Bullet to the Head

His face is wrinkled, his movements are comical and his methods are inhuman. They call him Bobo. Unfortunately, this collaboration between two action legends (one in the director’s chair and the other in front of the camera) didn’t turn out to be a major comeback for either of them. From the very beginning, Walter Hill’s uncompromising directing, which goes from one extreme to another without a single wasted minute, leaves us in no doubt that Bullet to the Head is a comic book brought to life. The killing happens so frequently and with such indecorous matter-of-factness that it becomes a rhythmising element of the narrative. I welcome the fact that the protagonist’s amoral nature is not in any way condemned, which is a clear reference to classic film-noir together with the (underused) voice-over and the retrospective narrative structure connected with it, as well as the dominant type of setting (neon-lit bars) and the prevalence of night-time scenes. The noir cynicism doesn’t go entirely well with the more laid-back buddy-movie level of the narrative, which for a change brings to mind some of the coarser action comedies of the 1990s. The film lends itself to a comparison with The Last Boy Scout, whose protagonists, however, found it easier to believe that they had given up on all ideals. The incompatibility of Stallone’s straightforward type of action with his assigned role, which requires a more layered approach to acting, is one of the film’s weaknesses, as the frantic editing of the action scenes detracts from the film’s likable old-fashioned nature. That said, Bullet to the Head is still a solid action flick, though – like The Expendables – it is most entertaining when it refers back to the time when Sly was a much bigger presence (see the photographic recapitulation of his criminal career). 65% (07/07/2013)

I feel some satisfaction that this one flopped in American cinemas. This type of 80s action movies is dead and should remain dead, no resurrection! One every year or two, like The Expendables or something straight to video, I can take, but this becoming a trend for bigger productions…. thanks God, no. (06/07/2013)

A straightforward, slightly dumb, disposable old-school offering that is unfortunate for its rather low budget which was probably swallowed mainly by the fees for the famous five names appearing here. The rest of the cast is made up of absolutely awful (non)actors who are incapable of saying one line with it sounding at least a little natural. The second flaw was pushing Stallone into the noirish, cynically sarcastic voiceover. Sly has a lot of things going for him, but delivering complex lines is not one of them. But when he’s quite or just filtering out a wisecrack through his teeth, it’s the Sly we know and love. Otherwise there isn’t much to fault, unless you aren’t expecting anything that I mentioned above. (05/25/2013)

You can’t sit on two chairs at once. That would always be uncomfortable. Hill tries here to serve up modern twists but in an old form, using old procedures and it’s completely weird, even the ridicule of cellphones and Google. The beginning is uninteresting, the viewer doesn’t have an ounce of sympathy for the characters, then it starts turning into a movie that is somehow familiar and that occasionally surprises with its directness and novel (massacres) style. Sly is super evil (the ominous name Jimmy Bonomo!), delivers gravelly one-liners (sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t), but he keeps healthily detached and you can see in his expression that he is resting in this movie. Another trump is the Momoa, the killer. I wish him many more roles, the kid has it in him. One thing that really spoils this movie is the casting of the boring, lifeless Sung Kang (I don’t know why they replaced the original Thomas Jane), who gave a terrible performance. His poker face, zero chemistry between him and Sly’s daughter. It only occurred to me toward the end that there was meant to be some. Slater overacted terribly and Akinnuoye-Agbaje receives the prize for the dumbest ever bad guy. Bullet to the Head is a strange hodgepodge, but I enjoyed and mainly it surprised me more than I was willing to admit just five minutes ago. Now, please forgive me, I’m off to have another watch of the fight with the axes and the speech about courageous firefighters. (05/27/2013)

A proper homage to the 1980s. From the music, through the editing, the sounds of blows, the voice-overs, the script. Walter Hill put it together well, the film works. It doesn't want to say too much, nor does it have much to say. It's about having fun, nostalgically reminiscing, and moving on. Stallone is in fantastic form even at his age, the action is tough, without slow motion, plenty of blood, exactly as it should be. Jason Momoa is a phenomenal opponent. It was solid entertainment, without further ambitions. (06/23/2013)

There’s really no great miracle here, and if it weren't for Stallone in the lead role, my rating would be even one star less. The script has nothing in it with which to surprise, except perhaps for the way it resembles the scripts that have been used by Seagal, Lundgren and others in recent years. The direction is nothing miraculous, the action scenes lack tension, and the only thing worthwhile was the final battle with axes, but which ended rather stupidly. What I really liked was Mazzar's music, which I've been listening to for a few weeks now. If I have to compare, Arnold's more imaginative and less serious/ridiculous The Last Stand is clearly better. (07/06/2013)

Some senior citizens choose to spend their twilight years in cottages, fishing, or freestyle fighting in Wallmart. Grandpa Sly, on the other hand, approaching 70, remembered the good old 80s, and it didn’t turn out bad at all. I'm not sure if ‘Aquaman’ was a good choice of the main villain. Jimmy Bonomo often looked a little sad next to him, but oh well. It was packed with action, one-liners, Sarah Shahi looked great, and, most importantly, I had fun. (11/16/2020)

I simply like Stallone, so I tolerate it when he appears in something that is story-wise extremely boring. This is exactly the case. I am really curious whether the comic book source material is equally boring, but I would be quite surprised. However, Americans just remade it their own way and it turned out to be a rather ordinary action cliché. (10/01/2014)