Back when I first read about this movie it seemed like a must see–starring Jet Li, Morgan Freeman, and Bob Hoskins, written and produced by Luc Besson and directed by Louis Leterrier ( who also collaborated on The Transporter) right?–but when it was released it got poor reviews and box office and disappeared before I had a chance to make up my mind. So when it premiered on HBO last Saturday I decided to go for it. No money out of my pocket so what the heck.

Unleashed is about a relentless fighter (Li, of course) who is more or less owned by a mob debt collector (Hoskins) and who can destroy any gang when his collar is removed (unleashed, get it?). After some unhappy “customers” riddle their car with bullets, Li believes Hoskins died and wanders off on his own, a reality he is unequipped to deal with since Hoskins has literally kept him

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caged and isolated since he was a small child. He connects with Freeman, a blind piano tuner who he met while waiting on Hoskins to make a collection, who takes him in no questions asked.

But of course Hoskins isn’t dead and a few months later, after Li has come out of shell, one of his thugs runs into Li on the street. Understanding that to do otherwise would bring only pain and/or death to Freeman and his stepdaughter, Li returns to his old life. That is soon unacceptable and so the two have a final showdown.

The martial arts sequences were choreographed by Yuen Wo Ping, one of the true masters, are awesome. As soon as his collar comes off, Li jams into action and takes down all the opposition; going against Hoskins is just stupid but some people won’t learn that lesson. There are also a couple of arrange ultimate fighting style scenes, to the death, that show Li at his nonstop best.

But this is IMO a good movie too, not just a shell for the battles,which I think is also true of The Transporter and, though this was more fisticuffs and guns, Besson’s 1992 classic Leon (released in the US as The Professional). The story holds together–as much as can be expected in such a strange setup–and Li really has a chance to act. Which is a good thing since he’s getting old enough (43) that one wonders how much of the intense martial arts he can keep putting on film.

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