Raised as a slave, Danny is used to fighting for his survival. In fact, his "master," Bart, thinks of him as a pet and goes as far as leashing him with a collar so they can make money in fight clubs, where Danny is the main contender. When Bart's crew is in a car accident, Danny escapes and meets a blind, kindhearted piano tuner who takes him in and uses music to free the fighter's long-buried heart.
A nice, violent little film about the redemptive powers of art and love.
– Stephanie Zacharek,
Salon.com,
13 May 2005
rotten:
The film contains enough quiet, reflective moments for us to become aware how preposterous the central conceit is, and that keeps us at arm's length. For a movie that strives to be in-your-face, that's too far away.
– James Berardinelli,
ReelViews,
14 May 2005
rotten:
It's the same stuff that as we always get where like the henchman come up to him one by one.
– Richard Roeper,
Ebert & Roeper,
16 May 2005
fresh:
An intriguing little action thriller, a half-and-half story divided between sequences of vicious violence and quiet, wryly comic scenes of newfound domesticity.
– David Germain,
Houston Chronicle,
7 Jan 2006
fresh:
Li's dramatic turn is no match for his fists of fury.