After the gruesome murder of his mother, Danny (Jet Li) is taken in by his uncle (Bob Hoskins) and trained as a dog. What the uncle likes, the uncle checks him by taking off his collar, and when the uncle says “Get him out”, he turns into a vicious fighter, beating everyone to a pulp. When her uncle is attacked, she runs away and is eventually sheltered by a man named Sam, who is blind (Morgan Freeman) and plays the piano. He will be taught a lesson in humanity and affection that will change him from a dog to a man. When Uncle Bart is resurrected, he threatens that very fabric, and Danny must fight for his new family and his existence as a person.
Louis Leterrier created a martial arts movie. He skilfully directs the film from the brutal fight scenes to the wonderful scenes of passion between Danny and Sam and Victoria. Also, despite the film’s short run, the director inserts enough developing characters to tell us who Danny really was before. Luc Besson did a clever script, with a brilliant concept (A man raised as a dog, and trained as a dog.) The dialogue was a little off at some points, but the actors more than held up the script with their superb acting.
Jet Li can act. He really liked this movie. I think the reason why it doesn’t do everything well is mainly because of the language barrier. Although he had a limited number of lines, he still used them to his advantage and made star movements and physical exercise. Bob Hoskins was brilliant as Bart. He was a fierce and menacing character. Hoskins really portrayed the character well, and I feel that if it was someone slightly different, the part would not be as effective.
Morgan Freeman, coming off his Oscar win for Million Dollar Baby, really proves he deserved it; and shows a starry respect, as Sam. The only performance I had problems with was Kerry Condon’s portrayal of Victoria, perhaps due to a lack of experience, or perhaps she just didn’t really accept the character as much as she could. Prior to this film, he has only 6 films under his belt. I saw Ned Kelly and Intermission, and he was good at those movies.
Woo-ping Yuen’s choreography was excellent. The man behind The Matrix and Kill Bill Vol.2’s created and designed the amazing and terrifying fight scenes with the help of Philippe Gugan, stunt coordinator . The music from Massive Attack and The Rza really suited the film well and helped to keep its pace.
It is convenient for you. I went into this movie with high expectations and came out excited, as I had witnessed in martial arts movie. I’m glad I took the time and saw this movie because it’s a sneaky movie. I’m surprised this movie didn’t get a better reception than it has, because this movie is truly amazing.
