“Bullet to the Head” is a new action flick that follows the story of a cop and a hitman who team up to take out a crime boss who’s done both of them wrong. Bringing action and little else to the table, the film is one serious cinephiles should avoid.
The film opens to a “Pulp Fiction”-esque scene of two professional hitmen invading a hotel room and taking out a target who has offended their client. But when they go to pick up their reward, they find they’ve been set up and one of the hitmen is stabbed. His partner, Jimmy Bonomo (Sylvester Stallone, “Rocky”) swears revenge on whoever’s responsible; when detective Taylor Kwon (Sung Kang, “Fast Five”) approaches him as a source, the two of them end up on a rampage to end the ordeal forever.
Like most action movies, “Bullet to the Head” is riddled with violence and complicated stunts. Be it explosions, bloody shootings or drawn-out fight scenes, action lovers will not be disappointed by the thrills found in this film. In fact, the movie has a “classic action” feel to it, with old-school hand-to-hand fight scenes and a characteristic nitty-gritty vibe throughout. Though it may lack the more complex martial arts-inspired combat of today’s genre hits, “Bullet to the Head” has more than enough excitement to keep action fans satisfied.
That being said, the storyline of the film is at times a bit difficult to take seriously. While it’s true many fans don’t look to action films for interesting plot, in this case the plot almost seems to detract from the action sequences and the film as a whole.
Audiences may cringe when they hear Stallone proclaim, “People don’t kill people. Bullets do”, just before shooting a man in the forehead. Additionally, the film is accompanied by Stallone’s corny voice-overs, which make it feel both somewhat noir and somewhat amateurish. There is even one scene in which Jimmy Bonomo and enemy hitman Keegan (Jason Momoa, “Game of Thrones”) battle with axes for no reason other than that they happen to be lying there. In all, “Bullet to the Head” sometimes feels as if it’s trying a bit too hard to be an iconic action film, and in the end it just seems cliché.
In terms of acting, Sylvester Stallone does what he does best as hitman Jimmy, but it’s also a role we’ve seen from him many times before. Not to mention the fact that he has aged—aged well, for what it’s worth—but it is still a bit strange to see a man in his 60s in this type of film.
As for Sung Kang, his performance as Taylor Kwan is sometimes a bit difficult to watch. Though audiences can’t be sure if it’s bad acting, bad writing or both, Kang’s character often seems to be a tad overplayed, with dialogue sounding as if it is being read enthusiastically from a teleprompter. In essence, Kang sincerely attempts to deliver a convincing performance, but unfortunately comes across as overdramatic.
As a whole, “Bullet to the Head” does what it is meant to do as an action film—it provides scenes of intense violence and thrilling stunts, with plenty of fight scenes and gory shootings mixed in. Unfortunately, the film loses some credibility with its rehashed storyline and sometimes cringe-worthy acting, and viewers will soon find it is not even one of the best action films to come out in recent years. However, while “Bullet to the Head” will probably not turn out to be one of the genre’s icons, die-hard action fans will still find most of the film enjoyable.
