Romeo Must Die is a movie that loosely resembles the story of Romeo and Juliet. In both works, the audience is introduced to two feuding families. Instead of the renowned Capulet and Montague families in Romeo and Juliet, there are the Chinese and American mafias in Romeo Must Die. The American mafia is focused on constructing a new stadium that would bring them a fortune, while the Chinese mafia opposes the assembly.

Jet Li plays “Romeo” opposite singer Aaliyah as “Juliet”. As in Shakespeare’s original play, “Romeo” and “Juliet” meet up purely by chance, unbeknownst that each other are the son and daughter, respectively, of the feuding mafias. The resemblances between Jet Li’s Romeo and Shakespeare’s Romeo are b

Shakespearean characters are well developed. Audiences relate to his complex characters. At times, audiences actually anticipate and become elated or saddened by a character’s story unfolding as they journey through the plot with the character. This flow of emotions carries captivated audiences through the plot. Because of Shakespearean characteristics, these works remain popular. Reproductions of Shakespeare, whether the old English style language is used or not, will flourish because of Shakespeare’s infamous ability to entertain audiences.

In his article “To E- Or Not to E-?” Richard Burt mentions “dumbing down and debasement of Shakespeare for the masses” (3). I would argue that Romeo Must Die conveys that, yes, Shakespeare is a timeless classic, but when comparing spin-offs of Shakespeare to the original, many important factors must be acknowledged. I feel that Shakespeare’s works are not only famous for their prominent language, but they are also popular because each of his plots are packed with important and entertaining human elements such as romance, passion, betrayal, deceit, jealousy, greed, revenge, struggle for power, fall from grace, and despair.

The “genre-bending” brings males into a formally female dominated society of reading Shakespeare. Stereotypically in society today, men enjoy high-energy action movies, while females tend to enjoy romantic comedies. The stereotypical Shakespearean romance of Romeo and Juliet appeals to females. However, in Romeo Must Die, Bartkowiak transforms the classic Shakespeare love story into a kung-fu action-packed film about the betrayal of family during the struggle for power. Audiences can experience their adrenaline pumping for a new loosely based “wire-fu” Shakespeare. The names and dialogue in Romeo Must Die have been completely overhauled to encourage a new audience including men.

Several social prejudices and racial undertones are evident

Some topics in this essay:
Romeo Die, Shakespeare Love, Villainy” Shakespeare’s, Romeo Juliet, Die Shakespeare’s, Shakespeare Bartkowiak’s, American Mafia, Die Bartkowiak, Jet Li, African American, romeo die, romeo juliet, shakespeare’s plays, american mafia, jet li’s, human elements, shakespeare’s romeo, classic shakespeare, struggle power, shakespeare’s romeo juliet, chinese mafia, bartkowiak’s romeo die, story romeo juliet, jet li’s romeo,