DVD Review: Unleashed
Every since he was a little boy, Danny had been raised to be nothing more than a killing machine. Treated more like a pet than a son, his malicious master Bart has made sure that Danny will always remain under control. After all, Bart wouldn't want his killing machine turning on him, now would he? So Bart came up with a system... brainwash Danny to be extremely passive while wearing a collar, and then to be un-ordinarily fierce when it's removed. It may have took a lot of training to get to this point, but for Bart, it was sooo worth it, as collecting his payments has never been easier. Oh, you don't want to pay? Then the collar comes off and you'll be in for a world of hurt. Oh, trying to cheat? Off comes the collar and you'll never think about doing it again.
Unfortunately for big bad Bart, this winning streak is about to hit a few bumps. First, one group gets wise and silently maneuvers into position to stop Bart from removing the collar. And so long as Danny's collar remains on, they are able to beat Bart and his goons to a pulp while Danny just stands there and watches. But Bart isn't without any fighting skills of his own, and is finally able to reach Danny and unleash his pet. From then on, Danny has no problem taking care of business, taking the fight out of the back room and into the rest of the store, where his talents are spotted by a mysterious yet evil-looking man. But more on him later....
So Bart is understandably upset, yet that's no reason not to continue on with their next stop. Unfortunately, something not-so-good happens there as well. Bart decides to have Danny wait outside the room, so he hangs up a little red light and instructs Danny to enter the room as soon as he sees the red light activate, which is controlled by a remote Bart has on him. The reason for this is unknown, but it proves to be a harsh mistake. You see, the room they are currently in is filled with pianos, which Danny is drawn to. And after Bart and his gang enter the next room to take care of business, a blind piano tuner named Sam happens by. Being a friendly sort of guy, Sam introduces himself and eventually has Danny come over to help him tune a piano. Of course, this leads to Sam showing Danny how to play a little, which in turn causes Danny to miss when the red light starts blinking.
Bart was ticked before this, so now he's furious, but his mood will change pretty soon thanks to a visit by the mystery man I mentioned earlier. It seems he wants Danny to participate in fight-to-the-death tournaments, which pays a lot more than what Bart is getting from all his collections. He looks at this as an opportunity, a chance to retire, since he knows Danny can easily beat any opponent they throw at him. What he doesn't expect is the upcoming car accident... and gunfire... that will change their lives. Danny, assuming Bart is dead, finds his way back over to the piano room where Sam finds him the next day. Realizing he is hurt, Sam, along with this stepdaughter Victoria, bring him home and take him in.
The next part of the movie is all about Danny adjusting to a normal life, sleeping in a bed, eating at a table, talking with people, and even going outside. There is virtually no action here, and I'm sure a lot of people would consider it the "boring" part, but I didn't find it boring at all, just different. It's almost like a different movie, basically a fish-out-of-water comedy story, and like the previous part of the movie, is well done. Many of the scenes and experiences he goes through funny and very entertaining to watch, such as when he continues his casually shopping while a fight breaks out in the store, or when he's eating ice cream for the first time. Of course, this is an action flick, so Bart and his groupies do come back into the picture.
What comes next is a lot more fighting, but with Danny refusing to kill anyone else, even when his own life is in danger. Of course this decision becomes a lot harder when the fighting is taken to Sam and Victoria's home. What's great about these fight scenes, both in the first act and the third act, is that the look so much more realistic that standard choreographed martial arts fights. The hits aren't always precise, and there is a lot of him just pounding whenever he can get a chance. Plus, unlike in a lot of movies, the camera isn't zoomed in all the time, so we actually get to see what's going on. All-in-all, I've never seen a movie quite like this one, and I really enjoyed that. You should check it out if you get the chance.
Unleashed - Unrated was released by Universal Studios Home Video on DVD starting October 11, 2005. It stars Jet Li as Danny, Morgan Freeman as Sam, Bob Hoskins as Bart, and Kerry Condon as Victoria.
