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Ok, I just realized as that I got material together for a summer movie wrap-up I hadn't done a write-up on this movie! Doh! My apologies for martial-arts fans because this is a serious over-sight! So here we go.
Ah, the action movie, usually the domain of LOTS of testosterone, ammunition, and moments of gratuitous cleavage. (Or in the case of 'Troy' seeing Brad Pitt's butt.) Is there anything wrong with this? Certainly not. Pure entertainment is a wonderful thing, and there's something to be said about seeing the bad-guys getting a massive can of whup-ass dumped on them by the good guys.
But once in a while, the typical action-flick transcends the easy stuff. Using more pyrotechnics then Michael Bay takes second place to a story that reaches into your mind and heart. 'Lethal Weapon' did that for me. On the surface it's a fun buddy movie with Danny Glover and Mel Gibson showing the most amazing chemistry on screen and getting to kick some serious butt. Below that was a story of redemption, self-discovery, and burying your demons. (Or at least coming to terms with them.)
Now comes 'Unleashed'. What's the big deal? Ok, so it's got Jet LI. Woohoo! Wait... Morgan Freeman? Bob Hoskins? Ah, NOW you see this ISN'T just a movie about taking out 55 guys with a toothpick. No, this movie is about magic.
The first thing that sells this flick is the story Luc Besson and Luis Letterier tells. Yep, it's THAT Besson, from 'Leon the Professional'. Yeah, be very psyched. Letterier is a lesser knows quantity. He's been working on an interesting mix of action flicks, such as work on 'Alien - Resurrection' and 'The Transporter'. No, not big names, but you get the idea this guys knows action. Besson and Letterier create a world where our hero Danny isn't just the umpteenth guy whose mother's cousin's uncle's daughter was killed and must seek revenge, blah, blah, blah.
Ok, so that DOES come up later, but that's not the crux of the story! It's really a growing-up story. Jet Li's Danny is a lost soul who's 'watched' over by Bob Hoskins, who plays Uncle Bart. Y'all know this uncle; the psycho one that everyone warns you. Bart uses Danny as the ultimate enforcer running his Mafia outfit. Naturally Danny eventually escapes and lands in the lap of Morgan Freeman, a blind Piano tuner. I know, I know, sounds far-fetched, but it works! A bond forms between these two as Freeman tries to help Danny go from being a 'dog' and into a man. Of course things can't be THAT easy as Hoskins returns to get his 'dog' back, and all hell breaks loose.
Another huge plus for the film is the fight choreography. Enter Wo Ping. The beauty of his work is every movie has something incredibly different in it. The one-against-50 fight. Check. The fight-pit. Check. Fighting in a toilet. Check. WHAT? Now here's a chance to see the HUGE difference between Jet Li and Jackie Chan. This sounds like a classic moment for Jackie to do a few jokes. For Wo Ping and Jet Li, this is a moment of pure fighting expertise. The confrontation is between Danny and a marital arts master who's hired by Bart to take Danny out. Surprise surprise. They fight all over the place in this apartment building, and land in a bathroom. Instead of all sorts of sophomoric toilet humor this is a moment to show how intense REALLY close-in fighting can be. Forearms, elbows, knees, and head-butts fly everywhere with so much fury and intensity that it beats any flying sidekick. Beautiful.
Cont. on p. 2