starring Jet Li, Bob Hoskins & Morgan Freeman; written & produced by Luc Bresson
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Jet Li plays Danny, a martial arts genius who was raised by Bart (Hoskins), a sort of loan shark, to be a vicious "dog". Danny wears a collar and is kept in a cage beneath the floor. When Bart and his gang of thugs go out to collect on debts, they take Danny along as "enforcement." If the debt is paid, the collar stays on. If the money does not appear, Bart removes the collar, and Danny's docile demeanor changes. He becomes a martial arts machine, focusing all of his concentration--and rage--on one victim at a time. It all hums along just fine (at least from Bart's perspective) until Danny sees a piano, and meets a blind piano tuner named Sam (Freeman), and starts to get a glimpse of a life beyond the cage.
Unleashed is extraordinarily violent, and, in Hoskins' case at least, the language is vile, too. But it also contains some true sweetness, tenderness and growth, which is amazing to see (especially in a martial arts film!) The juxtaposition of action and heart can be a little jarring, though, so it's worth mentioning.
"The goopy awww factor here gets awfully high, especially for a violent martial-arts movie, but the only real problem with these scenes — written by The Professional's Luc Besson, who also produced — is that they keep Hoskins off screen for a bit too long. His Bart is the king pit bull of the block, and he tears into the role as if it were a lamb chop. He's one of the best villains to saunter along since Ben Kingsley in Sexy Beast."--Gregory Kirschling, Entertainment Weekly
Reviewed by: Amy
Age group: Adult
Classification: Entertainment/Fiction
MPAA: Rated R for strong violent content, language and some sexuality/nudity
Grade: A
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