Bullet to the Head (2013)
A Movie Review by Dave Randal
Genre: Action | Crime | ThrillerCast: Sylvester Stallone, Sung Kang, Sarah Shahi, Jason Momoa, Christian SlaterDirector: Walter HillWriter: Alessandro Camon(screenplay), Alexis Nolent(graphic novel)Studio: Dark Castle Entertainment, IM Global, After Dark Films, Automatik Entertainment, EMJAG Productions, Millar Gough InkDistributed by: Warner Bros.Release Date: Feburary 1, 2013Plot: After watching their respective partners die, a New Orleans hitman and a Washington D.C. detective form an alliance in order to bring down their common enemy.
I'm a huge fan of Sylvester Stallone and I'm glad to see that he is getting some pretty big movie roles again. For a while there about twelve years ago it looked like he was just going to disappear. For the past six years though it seems like he is back on track. He had a huge comeback with Rocky Balboa (2006) and Rambo (2008). Both of those movies were really good in my opinion. I got kind of excited when I heard his new movie Bullet to the Head was going to be directed by Walter Hill who has directed great movies like The Warriors (1979) and 48 Hrs. (1982). In some ways it almost seemed like this movie had to be good considering who was directing it and who was starring in it. That is not exactly the case here though.
The movie is about James Bonomo aka Jimmy Bobo, played by Sylvester Stallone, who is an aging hitman. After a job one night his hitman partner gets killed. He runs into a cop named Taylor Kwon, played by Sung Kang, and they reluctantly team up to bring the guilty to justice. Being from different sides of the track though means they don't exactly get along. In order to really bring the bad guys to justice they need to co-exist long enough to get the job done.
This movie is okay for what it is. It is a throwback action movie or at least I think it is. It is kind of hard to tell. It has the formula of being a throwback action movie, but the movie is executed much more like a modern action movie. The formula is basically the old buddy movie where two guys that don't get along have to work together. We've seen this in a lot of other older action movies like Rush Hour (1998) and the already mentioned 48 Hrs. (1982). Unlike those movies though this movie doesn't seem as fun as it should be. It sort of seems like a dry Jason Statham style movie. I'm a fan of Jason Statham, but you'd be crazy to try and convince me that his action movies aren't getting stale.
Stallone's performance as an older hitman is alright, but the script doesn't really let him do anything too cool. There are some good spots of humor in the movie, but they aren't exactly laugh out loud spots. Sung Kang is okay as the straight laced cell phone using cop, but his character didn't really seem all that well defined. You get very little back story on his character unlike Stallone's character who I think you could really call the leading star of the movie. I was somewhat surprised to see Christian Slater in this movie. He plays a slimy criminal lawyer and does alright. The movie also features Jason Momoa as the big henchman character. Momoa seems kind of one note in this movie, but by the end he kind of shows some charisma. I'm not so sure if we will be seeing him star in any action movies anytime soon.
I really felt that the movie was kind of lackluster, but at the same time it was alright for what it was. It was basically a mediocre action movie and I enjoyed it enough to at least stay interested in the story. I'm not a big fan of how the movie ends up, but I did have some fun getting there. I think I'll cross my fingers and just hope that Stallone's next movie is better.
Dave Randal's Rating-
A-Okay
Learn the Randal Rating System
Dave Randal's Star Rating- ★★★(3) out of ★★★★★(5)
The movie is about James Bonomo aka Jimmy Bobo, played by Sylvester Stallone, who is an aging hitman. After a job one night his hitman partner gets killed. He runs into a cop named Taylor Kwon, played by Sung Kang, and they reluctantly team up to bring the guilty to justice. Being from different sides of the track though means they don't exactly get along. In order to really bring the bad guys to justice they need to co-exist long enough to get the job done.
This movie is okay for what it is. It is a throwback action movie or at least I think it is. It is kind of hard to tell. It has the formula of being a throwback action movie, but the movie is executed much more like a modern action movie. The formula is basically the old buddy movie where two guys that don't get along have to work together. We've seen this in a lot of other older action movies like Rush Hour (1998) and the already mentioned 48 Hrs. (1982). Unlike those movies though this movie doesn't seem as fun as it should be. It sort of seems like a dry Jason Statham style movie. I'm a fan of Jason Statham, but you'd be crazy to try and convince me that his action movies aren't getting stale.
Stallone's performance as an older hitman is alright, but the script doesn't really let him do anything too cool. There are some good spots of humor in the movie, but they aren't exactly laugh out loud spots. Sung Kang is okay as the straight laced cell phone using cop, but his character didn't really seem all that well defined. You get very little back story on his character unlike Stallone's character who I think you could really call the leading star of the movie. I was somewhat surprised to see Christian Slater in this movie. He plays a slimy criminal lawyer and does alright. The movie also features Jason Momoa as the big henchman character. Momoa seems kind of one note in this movie, but by the end he kind of shows some charisma. I'm not so sure if we will be seeing him star in any action movies anytime soon.
I really felt that the movie was kind of lackluster, but at the same time it was alright for what it was. It was basically a mediocre action movie and I enjoyed it enough to at least stay interested in the story. I'm not a big fan of how the movie ends up, but I did have some fun getting there. I think I'll cross my fingers and just hope that Stallone's next movie is better.
Dave Randal's Rating-
A-OkayLearn the Randal Rating System
Dave Randal's Star Rating- ★★★(3) out of ★★★★★(5)
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