Danny the Dog

I've been enthralled by the prospect of seeing Jet Li's knewest release "Danny the Dog" since I picked up the soundtrack - composed completely by the Trip-hop legend Massive Attack - back in November. Released as "Unleashed" in the US, most critics have panned it for its rediculously contrived plot.
After reading half the reviews on RottenTomatoes.com I stumbled across two writers who were both brutally honest and insightful regarding the movie. Ironically, both are from Salon.com.
Manohla Dargis accurately pinned the film when she said, "Although it lacks the ambitious reach of Zhang Yimou's period epic 'Hero,' one of Mr. Li's higher-profile pictures, 'Unleashed' has a satisfying purity of form. Or, to put it somewhat differently, the story is stupid enough for you to concentrate on all the bodies in fast, furious motion."
Although Dargis displays praise for Li's martial arts, she is less than nice about her thoughts on Li's acting skills. Dargis goes on to degrade the premise behind Morgan Freeman and Kerry Condon's characters. Dargis doesn't put the movie down for trying to be what it's not though. Instead she prepares her audience for a sub-par plot.
Dargis' co-worker, Stephanie Zacharek, didn't see feel the same way about the plot. Instead, Zacharek says that if the plot were divorced from the martial arts, the acting would make the movie stand on its own. Zacharek also offers an excuse for the director and screenwriter's follies: "They know that stereotypes - the wise blind African-American, for example - have power over us, and they wield it accordingly. They're essentially showmen, and the experience of watching 'Unleashed,' ... is a kind of call-and-response. Leterrier and Besson are riffing on old Hollywood tropes, tugging at our heartstrings in a kind of code; they're playing us, but not disrespectfully - we're their ultimate instrument, not their bingo card."
Zacharek goes on to say that Li may not have the voice for acting, but his facial expression conveys much more than is needed to qualify him as good actor. In closing, Zacharek explains how although "Unleashed" may not be more than a martial arts film with an exagerated plot, it will be a stepping stone for Li - from a martial arts guru to a more than well-rounded actor.