Bullet to the Head
2.5/4
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Sung Kang, Jason Momoa, Sarah Shahi, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Christian Slater, Jon Seda
Rated R for Strong Violence, Bloody Images, Language, Some Nudity and Brief Drug Use
When we go see a movie, we expect to be told a story. Lots of action is fine (in fact, it's encouraged), but the audience expects more than a series of shootouts. Sadly, that's what happens with "Bullet to the Head." As the great critic Dustin Putman pointed out, "Bullet to the Head" is aptly titled: nearly every scene where a gun is pulled, someone gets put down with a...bullet to the head.
James Bonomo, aka Jimmy Bobo (Stallone), has just finished a hit with his partner Louis (Seda), and they're waiting at a bar to get payment from the man who hired them. Little do they know that they're about to be had. Another killer, the nastier than nasty Keegan (Momoa), is there waiting for them. He expertly dispatches Louis, leaving Jimmy to vow revenge. As fortune would have it, Keegan is also responsible for the murder of cop Taylor Kwon's (Kang) partner. At Kwon's suggestion, they join forces.
This could be the set up for a great revenge movie, had the film taken the time to develop a decent plot. But as the characters keep saying, it's a game of finding who the next target is and the hunt is on again. There's little to no variation on this theme. It's search, interrogate, kill, repeat.
What saves the film is the fact that Walter Hill has style (imagine what the result would be if the studio had handed things over to Len Wiseman...now there's a scary thought!). The film looks good, and the action scenes are put together with panache, even if Hill cuts a little too frenetically at times.
The acting is decent enough for the film's purposes. Stallone proves that he can still be a badass. Sung Kang does his best not to get drowned out by Stallone, but it's a futile effort. He's good, but lack's Stallone's considerable presence. Another problem is that they don't have chemistry; Jimmy and Kwon don't click in an interesting way. Hill tries to make the film into a sort of gritty buddy movie, but it doesn't work for this reason. Jason Momoa is fierce enough (he looks like Casper Van Dien circa "Sleepy Hollow" on steroids), although talking ruins the effect since he sounds like Josh Hartnett for some reason.
This isn't a terrible movie. It's moderately engaging and has some pretty good action scenes (there's a fight with fire-axes). It's just a little too thin on story and a little too repetitive to recommend except for the most undemanding viewer.
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Sung Kang, Jason Momoa, Sarah Shahi, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Christian Slater, Jon Seda
Rated R for Strong Violence, Bloody Images, Language, Some Nudity and Brief Drug Use
When we go see a movie, we expect to be told a story. Lots of action is fine (in fact, it's encouraged), but the audience expects more than a series of shootouts. Sadly, that's what happens with "Bullet to the Head." As the great critic Dustin Putman pointed out, "Bullet to the Head" is aptly titled: nearly every scene where a gun is pulled, someone gets put down with a...bullet to the head.
James Bonomo, aka Jimmy Bobo (Stallone), has just finished a hit with his partner Louis (Seda), and they're waiting at a bar to get payment from the man who hired them. Little do they know that they're about to be had. Another killer, the nastier than nasty Keegan (Momoa), is there waiting for them. He expertly dispatches Louis, leaving Jimmy to vow revenge. As fortune would have it, Keegan is also responsible for the murder of cop Taylor Kwon's (Kang) partner. At Kwon's suggestion, they join forces.
This could be the set up for a great revenge movie, had the film taken the time to develop a decent plot. But as the characters keep saying, it's a game of finding who the next target is and the hunt is on again. There's little to no variation on this theme. It's search, interrogate, kill, repeat.
What saves the film is the fact that Walter Hill has style (imagine what the result would be if the studio had handed things over to Len Wiseman...now there's a scary thought!). The film looks good, and the action scenes are put together with panache, even if Hill cuts a little too frenetically at times.
The acting is decent enough for the film's purposes. Stallone proves that he can still be a badass. Sung Kang does his best not to get drowned out by Stallone, but it's a futile effort. He's good, but lack's Stallone's considerable presence. Another problem is that they don't have chemistry; Jimmy and Kwon don't click in an interesting way. Hill tries to make the film into a sort of gritty buddy movie, but it doesn't work for this reason. Jason Momoa is fierce enough (he looks like Casper Van Dien circa "Sleepy Hollow" on steroids), although talking ruins the effect since he sounds like Josh Hartnett for some reason.
This isn't a terrible movie. It's moderately engaging and has some pretty good action scenes (there's a fight with fire-axes). It's just a little too thin on story and a little too repetitive to recommend except for the most undemanding viewer.
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