Bullet to the Head – DVD Review

Posted by His Master's Review ⋅ August 17, 2013 ⋅ 2 Comments

Filed Under Bullet to the Head, Christian Slater, Holt McCallany, Jason Momoa, Jon Seda, Joseph R, Sung Kang, Sylvester Stallone, Walter Hill

Let’s get two facts straight: first, Bullet to the Head(BTTH) is solely meant to entertain; and second, entertain that specific audience who still like their old-school action movies, that escape the bullshit and shoot straight.

Sylvester Stallone
LicenseSome rights reserved by Gage Skidmore

BTTH is a classic example, and a very welcome revival, of the type of movie where there is no suspense, unnecessary drama, nail-biting twist or unexpected mind-puzzling unending. Its objective is as clear as its tagline “Revenge never gets old”,and it sticks to it like we adamant dogs to our precious bones.

It does not stray away on a pretentious path, trying to please all kinds of cinema goers. The movie is directed at fans of the now extinct style of film-making, and here it delivers.

To add to its old-school charm, is the lead protagonist, an over-confident protagonist who refuses to give in, who makes it very clear from the start that he will kill the bad guy, and that he does. And who else to portray this unashamed, unapologetic anti-hero, than the evergreen Sylvester Stallone.

The story is simple, in-fact almost crude, and definitely unoriginal. But then, the audiences know from the start what to expect, and they are not disappointed.

Directed by legendary action director Walter Hill, BTTH is the revenge saga of an aging hit-man and a young cop.

Business is as usual for James “Bobo” Bonomo (Stallone) and his partner Louis Blanchard (Jon Seda), until they are double-crossed and Louis is killed ruthless by a cynical mercenary Keegan (Jason Momoa).

Enters the scene Detective Taylor Kwon (Sung Kang), who is investigating the murder of his ex-partner Hank Greely (Holt McCallany), who coincidently has been killed by Bobo; wanting to get to the bottom the killings, Kwon unwillingly partners with Bobo to seek revenge for the murder of Greely.

What follows is a simple tale, of two guys trying to put aside their differences‑well almost, Stallone continuously pokes fun at Kang and his Asian background)‑and kill the bad guys.

The movie is as boring and repetitive as the story sounds like, but then somehow, it ends up as a guilty pleasure.

Watch it only if you are a fan of Stallone and Walter hill, and even though you will wonder why, you won’t regret it one bit!

Rating 2.5 paws

By Joseph R