STORY STUDY - MEDIUM: FILM - “Unleashed”

At the same time Jackie Chan was popular in America in the 90’s and 2000’s, another martial artist actor was on the scene: Jet Li.

Chan’s films had an action-comedy tone while Li’s films were action-drama with the occasional humorous moment as comic relief.

Regarding his American’s films, most people remember his debut role as a villain in Lethal Weapon 4, his breakout starring role in Romeo Must Die, and the one where he played the protagonist and the antagonist, The One.

However, one of the films that got lost in the shuffle is this film from 2005: Unleashed.

Directed by Louis Leterrier and written by Luc Besson, Unleashed is about Danny “the Dog,” a martial artist bodyguard with a childlike mind for a loan shark, Bart.

He even wears a collar that Bart takes off, indicating him it’s time to attack.

After their car is fired upon by someone who wants revenge against Bart, Danny escapes. He is found by a blind piano tuner, Sam, who takes him in. He and his stepdaughter Victoria take care of him, slowly helping him regain his independence and humanity.

Danny’s life is for the better until he finds out that Bart is still alive.

The film not only has some beautiful and violent fight sequences (maybe even beautifully violent), but its story is endearing.

It’s the most unique of Li’s American films simply because of the character he plays. In his other films, he’s always the badass on a mission, and anyone who stands in his way is going down.

However, with Unleashed, while he has a violent nature, he’s also vulnerable, curious, and just plain frightened, not just toward Bart, but at the prospect of human kindness from Sam and Victoria. It takes him hours to adjust to something he’s not used to.

It was also the fact that Li was also going to be acting alongside Morgan Freeman and Bob Hoskins. At the time, actors of that caliber would never appear in supporting roles in a martial arts movie. Would they act circles around Li, overshadowing him? They kind of do, however Danny’s character is supposed to be reserved anyway, and he does that well.