Jet Li in Unleashed - Mobile Edition

Movie Reviews
Jet Li in Unleashed
By Philippe Bernier
May 18, 2005 - 11:20

Starring: Jet Li, Morgan Freeman, Bob Hoskins, Kerry Condon
Directed by: Louis Leterrier
Running Time: 103 minutes
Rating: R
Distributors: Rogue Pictures

Unleashed is the story of Danny the dog, a young boy trained like an animal all his life. Yes, this is a fighting movie but it has also a tragic story.

This great movie offers several wonderfull fights. Those kung-fu fights are realistic without computer flying effects. Many good choreographers have worked on the fights to make them believable. Choreographers Leterrier and Woo-ping Yuen, the magician of the Matrix films, Kill Bill and Crouching Tiger, and Jet Li, himself, all contributed.

Even if this is a stong action movie, you will be touched by the dramatic scenes. Morgan Freeman contributes in his guise as the sympatic blind man whom Li's character befriends. Li shows his acting talent well. He was able to play a human who always been treat like a dog. I must say that this is really well done. His expressive eyes can show all the confusion and pain in the life of Danny. That was enough to enlists my empathy.

Another great point of that movie is the music from the album of Massive Attack, Danny The Dog. This king of ambient rock progressive soundtrack is one of the keys that makes this movie so good. Sometimes touching, some other times more agitated, those sounds are facilitate the transition between good fights and touching scenes.

Maybe Jet Li fans will not like this new brutal fighting style but as a kung-fu lover and Jet Li fan, I was really satisfied by Unleashed. I like the message conveyed by the film that violence is not the solution. But, when a man as to fight for his family, their is no way out.