Themes: Hired Killers, Out For Revenge, Unlikely Friendships
Main Cast: Jet Li, Morgan Freeman, Bob Hoskins, Kerry Condon
Release Year: 2005
Country: FR/US/UK
Run Time: 102 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Two men cut off from the world in different ways become unlikely friends and protectors in this offbeat action drama. Danny (Jet Li) is a physically powerful but emotionally stunted man; never given any sort of proper education, Danny has learned little in his lifetime but how to fight, and his minder, Bart (Bob Hoskins), treats him more like a guard dog than anything else, using him in illegal no-holds-barred brawls that earn Bart plenty of money but only reinforce Danny's violent alienation. When Bart is injured in an auto accident, Danny is left to fend for himself, and stumbles upon Sam (Morgan Freeman), an elderly piano tuner who has lost his sight. Sam is the first person to treat Danny with kindness, and the music he plays soothes the troubled soul of the fighter. However, Danny's fighting skills soon come in handy when Sam runs afoul of a pack of small-time crooks who believe he knows too much about their operations. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
An action movie that attempts to balance bone-crunching brutality with considerable heart and soul, Jet Li's second teaming with French action icon Luc Besson blends some genuinely exciting fight scenes with a refreshing sincerity rarely seen in high-octane Hollywood blockbusters. Borrowing considerably from Besson's own Léon (albeit turning the concept of that earlier effort on its head in favor of exploring the plight of a lost but essentially innocent soul sadistically manipulated for evil means rather than an innocent soul corrupted by tragedy), this variation on the familiar theme may ultimately prove too emotionally heavy-handed for hardcore action fans, though the thoughtful balance of tear-jerking and tough-guy posturing may be the ideal compromise for those nights when couples can't seem to choose between explosions and emotions. By now, even the most casual American action fan is well aware of star Li's remarkable skills as a martial artist, and though Transporter director Louis Leterrier shows considerable skill in staging a stylish and spatially believable action scene, his MTV quick-cut sensibilities ultimately undermine the star's considerable natural abilities. Unlike many modern-day action stars, Li has trained his entire life to perfect the fighting skills that have elevated him to international superstardom; when the camera angle changes every tenth of a second, much of the joy of watching him perform ends up getting lost in the shuffle -- and while Li's transformation from killing machine to ice-cream-loving puppy-dog may be a bit too rapid for some, his natural humility makes the transition relatively painless while keeping the pace of the film well on track. Though a phoned-in performance by supporting player Morgan Freeman ultimately lends little to the film's emotional impact, a snarling, scenery-chewing performance by screen veteran Bob Hoskins offers a sadistic and viciously manipulative villain who's easy -- and fun -- to hate. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Michael Jenn; Phyllida Law; Vincent Regan; Dylan Brown; Silvio Simac
Credit
Robert Mark Kamen - Artistic Advisor, Pierre Spengler - Co-producer, Olivier Beriot - Costume Designer, Oliver Beroit - Costume Designer, Louis Leterrier - Director, Nicolas Trembasiewicz - Editor, Bernard Grenet - Executive Producer, Steven Chasman - Executive Producer, Yuen Woo Ping - Fights Choreographer, Jacques Bufnoir - Production Designer, Pierre Morel - Cinematographer, Pierre-Ange Le Pogam - Producer, Luc Besson - Producer, Vincent Tulli - Sound Mixer, Cyril Holtz - Sound/Sound Designer, Francois Joseph Hori - Sound/Sound Designer, Vincent Tulli - Sound Editor, Philippe Guegan - Stunts Coordinator, Luc Besson - Screenwriter, Massive Attack - Featured Music
Unleashed follows Danny, a Chinese man who was raised by a British gangster named Bart, who trained him like an attack dog. Bart sends Danny after people who do not pay back their loans. He is trained so the moment his collar comes off he turns into a vicious fighter. Danny still has the mentality of a child, and is forced to live in squalor, completely cut off from the real world.
Bart brings Danny to confront a jeweller who has not paid back his loan. The jeweller beats Bart and his men before they can take Danny's collar off. Eventually Bart gets the collar off and Danny mercilessly beats the client and all of his guards. Bart berates Danny for failing to come to his defense earlier, even though he had his collar on.
Bart brings Danny to confront another gang of debtors where he sets up a device that will blink a red light, signaling Danny to come into the room. While waiting Danny starts playing with a piano and is greeted by a blind piano tuner, Sam. Danny is taken aback by Sam's warm and friendly nature but realizes he forgot about his duty and rushes to help Bart. Furious, Bart takes him back home and throws him into the cellar.
After seeing Danny at the jewellery store, the owner of an underground cage fighting tournament wants him to enter. Bart brings Danny to the fight, where Danny effortlessly kills his opponent. The owner invites Bart to come back the next month, but to make the fight more entertaining. On the ride back the car is suddenly hit by a truck of hit men sent by the jeweller. Wounded, Danny crawls out of the wreckage and, with no where else to go, drags himself to the piano warehouse. Danny wakes up to find himself in the care of Sam and Victoria. He lives and grows with them while they teach him about the real world. After awhile, Sam tells Danny they are planning to return to New York and he should come with them. Before Danny can leave, however, Bart returns and captures Danny to use as a slave again.
Before the next tournament Danny questions Bart about his own mother but all Bart says is that he was abandoned. After spending time with Sam and Victoria, Danny does not want to hurt people anymore. Forced to fight, Danny simply dodges and blocks his opponent’s attacks until finally Bart ends it. He beats Danny for his disobedience, and thrown in the cellar, where Danny finds a picture of a woman he believes is his mother. On the way to the next match, Danny causes a car accident to escape again. He reunites with Sam and goes to the Musical library to find more information about Danny's mother. Sam tunes the library's pianos in exchange for the information. Victoria finds the music Danny's mother played and she plays it for Danny, helping him remember what actually happened to his mother: Bart had murdered her, and took the young Danny to raise.
Bart hires thugs and an assassin to bring Danny back, dead or alive. Danny tells Sam and Victoria to hide in the closet while he fights and wins. Enraged, Bart then goes up into the apartment to confront Danny himself. Bart tells Danny that he can never have a normal life, but sees that his hold over Danny is broken. He tries to provoke Danny to kill him, but before Danny has a chance to decide, Sam knocks Bart out with a flower pot.
Some time later, Danny is with Sam at a piano recital, where Victoria is getting ready to perform. Realizing Victoria is playing what his mother played years ago, Danny sheds a happy tear.
The film received mostly positive reviews from critics; Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times states that "The film is ingenious in its construction. It has all the martial arts action any Jet Li fan could possibly desire." It also scored 66% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes and remains as one of Li's most successful Hollywood movies.[2]
Box office
In North America, this movie was released by Rogue Pictures (which was the division of Focus Features). In its opening weekend in North America, the film grossed $10,900,901 which placed it third. It showed on 1,957 theaters for an average $5,570 per screen. The film grossed $24.5 million in the North America and $26.3 million foreign for a total of 50.8 million.[1] This box office result surpassed Rogue Pictures's expectations of $18 million gross at the United States box office.[3]
The soundtrack was created by Massive Attack. It was released under the name Danny the Dog, in 2004 from EMI. In 2005, Virgin Records re-released the soundtrack under the title Unleashed, with two bonus tracks. Neither version features the song "Aftersun", featuring vocals by Dot Allison, that appears in the end credits of the film.
Track listing
"Opening Title" – 1:10
"Atta Boy" – 1:29
"P Is for Piano" – 1:57
"Simple Rules" – 1:20
"Polaroid Girl" – 2:59
"Sam" – 3:08
"One Thought at a Time" – 4:23
"Confused Images" – 1:59
"Red Light Means Go" – 2:04
"Collar Stays On" – 1:51
"You've Never Had a Dream" – 2:46
"Right Way to Hold a Spoon" – 3:19
"Everybody's Got a Family" – 1:29
"Two Rocks and a Cup of Water" – 2:32
"Sweet Is Good" – 1:33
"Montage" – 1:54
"Everything About You Is New" – 2:25
"The Dog Obeys" – 2:19
"Danny the Dog" – 5:53
"I Am Home" – 4:14
"The Academy" – 1:45
Bonus tracks
In 2005 Virgin released a new version of the album with two bonus tracks.
"Baby Boy" – 3:28 (Thea)
"Unleash Me" – 2:36 (The RZA Feat. Prodigal Son & Christbearer of Northstar)
