Sorry, but this will be kinda short…
Unleashed, written by Luc Besson and directed buy Louis Letterier, is a really, really cool movie starring Jet Li as a man who has basically been treated like an attack dog his whole life. Bob Hoskins plays the criminal type who “raised” him and fixes a collar on his neck that keeps Li docile until Hoskins removes it and sics him on some poor victim. Let me tell you, when that leash comes off, Jet Li is ferocious. I’ve never seen such violent martial arts before. Typically, martial arts is almost like ballet, a violent dance where, yeah, people get hurt, but it looks pretty while it happens. Think CROUCHING TOGER HIDDEN DRAGON. That movie, a beautiful movie, was choreographed by Woo-Ping Yuen, as was this one. But it’s worlds apart in the fighting scenes. Damn, I can’t stress enough how violent the fight scenes are in this movie!
But when Danny (Jet Li…the international name for this movie is indeed Danny The Dog) gets away from the bad people raising him, he finds himself being sheltered by a kindly blind man and his daughter, played wonderfully by Morgan Freeman and Kerry Condon. Freeman, as usual, is great. His gentle, wise demeanor always makes him one of the most likable actors around, and here it’s no exception. Kerry Condon is someone that looks familiar, but I can’t really place her. She did a great job though, and I hope she does more stuff soon. The chemistry between Li, Freeman and Condon is really great and sweet without being a Hollywood artificial sweet, if you know what I mean. But I also have to say that while Bob Hoskins is really over the top at times here, it works well and his performance is great.
Jet Li also gives a great performance. Not to be rude, but Danny’s limited vocabulary is a plus for Li, whose English is not really very good. But he portrays a nice depth of emotions and as always, his physical stuff is truly amazing. Like I said, brutal, but amazing.
Definitely check this out if you like martial arts, action flicks, or just to see Morgan Freeman give another great performance…