Jet Li is the best martial arts action star since Bruce Lee, mainly because he's a decent actor, too. Until "Unleashed," he hasn't been given much of an opportunity to show his acting skill in an American movie, and when you consider he's able to hold his own against the likes of Morgan Freeman & Bob Hoskins, it's an impressive performance indeed. Of course, he still engages in lots of prerequisite ass-kicking, but what makes "Unleashed" one of the better movies I've watched lately is it strikes a near-perfect balance of action and character-driven drama.

Li plays Danny, an unthinking killing machine trained since boyhood to obey every command of Bart (Hoskins), a small-time English mobster. Bart essentially owns Danny, treating him like a well-trained attack dog, and uses him when force is needed to collect debts; he remains docile until Bart removes the metal collar around his neck. Then the opportunity arises for Bart to use his 'dog' to fight for profit, but when Bart's shot during a mob hit, Danny is left on his own. Having basically the brain of a child, knowing nothing but how to hurt people on command, he ends up at the door of Sam (Freeman), a kindly old piano tuner who had once briefly shown Danny the only kindness he ever knew. Sam and his step-daughter, Victoria (Kerry Condon), feeling sympathy toward the scared & helpless young man, are more than happy to take him in. The middle third of the movie sees Danny slowly discovering much about himself, the world around him, and his new family. He's enchanted by piano music, not just because Sam works on them & Victoria's a budding concert pianist, but it triggers dormant memories of his mother, whose death placed Danny in the hands of Bart. Later, we learn Bart isn't dead, and still wants Danny for the death matches he's arranged. But Danny no longer wants to hurt people, wants nothing to do with Bart's world, and when he realizes Bart lied about his mother and how she died, he escapes and runs back to Sam & Victoria. This places his new family in harm's way, since Bart and his henchmen come looking for Danny, leading to climactic showdown in which Jet Li gets to once again demonstrate his martial arts mastery. The fight scenes are extremely well-choreographed by Yuen Wo Ping, and Louis Leterrier ("The Transporter") does an excellent job showcasing the action, though I think somebody went a little scissor-happy in the editing room. Technically, it's as well made as any martial arts action movie you'd care to name. But what sets "Unleashed" apart is the story and it's characters. After a gritty & violent opening act, the movie shifts gears to become an emotionally rewarding look at the nature of family and childlike discovery; it's easily the best part of the film, and wholly necessary to make the climactic mayhem of the final act more intense. We get to know Danny, Sam & Victoria so well that, when Danny is forced to defend them all against Bart, we're not just waiting for some great action...we're fearing for their lives. Freeman & Hoskins give their usual solid performances, but the real revelation is Li. If he was trying to establish himself as an actor, in my opinion, he succeeded. Sure, his fight scenes are frenetic & astounding, but more impressive are his moments of scared silence, or his childlike wonder after discovering simple pleasures like ice cream & music. Considering Li's reputation, it's a surprisingly engaging performance.

The movie is presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio, and it looks terrific. The use of muted color renders the black tones very sharp and accurate. The grainy look of the picture is a creative decision, not a reflection of the transfer quality. The audio is offered in both 5.1 Dolby Digital & 5.1 DTS. I didn't check out the DTS track, but the Dolby track is pretty impressive, with crisp, clean sound and good balance.

Unfortunately, the quality of the extras leaves a little to be desired. Two versions of the movie are offered, the unrated cut I watched, and an extended version which contains some deleted scenes. For the sake of getting this review posted in a timely manner, I didn't sit through the extended cut, and unfortunately there's no option to view deleted scenes separately. There are also three short featurettes, "Serve No Master," which highlights the fight scenes, "The Collar Comes Off," featuring comments from cast & crew, and an interview with director Leterrier. These features aren't necessarily bad...there's some behind-the-scenes stuff and a few interesting comments, but most of their running times consists of footage from the movie we already sat through. Finally, a couple of music videos by Massive Attack & The RZA round out a batch of extras that will most likely leave fans wishing there was more.

Mediocre extras aside, "Unleashed" is a terrific movie...part action, part drama, and always wonderfully entertaining. As for the 'UNRATED' label proudly plastered on the cover, the violence and language is equivalent to an 'R.' (It always amazes me how studios live in fear of their movies being slapped with an NC-17, but turn around and use the increasingly meaningless 'unrated' label as part of their DVD ad campaign). Anyway, this is a disc definitely worth owning, and at least worth checking out for those who only associate Jet Li with martial arts action. Similar Movies: "Soldier"; "Leon - The Professional"; "La Femme Nikita" Useless Trivia: Outside of the U.S., "Unleashed" is also known under the title, "Danny the Dog." Cooler title if you ask me.