Unleashed (2005)

I rented this movie because Jet Li was in it and I love his action movie fighting style. It always amazed me the sheer beauty of his movements. Ballet was ever the nearest comparison I could envision when watching him in action.

Unleashed/Danny the Dog is utterly, astoundingly different. The opening scenes of violence were just that. Hard and vicious, no beauty, pure street-level brutality. As the character evolved, grew into a person, the style changed. It was still harsh and brutal, but tempered with a hint of the flow of his other works. I haven't noticed other commenters picking up on the transition, it deserves notice. In martial arts, movement is highly attuned to the person - and Jet Li certainly understood the need for Danny to transition as a person, a fighter and more in this movie.

There wasn't a single scene that didn't make you react - shock, sympathy, empathy or sheer longing for the character's freedom and growth. I sincerely hope Jet Li receives recognition for the intensity he brought to this role. It has quickly moved to being one of my favorites.

Fmovies: When I first saw the preview for this movie I was excited. But not because it looked like a stellar movie, I just like Jet Li. I am a huge fan of martial arts movies. I like them all from Seven Samurai to your comedic Jackie Chan movie. When I left this movie I was even more excited. Not only were the fight scenes unbelievably intense and well coordinated, but the acting was quite good. Of course Morgan Freeman was great, as in every movie. But the nod has to go to Jet Li for his performance as Danny the Dog. I knew he could fight but this movie elevated him to an actor in my book, and not just a martial artist. His transformation from an animal to human was acted with a certain finesse that you expect from a good movie. The characters were well written and well acted all around. The bad guys were creepy, Jet Li was believable, and they had Morgan Freeman to lead the movie in to excellence. My vote see it, and watch it more than once to see all the aspects of the movie.

This was a breakthrough performance for Jet Li. It was nice to see him get away from just being the amazing fighter, and seeing him in a little bit more of a serious role. Of course Morgan Freeman was simply brilliant, and Bob Hoskins did an amazing job as the villain.

This movie had a lot less action than I had anticipated, but the story behind it makes it much better than any amount of action/violence could have. The theater was full of people laughing, gasping or being COMPLETELY silent as one. It was the perfect mix of action and comedy within a heartfelt story.

I recommend this movie to any fan of any movie EVER!

Unleashed fmovies. Unleashed is the touching story of Danny (Jet Li) who as a young boy was brought harshly by a loanshark (Bob Hoskins) and was trained to kill once his dog collar is removed. Although Danny was brought up as a dog, he is human, and through the intervention of music and the care and love of a blind piano tuner (Morgan Freeman), and his stepdaughter (Kerry Condon), Danny discovers another side of life.

Unleashed is not an action movie. There certainly are some spectacular fight scenes, but the emphasis is put on the relationship between Morgan Freeman and his stepdaughter, and Jet Li, and on the development of Danny's "humanity". Danny yearns for more than just killing; he discovers music and is saved by it. Music also plays a key role in his self-discovery as it awakens long-lost memories of his childhood.

For the first time, the audience are treated to Jet Li's true acting capabilities. Jet Li seems genuine and earnest--perhaps this is because the actor openly acknowledges that this film is close to his heart: as a Buddhist, Jet Li is against violence, and this film portrays the fight between humanity and violence.

This drama is a surprising break from usual martial arts movies. The fact that the number of action scenes is limited is counter-balanced by Yuen Wo Ping's masterful choreography; do not expect a fight-fest. Do however expect an unpretentious touching story featuring good actors with a few spectacular action scenes.

But I mean that in a very good Way. Well first off all of you going into this Movie expecting a Martial arts festival, I have to disappoint you. This Movie focuses More on the dramatic Storyline, then rather on spectacular Fights. Nonetheless very impressive Fights are in the Movie, it is the Storyline between Danny (Li), Bart (Hoskins), Sam (Freeman) and Victoria (Condon) that keeps you in the Movie. This Movie is mainly a Drama/Martial Arts Movie and no Crime/Action/Thriller like IMDb shows you. Honestly I haven't seen much Hosking's movies in the past, but believe me the main Reasons that keep you into the Movie are very fine Performances from Jet Li and Bob Hoskins. Both of em are wonderful. Another plus to this Movie are the Sound effects. They are realistic as Hell. In most of the Fight Movies you hear some weird sounds coming when they hit one another; well this one were so brutally real that I thought wow they are killing each other out there. The Fights are few but very spectacular and somewhat brutal. The first two Fights are excellent because they are shot very realistic and with a fast paced camera, the last Fights are more graphical and slowly filmed. But as I watched the first two Fights I was impressed how everybody involved in the Fight Sequences, did such a wonderful Job on letting them look brutal and realistic. Every time Li hits somebody I sat there feeling the brutalized Hits, which let's you get the feeling that you're in the Fights (Not Literally but it lets you feel the Hits). Louis Leterrier did a very good Job filming this Movie. The Fight Scenes are not too quick, so that you can see everything and the Dramatic Scenes are shot with the right Amount of Heart to keep the Spectator engaged in the Movie. But be Aware after the first two Fights, is a great Hole which is filled with 40-50 Mins of Storyline, which didn't bother me, but I can imagine that People will go into this Movie expecting something like Romeo must die, Twin Warriors or Fist of Legend they will be heavily disappointed, because this Movie focuses more on it's engaging Storyline. So please enter the Theater with this in Mind and you will LOVE this Movie. One Thing actually bothers me that is the American way of promoting the Movie. As always they will promote the Movie as one of Li's new Martial Arts Festival, with non-stop ass kicking from Li but Please always keep in Mind, Li is more acting than fighting in this Movie!! It is a Drama with Martial Arts Elements in it. Don't be fooled by American Distributors!!!!!!!!

Rating: **** out of ****

If I'm always skeptical of Jet Li's English-speaking films, it's for good reason. They're usually crap. Too often, he's either been put in the hands of incompetent directors who couldn't properly film or edit his impressive martial arts abilities and/or he's teamed alongside a cast that includes one rapper too many. It also didn't help that these movies were poorly written and acted, failing to work as either a showcase for Li's moves or his charisma. So it's all the more satisfying that Unleashed goes through its entire running time without succumbing to any single one of these flaws.

Jet Li stars as Danny, a fully grown man with the mind of a child who is a literal slave/pet to Bart (Bob Hoskins), a Glasgow mob boss who keeps Danny in a cage and uses him as a form of "persusasion" to those who owe him money. Like a dog, Danny wears a collar, shy and seemingly dumb whenever it's clasped around his neck, but a ferocious killer once he's unleashed.

After a mishap with another criminal, Bart and Danny are left for dead, leaving an injured Danny to crawl to a warehouse where he's taken under the wing of kindly blind piano tuner Sam (Morgan Freeman) and his stepdaughter, Victoria (Kerry Condon). Starting over with a clean slate, Danny comes to enjoy his new life and loving family; no longer is violence or cruelty something he must face everyday. But fate hands him an unlucky turn when he's forced to confront Bart, finding no choice but to give in to his violent side one last time.

The film's premise, that of a violent man finding a better life, is nothing new but rarely have I seen the simple but effective premise delivered so well and with such genuine heart. To my immense surprise, it's Jet Li's performance that anchors the film, showing us a side of corrupted innocence and child-like enthusiasm that is sweet, moving, and occasionally even quite humorous. The transformation and natural maturity Danny undergoes is engaging, and it's to no small measure of Li's performance that we hope Danny can entirely shed his former life even when we know it'll inevitably catch up with him.

Li is surrounded by a fantastic cast with great actors Morgan Freeman and Bob Hoskins pulling their own weight. Freeman delivers as always, playing the kindly authority figure with firm but gentle resolve. Hoskins is over-the-top but suitably so as Bart, whom we're quite sure is complete scum, yet one can't dismiss the fact that he holds Danny in a certain esteem, and that he may actually be the only person in the world Bart cares for, however twisted a manner he chooses to show it. Relative newcomer Kerry Condon is cute and appealing, although she could just as easily have won me over with that great smile of hers.

As a kick-ass action film, Unleashed is superb. The ratio of action to story might be a bit less than hardcore martial arts fans desire, but there's no question every facet of the plot bolsters the fight scenes, giving every battle a palpable and underlying current of emotion that adds to the thrills of the spectacle. And spectacular action this is; every fight scene-most especially the brutal opening sequence and the thrilling, almost emotionally exhausting climax-is brilliantly filmed and edited, wisely emphasizing Li's natural abilities in favor of quick-cuts and wirework. There are a few instances of Matrix-style slow motion, but the spare usage works to the film'