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 enerally
speaking, Jet Li's western films have been hampered by indecision on the part of
the filmmakers as to how to handle his onscreen persona. Since English is not
Li's first language, he is typically relegated to playing a stone-faced killer
required only to beat the crap out of everyone he sees. Thus, I suspect that
producers fear that Western audiences would have a hard time buying Li in a
sensitive role. In "Unleashed" (aka "Danny the Dog" in
Europe), Li plays yet another martial arts murder machine, but this time there's
a surprisingly competent story and a strong supporting cast to back him up.
Li plays Danny, an orphan raised as a personal
attack 'dog' by a Cockney loan shark he calls Uncle Bart (a menacing Bob
Hoskins). Bart keeps Danny in a collar and locked inside a cage, and has
trained Danny so that he's docile while wearing a collar, but transforms
into a whirling dervish of destruction when the collar comes off. Bart
has a sweet scheme going whereby he uses Danny to bludgeon debt payments
out of delinquent clients, and in return only has to provide food and a
cage.
After a gangland confrontation goes horribly wrong,
Danny escapes from his master and finds refuge with Sam (Morgan Freeman,
"Million
Dollar Baby"), a blind piano tuner from New York who has moved
to Glasgow so his teen stepdaughter Victoria (Kerry Condon) can study
music. Exposed to the first bit of kindness he can remember, Danny
learns about everyday wonders like cooking, shopping and ice cream.
Alas, Wonderland is fleeting, and Bart soon relocates his missing
'dog'…
As a scriptwriter, Luc Besson ("Leon")
has always exhibited a vivid imagination, but one countered by an
inability to manage narrative coherence. In the case of
"Unleashed," Besson has put together a story that manages to
balance brutality and sentimentality surprisingly well. Following the
tried and true three act structure, Besson provides an exposition
mirroring the premise used in "Conan
The Barbarian" that erupts with sly cruelty and bone crushing
action, followed by a mushy middle third that follows the trite
'awakening of the man-child' arch.
And just as this sugar train is about to turn
saccharine, Besson shifts into high gear with an all-out finale that
highlights action choreographer Yuen Wo Ping's masterful fight
choreography. It's pretty simple and straightforward stuff, but Besson
seems to have put his nose to the grindstone and thought this one
through, even managing to garnish the screenplay with a few clever
touches, such as a running gag where Danny repeatedly interferes with
Bart's attempts to bed down a string of high price escorts.
One of the reasons "Unleashed" works so
well is the supporting cast, with Freeman and Hoskins both excellent in
their respective roles. Freeman in particular is the epitome of
geniality and decency, and is an actor that most would consider to be
well above this sort of material. And yet here he is, bringing a sense
of good-natured warmth that breathes life into every scene he's in.
Hoskins, on the other hand, is the polar opposite
of Freeman. Brutish, obnoxious and antagonistic, he's perfect as the
rotund low-level gangster with visions of greatness riding on Danny's
iron fists. Hoskins smartly doesn't let his performance descend into
caricature, reining the character in with a chilling layer of cruelness
and methodical sanity. This becomes frighteningly clear during the final
confrontation between Bart and Danny, where we see how truly twisted the
relationship between slave and master really is.
As the effervescent Victoria, Kerry Condon acquits
herself well despite being saddled with a character of limited scope.
She and Freeman make a believable family with the easy nature of their
banter, and her attempts to teach Danny the piano are touching. As for
Li, he delivers what we expect from him, but also manages to imbue Danny
with an endearing, child-like innocence that leads to several instances
of subtle humor. And while Li seems to be emoting more than acting, we
don't get the sense that he's trying to "act," which makes the
character easier to accept.
"Unleashed" isn't without problems, though.
The middle section, which starts off brilliantly, does eventually begin
to feel like it's running in places. There are only so many scenes of
shopping for ripe melons and eating ice cream that we need to see before
we get the point. The revelation of Danny's past is also too contrived,
and the relationship between Danny and Victoria bears the signs of an
aborted romantic thread. I'm glad Besson decided not to go down this
particular path (the least of my reasons being that Li is 42 and Condon
is in her teens), but what we get is half-baked, at best.
As for the
action, it's first rate all the way. The legendary martial arts
choreographer Yuen Wo Ping ("The
Matrix" films) puts together some seriously brutal combat
sequences that highlights Li's lightning moves, while at the same time
using a minimum of 'wire-fu.' The highlight is an extended fight towards
the end that spans three buildings and involves some very close quarters
combat in a bathroom. Overall, the fights do their job, which is to keep
the energy high and the viewer riveted.
Most of all, "Unleashed" has what no previous
Anglo Jet Li film has had: a solid script and a strong supporting cast.
Freeman and Hoskins bring credibility, and the script by French auteur
Luc Besson has enough subtle, good-natured humor to keep the potentially
dark mood in check. It goes without saying that "Unleashed"
doesn't bring anything new to the table; even so, the film succeeds
despite itself, owed in no small part to its ability to execute its
familiar formula extremely well.
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