...but let's face it, Danny the Dog is a WAY cooler title.
In short, this is the best Luc Besson script put to film, ever. That's saying a lot, considering the man has come up with some pretty cool stories (e.g., Leon, 5th Element). The bad guy (Bob Hoskins) has his version of a human story, and each character in the film has his/her own persona. It's awesome. The dialog flows like real life, the human interaction flows like real life, but sadly the action flows not so real life.
The bigger action sequences follow through like a fight by the numbers flick from the '80's, very reminiscent of early Van-Damme films. The bad guys line up one by one, waiting their turn to be taken out by Li. Alas, this NEVER bothered me with this film, for reasons being Jet Li still gets the crap beat out of him (several times), and the whole fight-by-the-numbers is offset by some really cool camera work. You can feel the energy emitting out each sequence, even the really short ones. It's hard for an action flick to do that nowadays.
The acting is top-notch, especially in Li's character. Given the fact that I hated his performance in "The One" ("just like old times, eh, buddy?" ugh.), it still didn't stop me from enjoying the crap outta that movie. With "Danny the Dog" ("Unleashed" in the States) I got a special treat...Jet Li pulled off a wonderful performance in being a torn little boy in a grown-up body, trying to accept that he is, in fact a "dog", yet yearns to be human, even before his freedom. The fact is, he is raised like dog by his "uncle", a role that Bob Hoskins tore into like a starving rabid animal. I know this term gets tossed around a lot, but I quite literally mean it when I say, Hoskins was born for this role, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching him as much as I liked watching Li.
All in all, this is a fascinating action-drama, which I gave a 9 out of 10. I would have it at a 10, if the action sets weren't so by the books. Kudos to the film makers, this is a movie worth remembering.
In short, this is the best Luc Besson script put to film, ever. That's saying a lot, considering the man has come up with some pretty cool stories (e.g., Leon, 5th Element). The bad guy (Bob Hoskins) has his version of a human story, and each character in the film has his/her own persona. It's awesome. The dialog flows like real life, the human interaction flows like real life, but sadly the action flows not so real life.
The bigger action sequences follow through like a fight by the numbers flick from the '80's, very reminiscent of early Van-Damme films. The bad guys line up one by one, waiting their turn to be taken out by Li. Alas, this NEVER bothered me with this film, for reasons being Jet Li still gets the crap beat out of him (several times), and the whole fight-by-the-numbers is offset by some really cool camera work. You can feel the energy emitting out each sequence, even the really short ones. It's hard for an action flick to do that nowadays.
The acting is top-notch, especially in Li's character. Given the fact that I hated his performance in "The One" ("just like old times, eh, buddy?" ugh.), it still didn't stop me from enjoying the crap outta that movie. With "Danny the Dog" ("Unleashed" in the States) I got a special treat...Jet Li pulled off a wonderful performance in being a torn little boy in a grown-up body, trying to accept that he is, in fact a "dog", yet yearns to be human, even before his freedom. The fact is, he is raised like dog by his "uncle", a role that Bob Hoskins tore into like a starving rabid animal. I know this term gets tossed around a lot, but I quite literally mean it when I say, Hoskins was born for this role, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching him as much as I liked watching Li.
All in all, this is a fascinating action-drama, which I gave a 9 out of 10. I would have it at a 10, if the action sets weren't so by the books. Kudos to the film makers, this is a movie worth remembering.
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