Danny The Dog / Unleashed (2005) October 1, 2006
Posted by gproject in : Recently Viewed , trackbackDirected by: Louis Leterrier
The first time I came into contact with this movie was in a Vancouver cinema, at an opening night packed-house screening of Sin City. The audience sat transfixed to the trailer, which was one of the most effective I’d seen in a while. When it was over, I remarked that despite what we’d just seen, the movie itself would probably not be deserving of such an attention-grabbing preview. Maybe I was wrong.
You see I, like many others, assumed from the trailer that this would turn out to be another Jet Li action-fest, when really it’s quite a sedate movie with a side of violence. The plot is the hardest thing to swallow: Danny (Jet Li) works for his ‘uncle’ Bart (Bob Hoskins), who uses him as a lethal bodyguard. Since he was a child he has been raised as a dog, and is trained to attack whenever his metal collar is removed. But when a sudden car crash leaves Danny to fend for himself, he is taken in by a blind piano tuner named Sam (played by Morgan Freeman). There he learns what it is to have a family, a home, and a life of his own. It isn’t long however, before Bart comes looking for his dog.
As somebody who’s not a huge fan of his work, I’m happy to say that Jet Li does a fantastic job as the scared and shy Danny, managing to keep up with his character’s progression from mindless animal to domesticated human. And Bob Hoskins too is surprisingly menacing as the evil centre in Danny’s world. For those after their dose of on-screen violence this movie has its share, with Jet Li proving once again why he’s probably the most skilled martial artist on our screens today. But the entire mid-section of the movie is dedicated to Danny’s transition, and his adopted family.
Director Louis Leterrier adds some nice visual flourishes, handling both the action & dramatic scenes expertly. There’s some interesting CG camerawork, and seamless scene transitions a-plenty during the relatively short 102-minute running time. The script (penned by famous writer, and occasional director, Luc Besson) is commendable for being touching where it needs to be, although the characters do sometimes fall back into their stereotypical boxes – the wise blind man, the miserly debt collector, the stupid henchmen, and so on.
Unleashed, as western audiences will know it, may not be the movie you’re expecting it to be. It’s Jet Li’s most real acting performance and while there are plenty of brutal moments (some of the fights are quite gritty), they are only in place to emphasise the nature of the character. If you can get past the far-fetched premise of a man as a dog, then you’ll find this film really has something to offer.
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