Jet Li stars as Danny, a human dog trained to kill once his collar has been taken off by his thug gangster boss Bart {Bob Hoskins}. When an attempt on Bart's life lets him escape, Danny is found and taken in by a blind piano turner named Sam {Morgan Freeman} and his teenage stepdaughter Victoria {Kerry Condon}. But just as Danny starts to find a real life, and piece together his childhood, Bart and his thug army are back on his tail.
Essential for Jet Li fans, but probably not for every action movie fan. Danny The Dog {AKA Unleashed} is an interesting blend of outright violence and quiet comedy led domesticity. Bookended by excellently choreographed fights {take a bow Yuen Wo-ping}, it's with the overtly sentimental middle section that the film will lose some of its viewers. It will either serve as a touching portrait as Danny searches for his human worth {Li showing he has more than just kick assery in his acting armoury}, or, have you quickly rummaging around for some old Van Damme DVD to play instead. Given the bonkers nature of the story, the surprise is that Unleashed is pretty tight, with no extraneous characters or subplots to bog it down. It's just a four character piece, with Freeman & Hoskins playing out as good and evil surrogate father figures. With the acting of a very high standard. Especially Hoskins, who is revelling in being a comedic, yet violent, scum-bag. It's also beautifully filmed with a sort of metallic sheen by Pierre Morel and the Neil Davidge/Massive Attack musical input is at one with the mood of the piece.
From smack downs in toilet cubicles to tender piano playing moments, Danny The Dog is certainly no ordinary action movie. It could go either way if you haven't seen it, but give it a chance and you just might be as entertained as I was. Yes, even with that middle section. 7/10
Essential for Jet Li fans, but probably not for every action movie fan. Danny The Dog {AKA Unleashed} is an interesting blend of outright violence and quiet comedy led domesticity. Bookended by excellently choreographed fights {take a bow Yuen Wo-ping}, it's with the overtly sentimental middle section that the film will lose some of its viewers. It will either serve as a touching portrait as Danny searches for his human worth {Li showing he has more than just kick assery in his acting armoury}, or, have you quickly rummaging around for some old Van Damme DVD to play instead. Given the bonkers nature of the story, the surprise is that Unleashed is pretty tight, with no extraneous characters or subplots to bog it down. It's just a four character piece, with Freeman & Hoskins playing out as good and evil surrogate father figures. With the acting of a very high standard. Especially Hoskins, who is revelling in being a comedic, yet violent, scum-bag. It's also beautifully filmed with a sort of metallic sheen by Pierre Morel and the Neil Davidge/Massive Attack musical input is at one with the mood of the piece.
From smack downs in toilet cubicles to tender piano playing moments, Danny The Dog is certainly no ordinary action movie. It could go either way if you haven't seen it, but give it a chance and you just might be as entertained as I was. Yes, even with that middle section. 7/10