Kiss of the Dragon (Le Baiser mortel du dragon in French) is a 2001 French-American action film directed by Chris Nahon, written and produced by French filmmaker Luc Besson, and starring an international cast led by Jet Li, Bridget Fonda, and Tchéky Karyo.

Li wanted to take a realistic approach to the fight scenes, and forgo the CGI and wire work that had been popularized by films such as Charlie’s Angels and The Matrix.

[4] Liu Jian, a Taiwanese police officer, is sent to Paris to help the French authorities apprehend Chinese mob boss Mr. Big, who is involved in heroin smuggling.

During the operation, Mr. Big is introduced to two female prostitutes, one being Jessica Kamen, an American woman, who he both takes up to his room for sex.

Liu rushes from the makeshift surveillance room to the scene, subdues the prostitute, and uses an acupuncture needle to put Mr Big in a coma.

Realizing he has been set up, Liu manages to escape from the hotel with a surveillance tape showing Richard shooting Mr. Big.

The title "Kiss of the Dragon" is derived from one of the last scenes in the movie, in which Liu punctures Richard in the back of the neck with an acupuncture needle at a "very forbidden" point on the body.

Nahon had to slow down this fight scene, as both Li and Raffaelli were moving too quickly to be captured clearly at normal recording speed.

When Tcheky Karyo's character shoots one of his henchmen, a fountain of blood is shown erupting from the back of the man's head in the French version of the film.

[5] The film received mixed reviews from critics,[6][7][8] who thought violence overwhelmed it at the expense of the story and even a true portrayal of martial arts.

For example, each film shows "white women play[ing] the most important role" in helping Chinese men accomplish success.

Asian men, Zhu argues, are portrayed as incapable of achieving success in Western society unless they are supported by white femininity.

[12] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, and wrote: "I like the movie on a simple physical level.