Danny the Dog

So in the last few years we have seen Jet Li in Romeo must die and Cradle to the grave, both modern and with Jet Li approaching the subject of acting, though hardly touching it. So far Jet Li has not acted he has merely been that kung fu guy, another Bruce Lee.

But here, we see him act, not for just five minutes when there is a break in the fighting, but for the entire film. At times there is over half an hour between any kind of fighting, and it is very much appreciated. We really see a different side of Jet Li, this is not 'you killed my master; I have come to avenge him'. But a new, modern martial arts film, where we have a plot we can believe in.

Bob Hoskins takes a nice dramatic turn here, 'that man sure can talk', as Danny's 'owner' and it's a gangster role that suits him well. His angry growl is both fearsome and less put on but unleashed.

But don't get me wrong here; this is still a martial arts film. You'll find yourself cringing and laughing from fright at the fight scenes. Jet Li is not a sleek, showy performer here, but real fighter, intense and scary in his brutality. But equally brutal is the realisation of human freedom and human nature, in some ways were all somebody's dog.

Danny the Dog is clearly Jet Li's best work, and hopefully marks a new direction for him, one I am very much looking forward to seeing.

For a martial arts picture, "Unleashed" was above average because it had some heart and soul to it.....not just people beating the crap out of one another for two straight hours.

However, be wary of those who claim this isn't an action film. That's not true: there is a lot of action, quite a bit of brutality and profanity, mostly by Bob Hoskins' character "Bart" in this movie. Hoskins plays profane, nasty slave-owner who has locked up and trained "Danny" (Jet Li) to be the ultimate fighting machine. Once Danny is "unleashed" (literally) he's a killer and helps the gangster Bart in his criminal work.

Then, in a moment of further greed, Hoskins agrees to enter his man in a death match with a lot of money at stake. That match turns out to be a farce with Danny winning in a matter of seconds. The other promoter wants a rematch, and with more entertainment. In the meantime, however, Danny escapes his captors and winds up at the house of an older blind American, "Sam," played by Morgan Freeman. He and his 18-year-old daughter "Natalie" (Kelly Condon) befriend young Danny, slowly bringing him out of his "animal" state. Everyone discovers Danny has some very human characteristics and is basically a nice, gentle guy. The family helps uncover that through music (piano playing, to be exact). These are all touching scenes.

But then - and this is almost a cliché in these kind of films - the bad guy comes back, snatches him away and his former bad life comes back....except Danny is a changed man. How he can get out of this latest predicament and what happens to this new "adopted" family, takes up the rest of the story. That last part has the same thing: ultra-violent and touching scenes.

Jet Li does an excellent job in here, not only displaying his amazing physical talents but also showing us he has warmth in his face and heart.

Overall: a brutal, yet touching film: an odd combination.

This film, circulates around a purity, and a rage entwined around each other. It's beyond timeless, Jet Li is perfect and more. It portrays the sick people in this world, and what they do for the most pathetic tools everyone needs. It shows Love, and Death. And it shows Need for the Truth. Its far to obvious that anyone that opposes this is simply out of their own mind in egotistical attention. The question is, is this movie portraying the actual real world we live in, or is it not? This movie floods your mind and heart with power and love. It was perfectly articulate, and balanced between life and death. This movie was never over-advertised, showing that it was made for the intent of impressing, rather then selling, and getting money... Its perfect.

Luc Besson's signature style is all over the writing of this very fine little film. His ability to push the buttons on the most violent screen business while gradually developing a tale of warm sentiment is well served by director Louis Leterrier and a perfect cast of actors. UNLEASHED is one of the few examples of how martial arts and bona fide drama can be mutually supportive in creating a film that is at once thrillingly athletic and gently tender.

Bart (Bob Hoskins) is a brutish loan shark thug who makes his 'collections' accompanied by his 'dog' Danny (Jet Li), a silent man Bart has raised form childhood to be a caged killer, a human with a dog collar that when removed unleashes a ferocious beast who kills on command of his master Bart. Bart keeps him in a cage, feeds him, and uses him solely for his criminal doings. Danny unleashed is simply a Pavlovian animal and when the collar is replaced, he becomes docile with the sad eyes of a puppy.

During a 'collection' gone bad, Danny escapes and finds shelter in an antique shop basement where he meets blind piano tuner Sam (Morgan Freeman), a gentle man who gradually introduces Danny to music, trains him as his assistant, and introduces him to his 'family' - his step daughter Victoria (Kerry Condon). With the two of these welcoming, tender people Danny discovers how beautiful life can be. The story from this point is how Danny chooses between his Pavlovian response life as a killer and the simple life of Sam and Victoria. The journey is not without stressors and it is a difficult transition that keeps the viewer on seat's edge.

The wonder of this film lies in the extraordinary performances not usually associated with martial arts films. Jet Li does some of his finest athletic fighting on film, but thankfully at the same time creates a character who is multidimensional and memorable - a very fine acting job by Li. Bob Hoskins is brilliant as the despicably cruel Bart, Morgan Freeman adds a luster to his fine portrayal of blind Sam, and Kerry Condon makes Victoria zany and lovable at the same time. The action is superbly captured by cinematographer Pierre Morel with the aura of darkness in Danny's caged life serving as a perfect foil to the martial arts sequences.In short, this is a fine little film about characters worth knowing and provides audiences with both action and drama of a very high level of achievement. Grady Harp

DANNY THE DOG

(USA/UK: Unleashed)

Aspect ratio: 2.39:1

Sound formats: Dolby Digital / DTS

Raised as a fighting machine by thuggish Glasgow loan sharks, a young man (Jet Li) finds happiness after falling into the care of a kindly old piano teacher (Morgan Freeman) and his musical-protégé granddaughter (Kerry Condon). But Li's past catches up with him, threatening the safety of his newfound family...

Terrific combination of heartfelt drama and bone-crunching action scenes (choreographed by Yuen Wo-ping), anchored by strong performances (including Bob Hoskins as Li's brutal 'mentor') and a finely-tuned script by French action maestro Luc Besson. Grainy filmstock and an excess of closeups (typical of the ghastly Super 35 'widescreen' process) render it less cinematic than it ought to be, and the narrative is predictable, but the movie works on a visceral level whilst simultaneously pulling the heartstrings. Li's best non-HK film since KISS OF THE DRAGON (2001).

(English dialogue)