Unleashed (2005)
"Danny the Dog" (original title)

A man enslaved by the mob since childhood and raised into behaving like a human attack dog escapes his captors and attempts to start a new life.

Director:

Louis Leterrier

Writer:

Luc Besson

Stars:

Jet Li, Morgan Freeman, Bob Hoskins

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jet Li	...	Danny
Morgan Freeman	...	Sam
Bob Hoskins	...	Bart
Kerry Condon	...	Victoria
Vincent Regan	...	Raffles
Dylan Brown	...	Lefty
Tamer Hassan	...	Georgie
Michael Jenn	...	Wyeth
Phyllida Law	...	Distinguished Lady
Carole Ann Wilson	...	Maddy
Mike Lambert	...	The Stranger
Jaclyn Tze Wey	...	Danny's Mother
Puthirith Chou	...	Teen Danny
Tony Theng	...	Little Danny
Owen Lay	...	Baby Danny

Storyline

A man treated like a dog and raised as a fighting machine his entire life, ends up in a coma and is taken in the care of good people, but his sinister owner is looking to retrieve his most prized possession: a non stop human weapon triggered by the collar leashed on his neck.

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Plot Keywords:

dog | collar | fight | fighting | piano | 

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Taglines:

Serve No Master

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violent content, language and some sexuality/nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Rogue

Country:

France USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 May 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Unleashed

Filming Locations:

Blackfriar's Bar, Merchant City, Glasgow, Strathclyde, Scotland, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$45,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$227,728 (Brazil) (4 November 2005)

Gross:

$381,492 (Brazil) (11 November 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

EuropaCorp, Danny the Dog Prods Ltd., TF1 Films Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bob Hoskins actually cut Jet Li's hair at the start of the movie, as his character would have done it in the movie.

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Goofs

The same Land Rover is seen again despite being destroyed in an earlier scene. The G274 HDS number plate reveals this.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Bart: Get 'em!

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Connections

Referenced in Indie Sex: Censored (2007)

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Soundtracks

"L'amour est enfant de Bohème"
from "Carmen"
(Georges Bizet)

User Reviews

Transcending Evil, Discovering Humanity

Luc Besson's signature style is all over the writing of this very fine little film. His ability to push the buttons on the most violent screen business while gradually developing a tale of warm sentiment is well served by director Louis Leterrier and a perfect cast of actors. UNLEASHED is one of the few examples of how martial arts and bona fide drama can be mutually supportive in creating a film that is at once thrillingly athletic and gently tender.

Bart (Bob Hoskins) is a brutish loan shark thug who makes his 'collections' accompanied by his 'dog' Danny (Jet Li), a silent man Bart has raised form childhood to be a caged killer, a human with a dog collar that when removed unleashes a ferocious beast who kills on command of his master Bart. Bart keeps him in a cage, feeds him, and uses him solely for his criminal doings. Danny unleashed is simply a Pavlovian animal and when the collar is replaced, he becomes docile with the sad eyes of a puppy.

During a 'collection' gone bad, Danny escapes and finds shelter in an antique shop basement where he meets blind piano tuner Sam (Morgan Freeman), a gentle man who gradually introduces Danny to music, trains him as his assistant, and introduces him to his 'family' - his step daughter Victoria (Kerry Condon). With the two of these welcoming, tender people Danny discovers how beautiful life can be. The story from this point is how Danny chooses between his Pavlovian response life as a killer and the simple life of Sam and Victoria. The journey is not without stressors and it is a difficult transition that keeps the viewer on seat's edge.

The wonder of this film lies in the extraordinary performances not usually associated with martial arts films. Jet Li does some of his finest athletic fighting on film, but thankfully at the same time creates a character who is multidimensional and memorable - a very fine acting job by Li. Bob Hoskins is brilliant as the despicably cruel Bart, Morgan Freeman adds a luster to his fine portrayal of blind Sam, and Kerry Condon makes Victoria zany and lovable at the same time. The action is superbly captured by cinematographer Pierre Morel with the aura of darkness in Danny's caged life serving as a perfect foil to the martial arts sequences.In short, this is a fine little film about characters worth knowing and provides audiences with both action and drama of a very high level of achievement. Grady Harp