Two days before the Super Bowl is a terrible time to release an action movie. On Feb. 1, “Bullet to the Head” disappeared behind “Warm Bodies” and sports. With such an awful release, one can only imagine the filmmakers gave up knowing their movie is awful.
James (Sylvester Stallone) is hired with his partner (Jon Seda) for a murder in New Orleans, but they are double-crossed. James reluctantly partners with out-of-state cop Taylor Kwon (Sung Kang) to bring those responsible to justice; Jimmy and Taylor disagree, though, about proper methods. Meanwhile, Morel (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), the crime boss orders Keegan (Jason Momoa) to stop the duo and he eventually kidnaps James’ daughter Lisa (Sarah Shahi).
Though “Bullet to the Head” is marketed as an action-packed film, it is full of violence but not good action. That is to say, the film hits the bullet points with guns, fights, and explosions, but there is little adrenaline to the film. There are only a few full fights; one (shown briefly in the trailer) is a lesser version of a notorious fight scene in a bath house seen in “Eastern Promises” (see it for a gritty, more intense scene). There is, however, an abundance of blood and guns and a couple of good explosions.
A pointless buddy storyline of the odd couple on opposite sides of the law is extremely bland. These partnerships are only good when their joint fights are engaging and the humor plays off of each other, but Jimmy mostly makes bad jokes about Taylor’s Asian heritage. Stallone and Kang have no chemistry together.
“Bullet to the Head” isn’t even a good guilty pleasure; there isn’t enough lasting action for it. Once you see Christian Slater, you should know what kind of film to expect. There is only one reason to sit through its entirety: the final battle between Keegan and James; I found Momoa’s skills incredibly thrilling (the man definitely has set a foundation for an action career after “Conan the Barbarian”). If you can sit through a mediocre, stale film for one awesome scene, you might be able to bear “Bullet to the Head.”
Rating for “Bullet to the Head:” D+
For more information on this film or to view its trailer, click here.
“Bullet to the Head” is playing in most theaters in Columbus, including Arena Grand and Movie Tavern Mill Run, but don’t expect it to stay long. For showtimes, click here.
Comments