Product Description

Martial arts superstar Jet Li delivers a break-out performance in the gripping, action-packed story about a man raised from childhood by a ruthless crime boss (Academy Award® nominee Bob Hoskins) and becomes a violent killing machine. When a blind piano tuner (Academy Award® winner Morgan Freeman) takes him in, Danny (Li) tries to start a new life, but his brutal past follows him, forcing him to fight back. Featuring breath-taking fight choreography by Yuen Woo Ping (The Matrix and Kill Bill: Vols. 1 & 2). Starring: Jet Li, Morgan Freeman, Bob Hoskins Directed by: Louis Leterrier

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #24280 in DVD
• Brand: NBC Universal
• Released on: 2005-10-11
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 103 minutes

Amazon.com
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

From The New Yorker
Jet Li gets to exercise his acting chops along with his impeccable martial-arts skills in this unapologetically silly action film. Li plays a mad dog of a man who's been raised from childhood to become a killer for a Glasgow gangster (played with great relish by Bob Hoskins). After Li escapes his tormentors, he's befriended by a blind musician (Morgan Freeman) who shows him a bit of kindness and a good meal. When Hoskins's gang sets out to reclaim Li, the mayhem begins. The fight scenes are choreographed by the brilliant Yuen Woo Ping ("Kill Bill," "Kung Fu Hustle"), and the director, Louis Leterrier, wisely stays out of the way of the flying furniture. -Bruce Diones
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker