Unleashed

Jet Li plays a caged slave named Danny who’s been raised to by a martial arts attack dog by his loan shark owner Bart, played by the late Bob Hoskins, in collecting debts from deadbeat clients. Cole Smithey said in his review, “Whenever Bart removes the metal collar from Danny's neck, it signals a consequence of flashy ultra-violent action.” Set in Glasgow, the story follows Danny’s escape from his evil master when he meets Sam (Morgan Freeman), a generous blind piano man, and his musically gifted stepdaughter Victoria (Kerry Condon). The two accept the traumatized man into their loving family.

Li’s fighting scenes are unique for their street-fighting style of violence. The film is produced by Luc Besson and directed by Louis Leterrier.

Smithey said, “"Unleashed" is a cinematic oddity created by Europe's leading cottage film industry that consists of one man, Luc Besson. Besson's script fits his signature narrative template. It involves a tragically distanced character prone to violence, who is rehabilitated by a stranger. Gaps that occurred in the making of the film are coincidentally what give it its surprising curves that help compensate for frequent dips into heartstring clichés.”

Before wearing out his welcome with fight choreographer Yuen Wo-ping, who had just finished work on “Kill Bill,” director Louis Leterrier defined the film’s opening fight scene using plastic dolls to communicate the action to Wo-ping. What the audience sees in that first fight is the most dangerous fight scene Jet Li has ever filmed. Smithey noted, “Li uses fast repeated right fist punches that send tremors of inertia through the audience. Danny liberally uses head-butts, and tears out his subject's hair with a ferocity that speaks directly to the seven months the action star spent creating the character.”

Smithey continued, “After Luc Besson awarded the director title for the film (previously titled "Danny The Dog") to his apprentice Louis Leterrier ("The Transporter"), the studio producing the movie began to shrink at the promise of it being too violent. It withdrew its financing. Morgan Freeman threw a curveball of his own when he showed up for his first day of shooting and announced that he would be playing his character as blind. By this time Yuen Wo-ping and his team of assistants took back control of the remaining fight sequences they didn't match the bracing shock of the opening scene.”

Danny’s character represents a specific type of ambitious martial arts student who only responds to the commands of his coach or “master.” Smithey noted, “He is a person outwardly doomed to go through life as a drone when he's not engaged in a specifically dictated routine of action. Danny's peculiar fighting style is like a wild animal that focuses all of its attention on one aspect of an opponent at a time rather than keeping a 360-degree awareness as practiced by most  martial artists. The departure is jolting because it's foreign to the kind of fighter we know Jet Li to be.” His fighting reflects the differences of his character’s state of mind. It’s similar to Jackie Chan’s “Drunken Master” where Chan’s fighting technique changed to fit the role.

Smithey mentioned, “Danny's eventual escape into the precarious safety of family life is buffered by the classical piano music that Victoria plays.” His childlike nature enables Danny to identify with playing an electronic keyboard that Sam gives him for the simple joy of making music. The dramatic tension between Danny’s innate fighting ability and his capacity for peaceful family life goes loose because we want to see Jet Li fight however much the story says we should enjoy watching his character get his first ice cream headache in the romantic company of a young woman.

Smithey noted, “There's an unintended ironic subtext at play about serving two masters that gets more dispensable dominion when Bart survives one too many certain- death situations.” Just when Sam has trained Danny to become his piano-playing assistant, Bart shows up to retrieve his long-lost human attack dog. Danny’s bipolar character lets Jet Li exercise acting muscles he’s never been allowed to show onscreen before. Smithey credited, “It's gratifying to see the emotional colors he creates.”

In light of the odd combination of rare creative people that put their names on the film, “Unleashed,” released in 2005, is an enjoyably confusing film filled with gentle charisma and intense action. The narrative connections are hilariously rough, but the performances are genuine. There’s something special here.

I had seen trailers and commercials for the film when it was coming out, but I can’t remember how I saw it. It was either On Demand or we had gotten a boot-legged DVD of the film. But I digress, this was an enjoyable film. I really liked the action in this film, and Jet Li, despite not speaking too much, did a great job in this role. I really liked him with Morgan Freeman, as they both really showed a strong bond with one another. When Bob Hoskins and Jet Li are together, you can easily see the rivalry between them. Check this out and see for yourself.

Next week I will be looking at two action films in “Morgan Freeman Month.”