'Unleashed' is off the chain

French filmmaker Luc Besson's protégé Louis Leterrier has advanced by leaps and bounds between his first film "The Transporter" (Jason Statham's oiled-up altercation is the personification of homoerotic, but the opening car chase was cool) and its follow-up "Unleashed" (known everywhere but here as "Danny the Dog").\n"Unleashed" is the story of Danny (Jet Li), who as a boy was abducted and raised to think he was a dog by glowering Glasgow gangster Bart (a scene-chewing Bob Hoskins). Bart cages Danny, feeds him cold cans of spaghetti and affixes a stylized collar around the poor bastard's neck. Danny accompanies Bart on his rounds. If marks don't pay their dues, get lippy or worse, violent; Bart simply removes Danny's collar and says "sic 'em," to which Danny unleashes his fists of fury. \nOn one such collection and by complete happenstance, Danny meets a blind piano tuner named Sam (Morgan Freeman). Sam is an oddity to Danny: not only is he kind to him, he also opens his mind to the wonders of music. So when Bart is ambushed by a rival racketeer, Danny turns to Sam for help. Sam, warm-hearted guy that he is (arguably stupidly so), takes Danny into his home. There, Danny is further introduced to the wonders of humanity by Sam's music student stepdaughter, Victoria (Irish actress Kerry Condon).\nWhile Besson's script is somewhat silly (think: "Nell" with nunchakus) and lends itself to bouts of schizophrenia, "Unleashed" is elevated beyond its inherent overly sweet sentimentality by deft direction, assured acting, masterful music (courtesy of Massive Attack and The RZA) and bad-ass brawls. \nLeterrier captures the British underworld almost as stylistically as Guy Ritchie, with slick transitions, interesting angles, fluctuating film speeds and a dark, desaturated look. He also does something rare for a contemporary action moviemaker by giving the fight sequences room to breathe -- then again, he has Li in his arsenal. \nLi strikes the right balance between puppy and pit bull. Freeman lends "Unleashed" credibility, infusing not only his role but the picture as a whole with humor and heart. And Hoskins is snarling perfection.\nThe fights, while not as plentiful as some might like, are a wonder to behold. As designed by Woo-Ping Yuen ("The Matrix") and executed by Li and the countless comers he kicks the crap out of, they're the epitome of martial arts mayhem. Relatively free of wirework, they're refreshing and somewhat reminiscent of Tony Jaa's "Ong Bak: The Thai Warrior." Especially noteworthy are a pair of lucrative, to-the-death bouts brought about by the profiteering Bart and close quarters bathroom combat enacted by Li and a bald-headed, white-wearing warrior.\nIn spite of its shortcomings, "Unleashed" is action filmmaking that's off the chain.