Unleashed: - Watch Jet Li Get Absolutely Crazy Violent
Written: May 20 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Cool Action Sequences, Acting, Morgan Freeman, Jet Li
Cons: An Unbelievable Premise
The Bottom Line: I Enjoyed Unleashed.
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| jeremy1456's Full Review: Unleashed (2005) |
I'm one of the many people out there who aren't all that familiar with Jet Li. Sure I've seen a couple of the films, but I have an easier time remembering the body counts of all the Friday the 13th sequels than the names of these Jet Li films. From what I hear, his foreign movies are the ones that turned out the best, with more action than his films made in the Western side of the world. In an effort to expand my horizons, I decided to watch all of Jet Li's film. I thought to myself, "What better place to start than one of the newer ones?". Okay so maybe that's not the best place to start, but it seemed like a good idea to me From here, I heard that Unleashed was new in the theatres and so I snuck into the theatres to give it a viewing. Given my interest and unfamiliarity with such a style of film, it seemed inevitable that I would enjoy it. Was this the case with Unleashed? Read on to find out.
Title: Unleashed
Year: 2005
Directed By: Louis Leterrier
After watching Unleashed, I got online to check online to see if my views of the film matched the general consensus. Maybe it's just because I'm not too familiar with this type of film or something, but Unleashed seems to be widely disliked. Other reviewers have stated that the story is a bit to sappy, and so I'm beginning to think that this is may be a change from the other films featuring this widely acclaimed actor. For me, the sappy element did come off as a little cheesy, but it wasn't so bad, and having Morgan Freeman playing a part in the film certainly did not hurt the movie on any degree. It also sounds like this one is slightly tame compared to Jet Li's roles in other action films, which seems a bit surprising to me.
One thing I noticed right away was that Unleashed has a really cool setting; in Glasgow Scotland. This is actually a place that I once researched moving to, and so the film struck some chords of interest with me right away. The cinematography techniques depict a gritty and dark city, which also worked out especially well for the film. The atmosphere gives off a real surreal feeling, especially because the first half of the film features various locales that all look alike as far as colors and scenery are concerned. It isn't until the second half of the film that things brighten up a bit, but this happens in a very predictable manner, and is hardly unexpected.
Story
Unleashed begins with a twisted money lender named Bart out claiming a debt to be repaid. Instead of threatening his debtors with weapons, his only claim is that when money is not repaid the collar of one of his henchmen comes off. This awkward, shy, scared looking fellow is named Andy (Jet Li). His personality completely twists once his uncle Bart tells him to go once the collar has been removed from around his neck. In an extremely vicious fashion, Andy can singlehandedly take out hordes of fighters with much ease. The only problem is that he can't think for himself, and so he's treated as a dog, forced to live in a damp cage and trained only to kill. It isn't until one day that Andy meets a kind hearted blind man named Sam (Morgan Freeman) who has a devoted love to old pianos. While awkwardly learning the piano through Sam, Andy completely forgets about his uncle Bart's orders to come save him once a light starts flashing, and is in turn beaten for it.
Playing the piano was the first thing that Andy ever did that he enjoyed, and even though he hardly speaks he's able to think for himself and ask Bart for a piano of his own. Suddenly a huge truck plows right into the car, and Andy seems to be the only survivor but he's badly injured and soon loses consciousness. Andy soon wakes up in a bed in a strange room. It turns out that the kind Sam has taken Andy into his home after discovering him injured, and although Andy isn't quite sure how to react to all this, the kindness of Sam and his non-biological daughter Victoria (Kerry Condon) allows Andy to open up a slight bit. As time passes, Andy eventually begins opening up to the two, and he becomes as close as family to them as he starts thinking and acting for himself for once in his life. Bad news for Andy, uncle Bart hasn't died yet and he wants Andy to come back 'home' for his selfish desires. With his newly gained individuality, Andy refuses, but Bart has leverage over his former slave now that he's got a family. You can probably guess what happens from here.
One of the biggest elements to the beginning of the film is in Victoria and Sam trying to figure out where Andy is from. Andy seems to be quite traumatized and without any emotion except for fear, and he never takes off his weird metallic collar. His past certainly does seem mysterious, and there are a few moments halfway into the film that are quite suspenseful, which involve the collar around Andy's neck. Needless to say, the sappy parts of the movie are quite predictable. From the moment Bart supposedly dies, I had very little problems predicting what would happen throughout the rest of the movie. It's even more evident in the big attempts at making scenes extra emotional (small moments between Andy and Victoria), but some of this comes off as feeling forced. In the big picture though, the overall plot works.
This story is a character driven affair, and this is another element that works well with Unleashed. First off, Li is able to pull off the feeling of an emotionally scarred character who has been thrust into the real world for the first time. He's really good at looking scared, and his expressions tell of his emotions which are just ready to pour out from the back of his battered mind. Andy looks like he's in a constant state of panic in the beginning, with the slightest human contact freaking him out even more. Morgan Freeman also plays his role brilliantly, as the sweet old man who cares deeply about his small family. The fact that he's blind allows him to see the inner child inside of Andy. Kerry Condon plays her role as Victoria well enough, and it's hard not to smile as she gushes while she speaks on and on very rapidly. I think the actress might be a little too old for that role though, as she looked much older than the character was portrayed to be. Braces and a playful smile can't hide the actresses age.
The action scenes and special effects are quite nicely done. The fighting scenes were well choreographed by the now legendary Yuen Wo-Ping, who also did those from The Matrix. These scenes feature all the usual camera effects that we've come to expect, but the real treat here is Li's skills and how well they are put into motion and planned out. Jet Li's fights can be described with one word; vicious. A lot of the time he seems to just go all out crazy, smashing heads into the floor, and just pummelling the heck out of peoples faces and chests. What's more is the ever so common twist and crack of bones as they break. Sometimes it's a bit difficult to watch, but that's just how all action films should be. Overall I would say that the effects are well played, but the high point is the choreography for sure.
Final Recommendation
Despite what most people think of this film, I enjoyed Unleashed a decent bit. I am under the impression that my inexperience with films of this style may be what has caused me to have such a different opinion than most other people, and so I'm thinking that more hardcore fans of Jet Li may find this one too sappy. Overall a solid four star movie, and it's definitely one of the better films I've seen in the theatres as of late.
Recommended:
Yes
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jeremy1456
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Member: Jeremy
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Currently Binging on Classic Games and Bad Horror Films.
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