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Out-of-time. That was what I've felt throughout the entire movie. I mentioned above that I was hoping to be surprised despite the dull movie poster, but the only surprise that I got was that the film was just as "old" as its poster. Bullet To The Head has a pretty similar storyline to Parker, the film that I reviewed last week, but the resemblance stops there. A professional criminal being double-crossed, seeking revenge and forming uncanny alliances, lots of killing and bleeding.
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Hollywood film releases are slowing down during this off-peak season and I only had to catch Bullet To The Head in the cinemas this week among the new releases. For Malaysians, the cinemas are preparing the onslaught of Chinese New Year movies in conjunction with the festival that's on February 10, while other countries are gearing up for Valentines Day. There are a few quite interesting movie releases on Valentines Day this year, I will discuss this in another post.
Back to the movie at hand. I have to admit that I was rather sceptical when I saw the movie poster for Bullet To The Head. It looks old, uninspiring and a little out of time if you ask me, but I had to keep an open mind for the movie, and was hoping to be surprised. I'll start off with the usual introduction.
Back to the movie at hand. I have to admit that I was rather sceptical when I saw the movie poster for Bullet To The Head. It looks old, uninspiring and a little out of time if you ask me, but I had to keep an open mind for the movie, and was hoping to be surprised. I'll start off with the usual introduction.
Bullet To The Head
Language: English
Run Time: 91 minutes // 1 hour 31 minutes
Genre: Action, Thriller, Crime
Rating: '18' (Malaysia) // 'R' for strong violence, bloody images, language, some nudity and brief drug use
Director: Walter Hill
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Sung Kang, Sarah Shahi, Jason Momoa and cast (See the elaborated list of cast members below)
Date-of-Release: 31 January 2013 (Malaysia) // 1 February 2013 (USA)
What is it about?
After watching their respective partners die, a New Orleans hitman and a Washington D.C. detective, James Bonomo (Sylvester Stallone) and Taylor Kwon (Sung Kang) form an alliance in order to bring down their common enemy.
Tagline: Revenge Never Gets Old
(Read on for Bullet To The Head review)
Out-of-time. That was what I've felt throughout the entire movie. I mentioned above that I was hoping to be surprised despite the dull movie poster, but the only surprise that I got was that the film was just as "old" as its poster. Bullet To The Head has a pretty similar storyline to Parker, the film that I reviewed last week, but the resemblance stops there. A professional criminal being double-crossed, seeking revenge and forming uncanny alliances, lots of killing and bleeding.
I don't mind predictable plot-line, as long as its tactfully done, either by having excellent acting, impeccable on-screen chemistry, bold and interesting costumes & make-ups, advanced cinematography, entertaining dialogues, breathtaking sets, just to name a few. However, I have found none of the above within the film, and I was left less than entertained for 1 hour and 31 minutes. On top of that, the Film Censorship Board of Malaysia has cut out quite a number of scenes pertaining to nudity and drug use, so the whole film was really choppy and it snaps your concentration when you're trying to follow the story.
Stallone is his usual tough-guy self (played the lead role in Rambo), but there's a fine line between being cool and looking bored throughout the entire film. Sung Kang plays the supporting male role, a goody, play-by-the-book Asian cop who relies heavily on technologies, reaffirming Asian-American stereotypes. There are also some Asian-jokes thrown in within the film. I am not overly offended or anything, but the jokes can be pretty old.
The editing could be further fine-tuned, the transitions between scenes are a little choppy and a little disjointed. Bullet To The Head lacks a natural fluidity and it left me feeling a little disconnected to the story, failing to capture my full attention. The fight scenes are a little less impressive compared to recent Action cum Thriller films such as Parker and The Last Stand. Do expect to be a little disappointed if you've watched the films mentioned above recently; it is less satisfying if you know what I mean.
Also I was browsing for information, I found out that most of the actors/actresses cast in the film are TV stars; Sarah Shahi acted in TV series Life and The L Word, Jason Momoa in Stargate Atlantis and Game of Thrones, Jon Seda in Close To Home and Kevin Hill, as well as Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje in Lost and Oz. On the positive side, I quite enjoyed Jason Momoa in his overconfident, self-indulgent, borderline-nut case hitman character and Sung Kang's acting.
Movie-goers who seek nothing but some good old action, gun-fights and lots of blood with some light moments will find Bullet To The Head to their liking. Try not to be overly-critical/analytical while watching, I mean really turning your brain off and you should be able to enjoy the movie. If you can't, you'd be better off watching Parker, The Last Stand or Hansel and Gretel should you be looking for some action. I know its tagline says that "Revenge Never Gets Old", but unfortunately some things do get old. All in all, Bullet To The Head is like a 1980s movie shown in 2013, a movie that is out of time.
I don't mind predictable plot-line, as long as its tactfully done, either by having excellent acting, impeccable on-screen chemistry, bold and interesting costumes & make-ups, advanced cinematography, entertaining dialogues, breathtaking sets, just to name a few. However, I have found none of the above within the film, and I was left less than entertained for 1 hour and 31 minutes. On top of that, the Film Censorship Board of Malaysia has cut out quite a number of scenes pertaining to nudity and drug use, so the whole film was really choppy and it snaps your concentration when you're trying to follow the story.
Stallone is his usual tough-guy self (played the lead role in Rambo), but there's a fine line between being cool and looking bored throughout the entire film. Sung Kang plays the supporting male role, a goody, play-by-the-book Asian cop who relies heavily on technologies, reaffirming Asian-American stereotypes. There are also some Asian-jokes thrown in within the film. I am not overly offended or anything, but the jokes can be pretty old.
The editing could be further fine-tuned, the transitions between scenes are a little choppy and a little disjointed. Bullet To The Head lacks a natural fluidity and it left me feeling a little disconnected to the story, failing to capture my full attention. The fight scenes are a little less impressive compared to recent Action cum Thriller films such as Parker and The Last Stand. Do expect to be a little disappointed if you've watched the films mentioned above recently; it is less satisfying if you know what I mean.
Also I was browsing for information, I found out that most of the actors/actresses cast in the film are TV stars; Sarah Shahi acted in TV series Life and The L Word, Jason Momoa in Stargate Atlantis and Game of Thrones, Jon Seda in Close To Home and Kevin Hill, as well as Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje in Lost and Oz. On the positive side, I quite enjoyed Jason Momoa in his overconfident, self-indulgent, borderline-nut case hitman character and Sung Kang's acting.
Movie-goers who seek nothing but some good old action, gun-fights and lots of blood with some light moments will find Bullet To The Head to their liking. Try not to be overly-critical/analytical while watching, I mean really turning your brain off and you should be able to enjoy the movie. If you can't, you'd be better off watching Parker, The Last Stand or Hansel and Gretel should you be looking for some action. I know its tagline says that "Revenge Never Gets Old", but unfortunately some things do get old. All in all, Bullet To The Head is like a 1980s movie shown in 2013, a movie that is out of time.
KayElleGuy's rating: +-+1.png)
(5.0 / 10.0)
(5.0 / 10.0)
List of cast members:
- Sylvester Stallone as James Bonomo
- Sung Kang as Taylor Kwon
- Sarah Shahi as Lisa Bonomo
- Jason Momoa as Keegan
- Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Robert Nkomo Morel
- Christian Slater as Marcus Baptiste
- Jon Seda as Louis Blanchard
- Hold McCallany as Hank Greely
- Brian Van Holt as Ronnie Earl
- Weronika Rosati as Lola
- Dane Rhodes as LT. Lebreton
- Marcus Lyle Brown as Detective Towne and cast
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