Unleashed

Trying to stay away from being stereo-typed in films, every actor and actress works at broadening their spectrum, but it seems that no matter what kind of film Jet Li goes into there is always a fair amount of fighting that is involved. Here however we are given an opportunity to see him broaden his acting ability with the more human side of his character. Yet on the other side of the stereo-type coin we have Bob Hoskins who has made being a bad guy an art form. Every time you turn around and Hoskins is in the film he's usually the villain and, like here, he plays the role with such flair that each time you see him it's an entirely new character, the way it's suppose to be.
Raised as a fighting slave at the complete control of his Master, Danny begins to have emotional breakthroughs when he hears the playing of a piano, but when his Master appears dead he fights to regain his humanity. Some of the fighting sequences are so overpowering that many of them are over before you have a chance to process them in your mind, thank God for the rewind button. The fighting starts from the very beginning of the film and once your drawn into the story its hard to pull away. Seeing the brutality that Hoskins' character, Bart, inflicts on Danny is at times hard to watch, but necessary for the build up to the final showdown. With as malicious a character that Hoskins' portrays, the nobility of the blind character that Morgan Freeman brings to the screen is a classic interpretation of good vs. evil that Danny himself must decide how his life is to continue.
Seeing the broadening of Li's acting into the more dramatic parts of the character is a relief for just the bust into a room and fight everyone kind of things that he's been doing. This was a film that didn't do very well in the theater and didn't get much fanfare when it was released on DVD, but after finally watching it I can see how the audience wasn't drawn into the film. Being a Jet Li film you would expect him to be in a strong, forceful role but here he's in a submissive part that lasts almost the entire story. If you can get past that and watch the movie for the entertainment value then I think you'll enjoy it, just don't go in expecting it to be one of those regular Li fighting films.