- Review: John Wick 3 (C)
Scott Sycamore - Weekend Box Office
May 17 - 19 - Crowd Reports
Avengers: Endgame - Us
Box office comparisons - Review: Justice League (C)
Craig Younkin
Movie Review
Unleashed
By Scott Sycamore Published May 18, 2005
US Release: May 13, 2005
Directed by: Louis Leterrier
Starring: Jet Li , Morgan Freeman , Bob Hoskins , Kerry Condon
R
Running Time: 103 minutes
Domestic Box Office: $24,520,892
Directed by: Louis Leterrier
Starring: Jet Li , Morgan Freeman , Bob Hoskins , Kerry Condon
R
Running Time: 103 minutes
Domestic Box Office: $24,520,892
C+
I didn't roll my eyes or find any parts particularly stupid, but the overall impact is more hollow than solid.
"Unleashed" stars Jet Li as Danny the Dog. He has been given the name due to his classic Pavlovian upbringing by British gangster Bart (Bob Hoskins). Danny wears a symbolic metal collar that ensures his obedience. When the collar is taken off, Danny instinctively pummels everyone in the room except his masters. His martial arts fury makes him seem like a wild beast.
After this setup, the movie shifts gears for a while. Danny happens to cross paths with a blind piano tuner, Sam (Morgan Freeman), while left alone on a gangster mission. They run into each other again after a freak occurrence that sets Danny free from his master. Danny forms a bond with both Sam and his stepdaughter Victoria (Kerry Condon), who both show Danny excessive kindness and teach him how to be a human being rather than a dog. This part of the movie works based on emotional bullet-points; kindness in the face of brutality is always soothing in the world of cinema. The problem is that it seems like too much of a conflicting vision here.
Nobody will mistake this film for a straight up-and-down drama, but I'm confused as to whom this part of the movie is supposed to appeal to. The martial arts fanboys are not going to want to sit through syrupy dramatic developments any more than the art-house crowd would want loud and dumb action. I see what the movie is trying to do, but the balance comes off as disjointed rather than being a smart contrast. And on top of that, the movie has a dusty and claustrophobic feel that seems to be the staple of many foreign films. The French/British stamp is all over this movie, and that can have a negative effect in a flash-happy place like America.
The fight scenes are only okay. I'm a big kung-fu fan, and I think Jet Li has had some fantastic screen brawls in his career. But such is not the case in his Western work. Unleashed is no exception; the fights are not as bad as they are in Romeo Must Die, but they fail to satisfy. The main exception is a climactic fight between Li and a baldheaded white guy in a Chinese-style robe; this combat is very fluid and energetic, and it includes a fantastic segment in a cramped hallway. If all of the fighting had been this good, I would have been a lot more stoked. But as it stands, we are still subjected to bad rock music mixed with an uneven, modern editing style.
Freeman, Li, and Hoskins all do their acting jobs quite well and make their characters seem believable. The problem is that they are in the service of a script that is less than well thought-out. The whole story just feels contrived; it is a vehicle to get us to feel the things we are supposed to. I didn't roll my eyes or find any parts particularly stupid, but the overall impact is more hollow than solid. That said, I think there are many people who will find Unleashed enjoyable in the moment. I wanted to give it a higher rating, but couldn't do it after I thought the whole thing through. See it if you feel so inclined, but don?t be prepared to take much away from the experience.
After this setup, the movie shifts gears for a while. Danny happens to cross paths with a blind piano tuner, Sam (Morgan Freeman), while left alone on a gangster mission. They run into each other again after a freak occurrence that sets Danny free from his master. Danny forms a bond with both Sam and his stepdaughter Victoria (Kerry Condon), who both show Danny excessive kindness and teach him how to be a human being rather than a dog. This part of the movie works based on emotional bullet-points; kindness in the face of brutality is always soothing in the world of cinema. The problem is that it seems like too much of a conflicting vision here.
Nobody will mistake this film for a straight up-and-down drama, but I'm confused as to whom this part of the movie is supposed to appeal to. The martial arts fanboys are not going to want to sit through syrupy dramatic developments any more than the art-house crowd would want loud and dumb action. I see what the movie is trying to do, but the balance comes off as disjointed rather than being a smart contrast. And on top of that, the movie has a dusty and claustrophobic feel that seems to be the staple of many foreign films. The French/British stamp is all over this movie, and that can have a negative effect in a flash-happy place like America.
The fight scenes are only okay. I'm a big kung-fu fan, and I think Jet Li has had some fantastic screen brawls in his career. But such is not the case in his Western work. Unleashed is no exception; the fights are not as bad as they are in Romeo Must Die, but they fail to satisfy. The main exception is a climactic fight between Li and a baldheaded white guy in a Chinese-style robe; this combat is very fluid and energetic, and it includes a fantastic segment in a cramped hallway. If all of the fighting had been this good, I would have been a lot more stoked. But as it stands, we are still subjected to bad rock music mixed with an uneven, modern editing style.
Freeman, Li, and Hoskins all do their acting jobs quite well and make their characters seem believable. The problem is that they are in the service of a script that is less than well thought-out. The whole story just feels contrived; it is a vehicle to get us to feel the things we are supposed to. I didn't roll my eyes or find any parts particularly stupid, but the overall impact is more hollow than solid. That said, I think there are many people who will find Unleashed enjoyable in the moment. I wanted to give it a higher rating, but couldn't do it after I thought the whole thing through. See it if you feel so inclined, but don?t be prepared to take much away from the experience.
Scott's Grade: C+
Scott's Overall Grading: 417 graded movies
| A | 15.1% | |
| B | 59.2% | |
| C | 24.5% | |
| D | 1.2% | |
| F | 0.0% |
