7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 4.1 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.1 |
Danny is raised from childhood by a ruthless crime boss to become a violent killing machine. When a blind piano tuner takes him in, Danny tries to start a new life, but his brutal past follows him, forcing him to fight back.
Starring: Jet Li, Morgan Freeman, Bob Hoskins, Kerry Condon, Vincent ReganAction | 100% |
Martial arts | 67% |
Crime | 35% |
Thriller | 28% |
Melodrama | 10% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Romance | Insignificant |
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH, French, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
BD-Live
D-Box
Region free
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
François Truffaut offered his take on a sort of young Caliban story in his 1970 film The Wild Child. Supposedly based on a real life 18th century event where a child who had little to no human contact in his early life was found and “civilized” by well meaning Parisians, the film was a meditation on the savagery of nature versus a different kind of brutality courtesy of the bourgeoisie. This “wild child” trope has been a staple of films, though it’s often colored differently, from the historical semi-accuracy of The Miracle Worker and Helen Keller to Disneyfication in such films as The Light in the Forest. It’s still unusual, to say the least, to see this device utilized in a martial arts film, and it’s one of the reasons Unleashed is such a bracing film experience so much of the time. Though its subject matter may strike some as unseemly and distasteful, in Luc Besson’s screenplay, Louis Leterrier’s direction, and an especially interesting performance by Jet Li, Unleashed manages to rework the wild child idea in a completely unexpected manner, making this one of Li’s most compelling films. Add in some very nice supporting work from Morgan Freeman and a despicable Bob Hoskins, and there’s a lot of meat on Unleashed’s “canine” bones.
Unleashed knuckles onto Blu-ray with a cool green, fairly desaturated VC-1 encoded transfer in 1080p and 2.35:1. This is not a film bursting with color, by design. Instead we get pallid fleshtones, a cityscape dripping with grays, beiges and browns, and very few incidences of bright, flashing hues. In fact, even the blood, which is quite abundant, tends toward a dark rust color rather than brilliant crimson red. All of that said, if you can get past the almost monochromatic look of the film, there's really quite an abundance of fine detail here, despite some intentionally overblown contrast and other post processing effects. Some of the close-ups are actually astounding, revealing the strata of Freeman's fingernails and every pock mark in Li's weathered face. Depth of field in the outdoor shots is exceptional, and grain throughout the film looks natural without being overwhelming. There is some minor shimmer here and there, but it's nothing too distracting in the overall scheme of things.
Unleashed benefits from a completely explosive and propulsive lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix, one which bursts from the gate with overwheming LFE and rarely lets up after that. The sound of pummeling fists and breaking bones shatter through the soundfield in extremely immersive action sequences, usually to the thumping sound of a bass. Dialogue is clear and directional, easy to hear and well mixed with the sound effects and booming underscore. Dynamic range on this track is really jaw dropping at times, and the low end here is impressive, to say the least. Even with the preponderance of low frequencies throughout the mix, dialogue never gets buried, a testament to how well the sound effects mixers did their jobs on Unleashed.
Unleashed isn't such a good dog in terms of supplements:
Li has always been one of the more interesting presences in martial arts films, but he's never been more compelling than he is in Unleashed. Backed by the gentleness of Morgan Freeman and the hyperbolic fury of Bob Hoskins, Li is the centerpiece of one of the most unusual ostensibly "martial arts" films in recent memory. But much like Besson's Nikita, this is a film which rises above the conventions of its genre to offer a unique story that revolves around a childlike central character coming into his own. Well directed by Leterrier, and with an above average Blu-ray presentation, Unleashed is Highly Recommended.
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Unrated Cut
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死亡遊戲 | Collector's Edition
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ต้มยำกุ้ง / Tom yum goong
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Huo Yuanjia | 霍元甲 | Theatrical, Unrated, & Director's Cuts
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Serbuan Maut
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Titans of Cult
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龍爭虎鬥
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1988
Banlieue 13
2004
Banlieue 13: Ultimatum
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2016
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1991
2-Disc Extended Cut
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