Unleashed

Action, Adventure

Morgan Freeman	Sam
Bob Hoskins	Bart
Jet Li	Danny
Dylan Brown	Lefty
Kerry Condon	Victoria
Michael Jenn	Wyeth
Phyllida Law	Distinguished Lady
Tamer Hassan	Georgie
Vincent Regan	Raffles
Carole Ann Wilson	Maddy
Puthirith Chou
Owen Lay
Tony Theng
Jaclyn Tze Wey

Director	Louis Leterrier
Producer	Luc Besson; Steven Chasman; Steve Chasman; <b>Jet Li</b>; Jet Li
Writer	Luc Besson
Cinematography	Pierre Morel
Musician	Massive Attack

Luc Besson wrote and directed the stylish thrillers La Femme Nikita and The Professional; though he didn't direct Unleashed, the script has his trademark fusion of outrageous sentimentality and over-the-top violence. Hong Kong action superstar Jet Li (Romeo Must Die, Hero) stars as Danny, a man raised to be a brutal attack dog by a nasty gangster named Bart (Bob Hoskins, Mona Lisa)--when Bart removes Danny's collar, Danny pulverizes everyone in the room. But a chance encounter with a blind piano tuner (Morgan Freeman, Million Dollar Baby) reveals to Danny the possibility of a less brutal life, and when a retaliation attack gives him the chance to escape, he does--but Bart won't let him go that easily. The fighting in Unleashed is effectively jolting; Li and fight choreographer Yuen Wo Ping (The Matrix) have purposefully stripped away the smoothness of most movie combat (especially with a genuine martial artist like Li) with raw, unnerving results, especially when juxtaposed with the sweet and earnest scenes of Li regaining his humanity with Freeman and his step-daughter (Kerry Condon). This freewheeling cocktail of bloody noses and ice-cream cones isn't for everyone, but fans of both Besson and Li will leave satisfied. --Bret Fetzer