Unleashed

Rogue Pictures presents

Starring: Jet Li, Morgan Freeman, Bob Hoskins, Kerry Condon

Directed by: Louis Leterrier

Rating: *****

Plot: A man named Danny played by Jet Li is slave to a man he considers his uncle named Bart played by Bob Hoskins. Danny has been trained like a dog sleeps in a cage and has a collar, which if it comes off when commanded he is an unstoppable force and will beat anyone to death. Bart uses this to his advantage and makes deals with guys, if they don't pay up he has Danny beat them all up, but when one of those deals goes bad Danny is beat a homeless and finds himself in the care of a blind piano tuner. Sam played by Morgan Freeman cares for Danny and with the help of his daughter Victoria they show Danny the good things in life, like love and ice cream. Of course Bart comes back looking for Danny trying to enter him in an underground boxing match, except the loser must die. A showdown occurs and Jet Li kicking ass ensues.

Acting: I love Jet Li's Chinese films they are amazing. Either recent or old they are all pretty great. His American films directors have misused him until now. Lethal Weapon 4 he played a great bad guy, but Romeo Must Die and Cradle 2 the Grave were just not great movies, had there moments but just not good. Here Li shows not only his martial arts skills but acting skills. I easily feel for his character here and really was wanting him to make it through everything that was happening and that is when you know an actor has you. Morgan Freeman is always good! I really can't think of a performance I did not enjoy from him so of course he was good. If you want to learn how to play a disgusting bad guy watch and learn how Bob Hoskins does it in this film, I hated Bart I found him repulsive treating a human being like he did he was just hideous. So the acting on all levels was brilliant and made this movie something more than just an action film.

Directing/Writing: Luc Besson I believe wrote the screenplay and may I say he is becoming the leading man for action. Louis the director had such a great style with the dark colors blending in with how the action shots were dealt with. The movie flows easily so there is no drag its around two hours long but it goes by in a flash because you become so involved. I must say the battle arena scene where Danny has to fight this huge guy plus some others in so intense and fun to watch I might see this movie again in theaters. Since rarely do you see anymore an action film where the characters are actually developed and where you care for them. We constantly get attacked by movies with either really just stupid characters or stereotyped characters. There is none of that here everyone has there own vibe, the bad guys, everybody. Unleashed is one of the most entertaining films of the summer that will probably be over shadowed by bigger movies but if you get a chance hit this one up.

Overall: It's in my top ten already and the year, a great ride with great dialogue and characters, and oh yeah of course the action is intense and impressive. So if you're tired of the stupid comedies or don't feel like a space adventure then unleash yourself and go see this movie, I can't make it anymore clear than that.