Review of Unleashed

Introduction

I`ve seen quite a few Martial Arts action movies, and I don`t even follow the genre closely. I do appreciate the occasional old school Jackie Chan film, and reviewing discs had certainly increased my exposure to the genre. But for even the most fanatical of Martial Arts fans, Unleashed has to be a first. A bone crunching action movie, with fight scenes choreographed by Yuen Woo Ping of the Matrix fame, scripted by Luc Besson and starring Jet Li, but set in Glasgow? Unleashed, as it is known in the UK and US, or Danny The Dog as it is known everywhere else, is just that however and what`s more, it works.

Bart is a small time criminal who`s renowned for his strong-arm tactics when it comes to collecting on debts. When his payments are not forthcoming, he unleashes Danny on the faulting debtors, who proceeds to batter all and sundry until they change their ways. Danny has been raised since childhood by Bart to be a brutal killing machine. Uneducated and unworldly, he is literally kept caged like a dog, meek and subservient to Bart, but when his collar is removed, he destroys all that Bart orders him to with an animal viciousness. Danny has only vague memories of his former life, but it`s his fascination with pianos that cause trouble. When paying a visit to an antiques dealer who owes money, Danny is entranced when a blind man comes in to tune a piano. He`s so distracted that he misses the signal when Bart wants help. The enraged and battered Bart decides to put Danny to better use fighting in underground death-matches, but before he can enact his plan, a chance encounter with a truck sets Danny free. The wounded Danny ends up on the doorstep of the piano tuner, Sam and his stepdaughter Victoria. The good Samaritans take him in and begin healing his wounds, physical and psychological. Danny gets his first taste of a normal existence, and begins to piece together his shattered past. Now that Bart is dead, Danny can learn what it is to be human. But Bart isn`t dead; he`s out there, looking for his little lost dog.

Video

A recent film with a crystal clear 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer makes it all the more harder to find something relevant to say in this section. We`re getting to the stage with DVDs where looking for image flaws means noting the odd pixel out of place in individual frames, and becomes more and more meaningless for the average punter who just wants a good night in with a movie.

I am impressed with how the filmmakers have managed to take the bleak look of Glasgow, a look more suited to a Ken Loach film, and made it work within the glossy context of a Hollywood style action movie. Glasgow is still grey and rain sodden, yet it is the sort of grey that actually looks appealing and noirish, giving the story a grimy chic. The action sequences are astounding, with the fights bone crunching and brutal, yet fast moving and visually frenetic too.

Audio

DD 5.1 and DD 2.0 Stereo English soundtracks with a HOH subtitle track. The surround is excellent throughout, making the most of the action and effects. It`s just as you would expect from a film of this genre. One aspect worth noting is the dog`s POV. I don`t know if it is an urban legend that dogs have a vocabulary of a few dozen words, but this is enacted in Danny`s character when we first meet him. His world is a melange of indecipherable conversations and meaningless words that surround him, and us as the audience. He only really understands a few words, and the clear commands that Bart issues to him. It`s a neat effect that helps build the character.

Massive Attack supplies the music, and the bass thumping beats perfectly suit the fight sequences. There is an odd moment that jarred with me somewhat when Danny and Bart are reunited. It`s a stormy night and lightning flashes illuminate the character faces, at which the music becomes an almost classic horror movie score that wouldn`t seem out of place in a James Whale movie.

Features

The disc autoplays with an advert for Universal`s coolroom.com and is presented with the ubiquitous animated menus. There is a naff piracy advert to sit through, but in a welcome move it is placed after the end credits. Perhaps consumers` woes are finally being addressed.

Featurettes include a brief Making of FX, which through 2 minutes shows the creation of a CG piano. There is also a trailer, and a RZA music video. The gag reels last 4 minutes and show the usual goof ups and goofing around, while complete scenes lasts 10 minutes and show extended fight sequences, albeit with incomplete effects. The deleted scenes, of which there are two last just under 3 minutes and show one character scene as well as a training sequence.

The major addition to this disc is a Making Of `Unleashed` documentary that lasts 36 minutes. It`s presented in French and English and subtitled, as are all the other extras. It quite naturally goes behind the scenes of the film and has interviews with the cast and the crew. The director talks quite openly about all aspects of making the film and it goes into significantly greater detail than the usual EPK fluffiness that accompanies recently made films. It`s an excellent making of that compliments the main feature well.

Conclusion

This is one film that shouldn`t work. A child treated and raised as a dog by a petty gangster to tear his enemies apart. Then as an adult he finds his freedom long enough to regain his humanity, courtesy of a kind mentor figure introducing him to music, which all results in a confrontation with his previous `owner`. It all sounds like a tacky premise that gets made into the kind of b-movie that the term `straight to video` was invented for. Yet Unleashed is one of the better films that I have seen this year, entertaining and exciting without overstaying its welcome.

A fair bit has to do with the script, which at Luc Besson`s hands has the intelligence and wit to make this premise work. A lot has to do with a meaty performance from Bob Hoskins as the utterly reprehensible villain Bart. Fond of dressing in white, and living by his own twisted moral code inspired by the words of his dear mother, every word he utters is a gem. Add to that Morgan Freeman as the piano tuner Sam who takes Danny in and mentors him. Freeman instantly adds gravitas to any film he works in, and the emotional weight he provides teaching the damaged character of Danny makes his growth through the film all the more effective. But central to the film is a stunningly sensitive performance from Jet Li as Danny, making potentially a cartoon character very real and effective. Danny is basically a child. Brought up as a killing machine by Bart, he has no concept of the outside world beyond obeying his master`s whims. His few fractured memories of his childhood give him an emotional resonance with pianos and music, but other than that he exists to eat and to fight. Jet Li portrays him as a withdrawn, almost autistic character. You can see his desire to please Bart, his hurt feelings when he is chastised, all very much like a dog. When he comes into contact with the outside world and begins to learn from Sam and Victoria, you can see his humanity develop gradually. It`s a measured portrayal that is always believable. You know that eventually Danny will develop enough of a personality to make his own decisions, and the final confrontation with Bart is a foregone conclusion. Yet that confrontation flows naturally from the story and never looks forced.

Then there is the action, of which there is plenty. This isn`t the stylised ballet of most Martial Arts pictures, rather the down and dirty style that you would associate with street fighting. Hits connect with bone shattering intensity and Danny tears into his foes like… well like a rabid dog. It`s visually and aurally brutal and has a freewheeling improvisation to it that makes a change from action scenes that look choreographed to the smallest move.

Unleashed is great fun, a no holds barred action movie that also has a heart. Excellent performances, stunning fight scenes and a story that always entertains makes this one of the better such films of the year. The disc quality is excellent, and while the extras are few, they complement the film ideally. One to watch.