Unleashed (2005)

I suppose I have to respect this film's ambitious nature even as it ends up being precisely that nature that sinks it. If the film wasn't striving so hard to be something other than your average chop-socky flick (if, in other words, it was happy to be Kiss of the Dragon-style schlock), then the third act wouldn't feel like such a letdown. But really, there's so much interesting material in the film's first hour -- the lunatic concept is actually played out quite well, and the interaction between Jet Li and his new 'family' is surprisingly touching. (In fact, Li's performance here is something of a revelation; for a while, this looks like it could be his Punch-Drunk Love.) Bob Hoskins, too, deserves every bit of the acclaim his hugely amusing performance has accrued... but it's precisely the point where he reappears that the movie falls to pieces. Look, I know this is an action movie, so there needs to be action. I have no problem with the film's regression on that count, since the action scenes are generally pretty awesome. It's interesting also to see the peaceful message that Li most likely follows in his real life (you know, he being a Buddhist and all) smuggled in even as the film brings the pain. So that's not an issue either. My problem is with the sheer number of ridiculous contrivances that suffocate the third act. It's like everyone stopped caring. Come on... Li finding the telltale photograph? Li not knowing what money is, even though he presumably had used some earlier in the film to buy things like ice cream? And what about the ending? Yes, we need a happy ending, but... um, what the hell happened to all the other henchmen? The laziness of the climax speaks either to incompetence or arrogance, and either way it ruins an otherwise-intriguing movie.

Grade: C+