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Unleashed,
2005, 103 minutes, Rated R
By Ramona Prioleau
After
years of portraying a myriad of characters that were short on
emotional depth, leapt through the air, blazed roundhouse kicks and
vanquished lesser-skilled foes, Jet Li wanted a change of pace. In
Unleashed, an action drama directed by Louis Leterrier (The
Transporter) and written and produced by Luc Besson (La Femme Nikita,
The Professional), Li gets his chance to show that he can bring more
than feet and fists of fury to the big screen.
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Li stars as Danny, a character that
first appears onscreen as a soulless tool conditioned by his master
Bart (Bob Hoskins) to attack on command. Bart is a low-level
criminal with a penchant for desktop trysts with the ladies and a
tendency to misquote Jesuits. Nevertheless, Bart's business is
loan-sharking and in that business knocking heads and busting knee
caps is par for the course. Bart has a decided advantage when it
comes to enforcing the terms of his illicit deals…Danny the Dog -
so called because Bart caged him as a child, trained him as
relentlessly animalistic weapon of destruction and sics him on
debtors that refuse to make timely loan payments. Danny's chance
encounter with a blind piano tuner (Morgan Freeman as Sam) strikes
chords of familiarity and awakens in Danny a desire for a refined
existence. A throttled, but not dead enemy of Bart intervenes and
allows Danny to escape Bart's clutches and seek the assistance of a
true patriarch with whom Danny discovers family, friendship and
love. MORE >>>
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© 2005 Rouge Pictures
Scenes
from Unleashed starring Jet Li, Morgan Freeman and Bob Hoskins
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Li's
Danny is an important transitional character toward the actor's goal
of expanding his repertoire. Through Danny, Li effectively
demonstrates that he possesses more than martial arts skill. Casting
Li alongside Freeman and Hoskins (where Li holds his own) can only
help convince film financiers that Li can do more on film than just
kick ass, take names and ask questions later. Li aficionados are
equally afforded an opportunity to appreciate him in a new manner.
Have no fear, director Leterrier bookends Li's dramatic scenes with
ample thematically appropriate actions sequences that thrill with
their ferocity and cleverness.
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Jet Li aside, Hoskins' performance as Bart is by far
the most compelling. Hoskins' Bart is boorish and over-the-top, but
Bart is nevertheless a guilty delight to watch. Hoskins expertly
crafts Bart as a bull-in-the-china-shop thug that is as dense as he is
cruel. M
May 2005
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