After what seems to be an extensive Harry Potter obsession, here is Jet Li. And what a welcome change he is!

I saw his new way-cool action-packed flick Kiss of the Dragon last Thursday and fell in love with him all over again.

How could someone rather, um, relatively diminutive be so appealing? And he looks so gorgeous in black. Especially when he doesn’t smile but just looks at you the way he does in the above picture.

Personally, I find him more appealing in the modern-day setting (read: Lethal Weapon 4) in contrast with his roles as Chinese folk heroes Wong Fei-Hung and Fong Sai-Yuk.

Or maybe I have just watched too many “period” Jet Li movies that seeing him in modern clothes was such a welcome treat.

Below is a synopsis of Kiss of the Dragon:

Liu Jian (Jet Li), a police officer from China, comes to Paris to help the Vice Squad apprehend a Chinese drug lord and his unknown French connection. The French connection is actually Inspector Richard (Tchéky Karyo), the head of the Vice Squad himself, who intends to kill the drug lord then frame Jian.

Jian ducks bullets and escapes with a tape of what really happened during the sting operation. By chance, Jian turns to Jessica (Bridget Fonda) – an American farm girl who is one of Richard’s hookers – for help. She has her own problems, including the fact that Richard has her daughter locked in an orphanage to keep Jessica on the streets and silent about his activities.

Can Jian protect Jessica, rescue her daughter, and give Richard the kiss of the dragon?