After the abysmal reviews that Bullet to the Head got from critics, I was tempted to give the film a miss, I finally succumbed to my own curiosity however and found the film to be a bit of escapist fun set in New Orleans. This 2012 film was very enjoyable and worth the time it took to watch it!
The film was directed by Walter Hill is based on Alexis Nolent‘s French graphic novel Du Plomb Dans La Tete. The film stars Sylvester Stallone, Sung Kang, Jason Momoa, Sarah Shahi, and Christian Slater.
The plot, in case you’ve never read the French graphic novel, focusses on Stallone’s character, James Bonomo who is a professional hit man for the mob. At the beginning of the film he and his partner are “set up” to make a hit and instead of getting paid, their employer decides to kill them in an effort to “tie up any loose ends.”
Bonomo is, understandably, pretty annoyed at this turn of events and he decides to take personal action. Along the way he partners with a Washington D.C. Detective Taylor Kwon (Sung Kang) who has Bonomo’s target in his sights. The two form an uneasy alliance that Kwon, with his anal cop’s mentality, constantly puts in jeopardy.
The film doesn’t claim to be “highbrow” entertainment. The plot has enough holes in it to qualify as a cheese grater, but dammit, it’s fun. A bit of mindless revenge with bucket loads of violence thrown in for good measure.
This is not a “message” film, unless that message is, “set back and enjoy your ride!”
The only real problem I had with the film was it’s reliance on the age issue. Yes, we all know the story of the old bull and the young one, but it is being done to death at the minute.
First you had Reds which featured an entire crew of “old” spies who could still “kick ass” and take names. Then The Last Stand with an “old” cop who does what no one else can; A Good Day to Die Hard with an ageing John McClane who shows his son that the old ways are still the best. I could go on, but you get the idea.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m an “old” guy who’ll hit his 55th birthday this year. I don’t feel old and apart from my very near fatal brush with death last year from a heart attack, I don’t think I’m going anywhere else (if you catch my drift) anytime soon. Sure I think that in some cases, older is better, (except in the case of women and if you read my blog, you’ll know where I stand on that issue) but this “formula” is starting (pardon the pun) to get old.
I did get the feeling that this film was just an excuse for Stallone to show off his newly ripped muscles after having put so much work into the second Expendables film. Expendables 1 & 2, by the way, offer more in the way of uncomplicated fun and pure escapism, but without the age thing creeping in as much.
Bullet to the Head is fun, uncomplicated (there’s that word again) and pure escapism. Worth a bowl of popcorn and a coke by your side to visit and just get a kick out of the mindless action and seeing bad guys get “popped” by the score.
Oh, and it was good to see Christian Slater in a slightly bigger budget film than he’s been working in off late. He still is on my list of favourite actors and I love his voice, so another reason to see the film is Slater’s cameo role.
I’d give this a 4 out of 5. A 4 because there really were a lot of plot-holes!
Available to rent, buy, and stream via the Playstation Store and other various DVD entertainment outlets. Bullet to the Head, a bit of escapist fun set in New Orleans!
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I agree, their interaction worked very well and Kang showed a flair for the comedic! 🙂
i liked the interaction between Stallone and Kang’s characters. it was funny as hell
🙂
Agreed!
Cool review, I thought this film was a lot of fun and I actually enjoyed it a bit more then The last Stand, I think it was because the action was a little faster and explosion-based. When it comes to action films I’m looking to have fun with some nicely choreographed fights, a decent story and explosions and if I get that then I’m plenty happy. This film done its job in my opinion so I can’t really hate on it that much. 🙂
A great picturesque city that still looks beautiful in spite of Mother Nature trying to flatten it and the rest of the state! 🙂
I also like Walter Hill movies and when the setting is in NOLA, Im watching. Spent 10 days fabulous there.
Yup, definitely a lot of fun! 🙂
I enjoyed this when I caught it early in the year. While it’s not vintage Walter Hill, it’s still quite watchable. We’re in sync. Mike 🙂