In Kiss of the Dragon, Jet Li kills people with such ordinary household objects as a pair of chopsticks, a billiard ball, and a straight pen. He's the Martha Stewart of death.

Not surprisingly, it's hard to make a film like Kiss of the Dragon terribly unique. After all, it is a martial arts action film. People are going to die. Some of them quite messily, and in new and kicky ways. On the up side, it stars the always-watchable Jet Li, who, along with Luc Besson (La Femme Nikita, The Professional), penned the film's story. Although newcomer Chris Nahon directs Dragon, it has the distinct feel of a Besson film.

Chinese intelligence officer Liu Jian (Jet Li) is sent to Paris on a mission so secretive that its details are never really made clear. When he meets French police official Jean-Pierre Richard (Tcheky Karyo) it becomes obvious that Liu Jian is in questionable company. Richard stops pounding the hell out of a man just long enough to nickname Liu Jian "Johnny" and instruct his brutish army of men to escort him to their hotel room.

From there, Liu Jian watches the live video feed from down the hall, as a Chinese drug lord is brutally murdered by Richard with the help of a prostitute. The plan, Liu Jian learns, is to frame him for the murder. Richard soon learns what the audience already suspects. He has just picked on the wrong guy.

American audiences have come to know Jet Li from such films as Lethal Weapon 4 and Romeo Must Die. In his native China, he is second only to Jackie Chan in fame. He's a star, and not because of his great acting range. A Wu Shu (martial arts) champion several times over, Jet Li is the film's greatest special effect. His flexibility and speed seem unreal - he's just amazing to watch.

Luckily, Kiss of the Dragon understands that these action sequences are its strength, and doesn't stray too often. When it does, its usually in a misguided attempt to flesh out Jessica (Bridget Fonda), the sad sack American prostitute who befriends Liu Jian, and who, coincidentally, was involved in the murder of the Chinese drug lord.

Bedraggled, filthy, and hopeless, Jessica is coerced by Richard to walk the streets of Paris because he has her young daughter. She should be a sympathetic character, but instead she's just irritating. Fonda seems lost playing her, and she really has nowhere to go. The worst moment of the film comes when she berates Liu Jian about his lack of human attachment. Watching her teeter over him in four-inch heels, whining about love and friendship, you almost hope he'll kick her into the Seine.

Kiss of the Dragon is not a film about love or redemption. It is a film about a single Chinese man walking into a French police precinct and beating up an entire kung fu class without breaking a sweat. It is a film where the nastiness of the villain is directly proportional to the gruesomeness of his death. It will not disappoint anyone hoping to see Jet Li kick ass while bad guys die messily.

- Photo copyright: 20th Century Fox