Unleashed (DVD) (Full Screen) (US Version) DVD Region 1

The story is centered around Danny, played by Jet Li, who's a rather unique piece of hired muscle employed by Bart (Bob Hoskins). He's unique in that he's not really employed - Bart owns Danny, treating him like a dog, keeping him collared and chained up when he's not hurting people as per Bart's instructions. This arrangement has persisted since Danny was a small child, and he's never known anything but fighting. When he's not doing his job, he stands motionless and empty-eyed, saying nothing except when asked a direct question and little even then.

Bart uses Danny to add threat to his stand-over tactics, collecting money from various businesses on pain of, well, pain. The film starts with a series of these transactions in which we see how effective Danny is once the collar comes off. During one of these fights, Bart is offered a chance (by a bystander) to use Danny in the ring in an underground fighting tournament, fighting to the death for cash.

Separated from Bart through a series of events that I won't spoil, Danny meets a kindly, blind piano tuner played by Morgan Freeman (in perhaps an overly cloying character stereotype) who takes him in and teaches him about many of the things he's never known: music, cooking, family, ice-cream. Assisting in this is his step-daughter, Victoria (Kerry Condon), who gently leads Danny through these experiences, providing the exuberance to match Freeman's gravity and kindliness. Bart's still around, however, and exerts a powerful control over Danny.

The action sequences in the film are crafted by perennial favourite, Yuen Wo-Ping, and are up to his usual level, with a bit more visceral, bone-crunching impact than the work he did for The Matrix series. Danny flies into each fight like a wild thing, punching and kicking repeatedly until his opponent succumbs. There is some weapons fighting as well, and a match in the underground ring between Jet Li and enormous European taekwando champion, Silvio Simac.

For all the fighting, though, it's the dramatic part of the film that actually holds most of the audience's attention. Li gives quite a nuanced performance, with a lot more depth than I've seen in the majority of his work. It's easy to connect with him and feel sympathetic. Everyone else in the film is completely over-the-top and a little bit stereotyped: Bob Hoskins is driven and incredibly slimy; Morgan Freeman is a paragon of virtue; Kerry Condon is a sweet, giddy young girl; and Bart's array of thugs are suitably thuggish and slow. This actually adds a bit of comedy to the film, dealing, though it does, with violence and death. Bart's antics in trying to maintain control of his little world are frequently laughable, and Danny's voyage of discovery in the middle of the film is often sweetly funny.

Definitely worth watching for fans of Li's work, Luc Besson's sillier films and kinetic action movies.

8 beatings in a row out of 10

by Justin Viiret - heroic-cinema.com

Li plays Danny, an orphan raised as a personal attack 'dog' by a Cockney loan shark he calls Uncle Bart (a menacing Bob Hoskins). Bart keeps Danny in a collar and locked inside a cage, and has trained Danny to be docile while wearing the collar, but a whirling dervish of destruction the moment it comes off. Bart has a sweet scheme going whereby he uses Danny to bludgeon debt payments out of delinquent clients, and in return only has to provide food and a cage.

After a gangland confrontation goes horribly wrong, Danny escapes from his master and finds refuge with Sam (Morgan Freeman), a blind piano tuner from New York who has moved to Glasgow so his teen stepdaughter Victoria (Kerry Condon) can study music. Exposed to the first bit of kindness he can remember, Danny learns about everyday wonders like cooking, shopping and ice cream. Alas, Wonderland is fleeting, and Bart soon relocates his missing 'dog'.

As a scriptwriter, Luc Besson (Leon: The Professional) has always exhibited a vivid imagination, but one countered by an inability to manage narrative coherence. In the case of Unleashed, Besson has put together a story that manages to balance brutality and sentimentality surprisingly well. Following the tried and true three act structure, Besson provides an exposition mirroring the premise used in Conan The Barbarian that erupts with sly cruelty and bone-crushing action, followed by a mushy middle third that follows the trite 'awakening of the man-child' arch.

And just as this sugar train is about to turn saccharine, Besson shifts into high gear with an all-out finale that highlights action choreographer Yuen Wo Ping's masterful fight choreography. It's pretty simple and straightforward stuff, but Besson seems to have put his nose to the grindstone and thought this one through, even managing to garnish the screenplay with a few clever touches, such as a running gag where Danny repeatedly interferes with Bart's attempts to bed down a string of high price escorts.

One of the reasons Unleashed works so well is the supporting cast, with Freeman and Hoskins both excellent in their respective roles. Freeman in particular is the epitome of geniality and decency, and is an actor that most would consider to be well above this sort of material. And yet here he is, bringing a sense of good-natured warmth that breathes life into every scene he's in.

Hoskins, on the other hand, is the polar opposite of Freeman. Brutish, obnoxious and antagonistic, he's perfect as the rotund low-level gangster with visions of greatness riding on Danny's iron fists. Hoskins smartly doesn't let his performance descend into caricature, reining the character in with a chilling layer of cruelty and methodical sanity. This becomes frighteningly clear during the final confrontation between Bart and Danny, where it is seen how truly twisted the relationship is between slave and master.

As the effervescent Victoria, Kerry Condon acquits herself well despite being saddled with a character of limited scope. With Freeman she creates a believable family and the easy nature of their banter, and her attempts to teach Danny the piano, are touching. As for Li, he delivers what we expect from him, but also manages to imbue Danny with an endearing, child-like innocence that leads to several instances of subtle humor.

Unleashed isn't without problems, though. The middle section, which starts off brilliantly, does eventually begin to feel like it's running in places. There are only so many scenes of shopping for ripe melons and eating ice cream that we need to see before we get the point. The revelation of Danny's past is also too contrived, and the relationship between Danny and Victoria bears the signs of an aborted romantic thread.

As for the action, it's first rate all the way. The legendary martial arts choreographer Yuen Wo Ping (The Matrix films) puts together some seriously brutal combat sequences which showcase Li's lightning moves. The highlight is an extended fight that spans three buildings and involves some very close quarters combat in a bathroom. Overall, the fights do their job, which is to keep the energy high and the viewer riveted.

It goes without saying that Unleashed doesn't bring anything new to the table; even so, the film succeeds despite itself, owed in no small part to its ability to execute its familiar formula extremely well.

Movie Grade: 3.5 out of 5 stars

By Gopal - BeyondHollywood.com