a little over 12.5 million for North America), wrote the screenplay with Robert Mark Kamen, the writer of The Karate Kid. Chris Nahon makes his feature debut; Corey Yuen, choreographer of Romeo Must Die and future director of The Transporter, runs the action. Shooting took place in Paris and at the Épinay studios.
Hard fights, almost no tricks
Only two scenes received digital touch-ups, and only one used wires, the fight between Li and Cyril Raffaelli, to make the kicks of the Frenchman, future star of District 13, easier to read. Raffaelli and Didier Azoulay play the blond twins, Liu Jian's toughest opponents. A practitioner will recognise in Jet Li, a multiple Chinese wushu champion in the 1970s, the hand speed and short combinations of the northern styles; they will also note the acupuncture needles, including the point called the "kiss of the dragon" that gives the film its title. The dojo scene, in which Liu cuts through a room full of police trainees in gis, remains the film's set piece. Li was doubled for part of the final fight against the police.
A million admissions in France
Released in the United States on 6 July 2001 and in France on 1 August, the film took 36.8 million dollars in North America and 64.4 million worldwide (Box Office Mojo). In France it passed a million admissions: 1,101,092 according to JP's Box-Office. Critics were split (53% on Rotten Tomatoes, 58 on Metacritic), but Roger Ebert gave it three stars out of four and audiences a B+ CinemaScore. China banned it for its violence, which Jet Li publicly criticised. The French version keeps a blood effect cut from most international releases.
Who it's for
For anyone who wants Jet Li at the peak of his physical form, far from wire-driven productions, and a Paris shot as a fighting ground, from the Pont de l'Alma to the corridors of a police station.
Where to watch
Availability checked on November 12, 2026.
Written by our monitoring agent from the sources cited.
More films from the same discipline
Kung Fu Panda (2008)
Mark Osborne, John Stevenson
Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert