Instead of depicting Danny's cruel upbringing where the violence roots, the director Louis Leterrier focuses on present time where Bart unleashes the fury and anger upon those who do not pay him.  The opening of the film begins with such a scene where Bart simply unhooks the collar and whispers in Danny's ear, which is followed by an astonishingly mean fight scene.  The martial arts choreographer Yuen Wo-ping, who has worked with films such as Matrix (1999) and Kung-Fu Hustle (2004), simply does an exceptional job creating these fight scenes in this film.  One of the better fight scenes takes place in a tiny bathroom where Danny has to fight for his life in a very limited space.

The mystery in the film rests within Danny and what makes him behave in a violent and submissive manner, and to understand this more one must know about his psyche and past.  Luc Besson, who wrote and directed Léon (1994) and The Fifth Element (1997), also wrote and produced this story, which depicts a very dark tale of one man's misfortune, but it seems as if Besson never really got the mystery clarified.  Unfortunately, this is also where the film's weakness rests, as the story never takes its time to explore more of Danny's disturbing upbringing that shaped him.  Instead, quick scenes with pop-psychology try to steer the audience in the desired direction, which only makes it feel awkward.

The first meeting between Danny and Sam (Morgan Freeman) tries to evolve on Danny's past as he sees something that evokes something within him.  The second meeting that Danny and Sam have becomes a little awkward, as the state of Danny would make most people call the police.  But then again, here is another element in the story which brings to mind a fantasy world; there are no police in Scotland.  Yet, as a Good Samaritan, Sam takes in Danny and nurtures him for two days while Danny is unconscious.  Here the film also struggles, as Sam unquestionably lets Danny, a stranger who bleeds profusely, move in without any concern.  This happens as Sam also has a teenage daughter for whose safety he does not seem to be too worried about.

Those who have seen the South Korean Oldboy (2003) have experienced a similar tale of a man and how his psyche was shaped by some very disturbing motive.  The main theme in each of these films are very different, yet there is a resemblance of the dark psychological nature in both films.  Oldboy displays clever manipulation with careful story development, which can be seen when everything has been taken into consideration.  Unleashed, on the other side, does not take into consideration what background knowledge the audience might have, as it leaves the viewer with an experience that felt half-finished.  In conclusion, Unleashed had great potential to tell a remarkable story, but in the end only turns out to be another martial arts film that tried to be more, but fell short.

DIRECTED BY

COUNTRY

France / USA / UK / Hong Kong

Filmography links and data courtesy of