Bullet to the Head (2012) Directed by Walter Hill. Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Momoa, and Christian Slater. IMDB says: “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.”
So I recently had the pleasure of viewing Sylvester Stallone’s new film, Bullet to the Head. To be honest, I needed to see this film like I needed a bullet to the head and that’s really saying something.
I’m typically the less critical one here at FTS. I like fun movies, I like shoot-em-ups and cheap thrills, I can even overlook an underdeveloped plot. I also like Stallone, he’s a good guy and I fully enjoyed all of his classics and even some of his newer films. This film, however, was just plain bad.
Stallone is a for-hire hitman who does a job that results in the death of his friend and a former police officer. Stallone becomes involved with the former partner of that former officer and the two form an unlikely duo. They set off on a journey to find/arrest the men that hired Stallone and ordered the hit. The primary focus of the movie is the dynamics of the partnership between Stallone and Sung Kang. There is a lot of time spent making old jokes and Asian jokes and some of them will make you chuckle. Beyond that, there isn’t a lot going on. In fact, every time you expect there to be a twist or some clever plot device, it doesn’t happen, they just kill off the character.
The dialogue is really dry and really poorly delivered in most cases. In fact, the only decent acting is from Christian Slater and when he’s your diamond in the rough, you have problems. I’ve touched on it already but the plot is very thin, more so than even I can deal with. The truly disappointing thing though is that the plot could have been better, there is a lot more they could have developed and added to the film. The visuals are decent, the fight choreography isn’t bad, and the direction isn’t awful. All of that said, none of it is unique and nothing will make you stay interested.
This isn’t a film to rush right out and see. In fact, it’s a film I’d imagine many of you would never want to see, even once it makes it’s way onto Netflix or HBO. It is one of the few films I have ever said just isn’t worth the watch, even if you’re looking for a cheap action flick. Check out Gen-X Cops instead.
FTS SCORE: 37%
Bullet to the Head opens in theaters Friday, February 1st.