Hong Kong action star Jet Li (Hero) usually projects a serene, passionless aura, but here he showcases an appropriate sense of rage. Li plays a near-mute who wears a dog collar and attacks with animalistic ferocity when his “owner,” a sadistic loan shark (Bob Hoskins), takes it off. This is terrifying stuff, except for a cheaply sentimental middle section in which Li’s character tries to start a new life with a blind piano tuner (Morgan Freeman). You know that won’t last.
