unleashed

[pete]

some info

trailers:





its an English-speaking French-made movie starring Jet Li, Morgan Freeman, and Bob Hoskins.  Produced by Luc Besson and directed by one of them Luc Besson zombies.  music by massive attack.

here is the plot summary from imdb.com:

This is the story of Danny(Li), a slave who has lived his whole life without any sort of normal human education, with the mind and personality of a young child, with only one lesson learned: how to fight. Treated like a dog by his owner/boss, Bart(Hoskins) which includes having to wear a collar, Danny has been raised to be a lethal fighting machine who fights in illegal gladiator-style fight clubs, where he earns lots of money for Bart as the undisputed champion. After a car accident that lands Bart in a coma, however, Danny meets a kind elderly blind piano tuner(Freeman) on the run because he knows secrets some bad guys don't want known, who uses music to teach Danny some things about the world and about being human...

[Ravi]

Saw the trailer for this yesterday before Kung Fu Hustle.  Looks pretty stupid but better than Taxi.

[pete]

I saw it and I thought it was good.  I mean if you can handle Jet Li and Morgan Freeman playing cute then you'll like the movie.  if you can't take them then don't bother, 'cause the fights are few and far in between (Though they're quite lengthy and good).

[cowboykurtis]

im under the impression luc besson produced this?

luc besson has fallen into a commonplace career - i had so much hope for him after the professional and he just hasn't delivered since - whether he's directing or producing.

[Jeremy Blackman]

If you thought Morgan Freeman was a stereotype in Million Dollar Baby, well, it doesn't get much worse than this.

It's extremely heavy on fake laughter and obvious flashbacks. The whole sentimental piano thing did not work at all. It really flips back and forth sharply, which I suppose is an experiment in structure and genre mixing, and I have to say I think it would have worked without some of the extreme exposition.

The fights were okay, and the pacifism was interesting, there were some unique images, and the sound was pretty great, but there was absolutely no momentum.

[Kal]

it was alright... i didnt want to go in and i was forced by a friend... so it could have been worse... fights were entertaining and the concept was good... but morgan freeman and all that piano crap was bad

[xerxes]

im under the impression luc besson produced this?

luc besson has fallen into a commonplace career - i had so much hope for him after the professional and he just hasn't delivered since - whether he's directing or producing.

he also wrote it

[MacGuffin]

I kinda wished Besson directed also this because it touches upon some of the same themes in La Femme Nikita and The Professional - that of loss of family and joining a surrogate family - and it might have turned out a bit better. Some story elements would have helped better flesh out the question of how much of a dog to man, or man to dog, he was, and what did Freeman and his daughter think he was (an amnesiac, or homeless?) before taking him in. Overall, this is Jet Li's best English film, which is not saying much and it's certainly a lot more tender than Romeo Must Die ( ). After a great opening fight sequence, the other fight scenes never really reach that same level of excitement.

[SHAFTR]

I liked this more than I thought I would.  The fight sequences were great and I fell for the domestic scenes hook, line and sinker.  I think it is a blind Morgan Freeman that does it for me.

[modage]

and it might have turned out a bit better. Overall, this is Jet Li's best English film, which is not saying much. After a great opening fight sequence, the other fight scenes never really reach that same level of excitement.

thanks for the heads up.  removed it from my queue.

[SHAFTR]

and it might have turned out a bit better. Overall, this is Jet Li's best English film, which is not saying much. After a great opening fight sequence, the other fight scenes never really reach that same level of excitement.

thanks for the heads up.  removed it from my queue.

I think it is worth checking out.

[modage]

i'll probably wait for hbo.  i'm not a huge jet li fan or anything, actually i dont think i've seen any of his english language films outside of lethal weapon 4, but this seemed like something different.  danny the dog was a cooler title anyway.

[MacGuffin]

I think it is worth checking out.

Right. It's a better action film than most that are out there now since it does have a story that's not all about fighting and shooting 'em up real good.

[pete]

yeah it's by no means bad.  It's like how a big chunk if leon is just jean reno emitting charisma, doing semi-domestic comedy.  and a good chunk of danny the dog is the same.  the fighting is quite different too, it's more brutal (though still too pretty for me) and such, and it's really fun.  but most of the movie is morgan freeman and jet li emitting their charm.  and I've always thought jet li charming, when he doesn't do stupid cold-blooded killer movies.

[diggler]

i enjoyed it, particularly for bob hoskins.  the fight in the bathroom was pretty inventive, kind of reminded me of the fight in the trailer from Raising Arizona