Unleashed

Caged and forced to wear a collar, Danny (Jet Li) has been bred like a common dog since birth. The only time he's free is when his gangster boss (Bob Hoskins) attempts to collect debts, at which point Danny's unleashed—and even then it's only to beat the remaining balances out of his boss' deadbeat partners. But when Danny's shown a glimpse of civility by an innocent family (Morgan Freeman and Kerry Condon), it's a fight between good and evil to keep the collar off. Unfortunately, Li is forced into too much acting and too little fighting, as director Louis Leterrier (The Transporter) leads his cast through a disjointed storyline that foolishly shifts attention from the splattered blood and popped sockets. Hoskins spits every one of his lines as the ruthless villain and Li kicks ass doggystyle, but with no focus, all the boring filler winds up dominating the story. The result is not another gruesome revenge tale, but rather an overdose of caricatured villains, sappy character development, and slow-paced moviemaking that's harder to embrace than a rabies-infected pit bull.