Bullet to the Head (2012)
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Sung Kang, Jason Momoa
Writer: Allesandro Camon
based on Alexis Nolent & Colin Wilson's French graphic novel,
Du plomb dans la tete
Director: Walter Hill
Story:
A New Orleans hitman and a D.C.
Detective form an unlikely duo in order to get to the bottom of an
insane shitstorm of madness and corruption.
Review:
Walter Hill and Sylvester Stallone have
put the bad back in badass. This flick has everything the old school
action fan in me wants. Fuckin' 'splosions, tits, bullets to the
head (like, a lot of them), and some seriously pain inducing brawls.
I guess a lot of new action films have this stuff, but it rarely feels as real to me. Dudes be throwing each other all over the place. The movie starts off
in BONKERS mode and keeps it going steady for the entire feature.
We get a super sleek look, with a ton of quick editing. I felt like the fights were focused pretty well, though. I mean it's fast and all over the place camerawork, but we're talking batshit fighting here, so it worked for me. Absolutely perfect shots during a bathroom brawl, it's basically as if you're on the shitter with Sly and Momoa brawling a few inches away. Take that, 3D! For flashback scenes there's a washed out, yellowed appearance, like someone pissed on the film and it stained. Love it.
One aspect of Bullet to the Head that I adore -aside from all the ass kicking- is just how honest it is in terms of bleakness. Jimmy Bobo isn't afraid to admit that his life never consisted of puppy dogs and rainbows, and it never will. He's just a lifelong criminal, simple as that. But there's much more to it. There's a brief scene where he's talking up some back story about his daughter (played greatly by a terribly beautiful Sarah Shahi) to Detective Kwon. Without giving anything away, it's just simple and incredibly blunt. As a whole, that's how Bobo is about everything. A man of few words, but filled to the brim with 'tough as fuck'.
Not saying I expected acting to be bad here, but I also didn't think the chops would be as impressive as they turned out to be. Sly is all over it as hitman Jimmy Bobo, totally a 'not give a damn' type guy, and he seems to be having a really good time in the role. Also, homeboy is as ripped as ever; looks like at any given moment he's gonna rip the hell out of his skin and spend the rest of the film impersonating Frank from Hellraiser. Giving a complete polar opposite to Sly's character is Sung Kang, as Detective Taylor Kwon. The two of these guys together give a whole heap of shit talking macho magic, and it never gets old. I had no previous history with Jason Momoa before Bullet to the Head, and apparently I'm gonna need to fix that. His character Keegan is one severly scary as shit baddie. I'm a lifelong fan of Christian Slater, which was a huge reason I wanted to check this flick out in the first place. He doesn't have a really big role, but he portrays Marcus Baptiste -a high dollar sleazebag- with ease.
Will you be getting any bloodletting with the violence? Oh yeah, a healthy dosage of it. Being perfectly honest, even when you don't the action is extremely on point. Fights are choreographed really well and are largely intense. But back to the bloody shit; yes, of course, expect it. In pretty gory helpings, a few times.
Another awesome Bullet to the Head ingredient is a badass raw and bluesy soundtrack. It has the kind of jams similar to many of my favorite 80s action flicks. This type of guitar riffery truly help emphasize just how much our lead character doesn't give any shits at all.
Final Word:
Old school action stars are on a roll
lately! It's a shame that this and The Last Stand didn't bring in a lot at the box office. I guess at face value these films probably come off as 'been
there, done that' type outings. Maybe that's not completely untrue,
but shit, keep throwing 'em my way! Never get enough of just balls
out action. Bring it!
