Written by / 2/02/2013 / 1 Comment / , , ,

HILL DIRECTS STALLONE IN BULLET TO THE HEAD

year: 2013 cast: Sylvester Stallone, Sun Kang, Jason Momoa, Christian Slater rating: ***1/2
This isn't the return of Sylvester Stallone; with two EXPENDABLES he’s been around quite a bit lately. But a new chapter for veteran director Walter Hill, who made THE WARRIORS, SOUTHERN COMFORT, and a classic that BULLET TO THE HEAD is very reminiscent of, 48 HRS. Instead of cop and convict, it’s a cop and a hit man. The latter played by grizzled, noticeably aged but still capably rough Sly as James Bonomo  – we learn in the first ten minutes he’s one cold-blooded dude, but leaving a female witness, is not completely awful. His criminal sidekick winds up being double-cross/murdered and, cut to the chase, Bonomo’s reluctantly teamed with Korean good cop Taylor Kwon, played by a mellow but effectively resilient Sun Kang, providing a straight-laced Felix to Sly’s bulky Oscar. Their verbal squabbles on the road aren’t as humorous as obviously intended. But the more than sporadic action sequences are energetic and, although much too bloody (the title is constantly put to use), this is a slightly above average tough guy movie. It’s all about the partners going from location to location, taking down a bevy of hit men and various lowlifes (including crooked cops and a shifty lawyer). It's that simple.

While most of the fist fights are dizzying, with the camera moving along with each punch, the gun battles are of the old school crime genre backed by Walter Hill’s signature use of gritty guitars, sounding like music pouring out of a redneck bar: a brawny retro score befitting our sixty-something anti hero.

Eventually, at a multilevel structure almost too perfect for a violent climax, there’s the one decision-making head villain responsible for holding the Sly's daughter hostage – yet it all comes down to Jason Momoa’s muscular henchman, the killer who’d wreaked havoc throughout the film, going one-on-one with Stallone in a battle with, of all things, a pair of antique firemen axes. But with all the blood and guts it’s really about those two guys teamed against the odds, which, thanks to Bonomo’s know-how to do very bad things to the right bad people, are mostly in their favor.
Share This Post :
Tags : , , ,

1 comment:

  1. Walter Hill directed this? My favorite Western, THE LONG RIDERS, was directed by Walter Hill. I didn't even know he was still alive and directing movies. Awesome! Well then I am going to have to see this this week.

    Great review sir.

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

All Time Popular

Featured Post

LANCE GUEST WITH ROBERT PRESTON IN 'THE LAST STARFIGHTER'

Title: THE LAST STARFIGHTER Year: 1984 Rating: ***1/2 The connection of THREE AMIGOS, GALAXY QUEST and TROPIC THUNDER... of actors thinking ...

WWW.CULTFILMFREAKS.COM

WWW.CULTFILMFREAKS.COM
Movie Reviews, Interviews, Articles and Pop Culture from White Heat to Blue City

RIP ACTOR KEN HUTCHISON

TOTAL HITS

Popular Trending

FOUNDED BY JAMES M. TATE

FOUNDED BY JAMES M. TATE
RANDOM QUOTE: "He was unique; and he was dead." Craig Stevens, Peter Gunn

FILM NOIR & NEO NOIR CRIME

FAVORITES SHORTLIST

1)OTLEY 2)HELL IS A CITY 3)ROBBERY 4)THE FEARMAKERS 5)CANYON PASSAGE 6)VIOLENT SATURDAY 7)HOT CARS 8)JUNGLE STREET 9)THE CROWDED SKY 10)THE ROARING TWENTIES 11) ANATOMY OF A MURDER 12)CALCULATED RISK 13)SWEENEY TWO 14)RAIDERS FROM BENEATH THE SEA 15)HARDCORE 16)THE BREAK 17)WHITE HEAT 18)AL CAPONE 19)THE SERGEANT 20)FALLEN ANGEL 21)SHARKS' TREASURE 22)THE ASPHALT JUNGLE 23)ASH WEDNESDAY 24)THE SYSTEM 25)AIR PATROL 26)THE STONE KILLER 27)SANDS OF THE KALAHARI 28)WILLIAM CONRAD'S BRAINSTORM 29)RIOT 30)THE MAN FROM LARAMIE FAVORITE ACTORS 1)DANA ANDREWS 2)JAMES CAGNEY 3)STANLEY BAKER 4)MARLON BRANDO 5)JACK NICHOLSON 6) CHARLES BRONSON 7)BURT REYNOLDS 8)WILLIAM LUCAS 9)TOM COURTENAY 10)GENE HACKMAN DIRECTORS 1)JACQUES TOURNEUR 2)RICHARD FLEISCHER 3)VAL GUEST 4)STANLEY KUBRICK 5)OTTO PREMINGER 6)ORSON WELLES 7)JOHN GUILLERMAN 8)JOHN LANDIS 9)JOHN CARPENTER 10)MICHAEL WINNER

BRITISH NEW WAVE CINEMA

RARITIES AND EXPLOITATION

HAMMER HORROR & THRILLER

Popular This Month

CHARLES BRONSON CINEMA

CINEMA OF DANA ANDREWS

WESTERN GENRE REVIEWS

PEAKING INTO THE SIXTIES

KICKING IN THE EIGHTIES

TALES AND REFLECTIONS

REVVING THE SEVENTIES

Most Popular Last Year