Romeo Must Die is a 2000 American action film directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak in his directorial debut, and features fight choreography by Corey Yuen.

The plot is loosely related to William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, transplanted to contemporary Oakland with Black-American and Chinese-American gangs representing the feuding families.

Han learns of his brother's death and escapes to Oakland to investigate, where Ch'u is engaged in a joint business venture with Isaak O'Day, a black real estate developer and gang leader.

The two have been acquiring deeds to properties along the waterfront to sell to Vincent Roth, a business magnate who plans to buy a new NFL franchise and build a stadium.

Despite assurances from Ch'u that their partnership remains intact, Isaak fears retribution following Po's death and has his chief lieutenant Mac place security details on his son Colin and his daughter Trish, who refuses to be involved in her father's illegal enterprises.

Trish and Han team up and realize that Po wanted to show Colin a list of businesses that were either destroyed or being threatened for failing to sell their properties.

He also reveals that the "gang war" was a ruse he and Ch'u concocted to cover their murder and intimidation of businessmen who refused to sign away their properties and admits to killing Colin.

[7][8] Filming locations included Gastown, Grandview–Woodland, Vanier Park, Chinatown, Versatile Pacific Shipyards, and the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden.

According to the documentary The Slanted Screen, Han and Trish were supposed to have a kissing scene, which explains the title of Romeo, but this did not test well with an urban audience.

"[16] Elvis Mitchell of The New York Times called the movie "dreary" but said it was bound to be a hit due to its combination of martial arts action and hip hop.

[17] Writing for the San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Graham likened it to The Matrix, describing it as a "cross-cultural kung fu extravaganza" that shines during Li's stunts.

[18] In his review for the Chicago Tribune, Rene Rodriguez said the film is "needlessly convoluted" and should not have added special effects on top of Li's stunts, which he said makes them seem less impressive because of the artificiality.

Composed of hip hop and R&B music, it features contributions from film star Aaliyah, who appears on fours songs and served as one of executive producers on the soundtrack album.