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 "Unleashed" Chris' Review: Unleashed is a movie that had a good chance of working, but fell apart completely due to the script. It really was fun to watch. Jet Li plays "Danny the Dog" (this is actually the overseas title) and does some of his best work to date. I've been a fan of Jet Li for a while. I like action movies and he does some of the best fight scenes of anyone in the business. Unleashed actually gives him a chance to spread his acting wings a bit and, script aside, does an amazing job for one that is so entrenched in the action part of movies. That's part of the problem. Jet Li is given some good acting bits. This is a movie that is as much about personal growth as it is about beating people up. Unfortunately, even though the premise is great, Luc Besson (of Transporter fame) has not really learned to write realism. So when the movie takes a little over half-an-hour to delve into Danny's psyche, he can't pull it off. The idea that Sam (Morgan Freeman) would take in a weird, near-mute, stranger when he, himself, is blind and he's caring for an 18-year-old music student (Kerry Condon as Victoria) is just laughable. It makes it even worse when Sam has an outburst when Victoria comes home an hour late, leaving Sam to worry. Worse still, they live in a really bad neighborhood. The drama is just out the window with Sam and Victoria taking in Danny and helping him, feeding him, teaching him the ways of the world. None of it ever seems plausible. It knocked me right out of my suspension of disbelief. That's the thing, though. The only problem with this movie is the script. Everything else is top notch. Jet Li, as I mentioned, phenomenal in both acting and action. Morgan Freeman, although he can't get away from the mentor roles, once again commits acting perfection. Kerry Condon does her best with the crap that she's handed and you almost buy it. Bob Hoskins, as the Glasgow gangster, Bart, could be a movie unto himself. He's just fun to watch as a bad guy. The acting is ALL top notch. Then there is the action, amazing choreography, nearly believable wirework (I actually had to watch the credits for wire techs... because I wasn't sure if those moves were possible or not. It's really fun to see wirework that can actually be bought as real life action.) There is even one particular car crash that I am nominating for the best filmed car crash ever. Even the cinematography added depth and emotion going to muted colors when Danny is caged and overexposed tones when he is "Unleashed". So it all makes it just that much harder to give this a low score of 3 thumbs up. It was so much fun to watch, but I just couldn't get away from the bad writing. I'll probably pick up the DVD just because I'm such a Jet Li fan, but I'll probably fast forward to the action sequences.   Jim's Review: BackHome - Info - Reviews - Map - Message Board - Photo Album |
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