Bullet to the Head was released in theaters on February 1st. I saw several commercials for it and being a Sly fan, thought it looked pretty solid given how enjoyable Rambo and The Expendable films are. As is usually the case, I never made time to go and see it, so I was eager to check it out on Blu-ray. I was a bit surprised at how short the film is — listed as 92 minutes on IMDB but actual run time, sans credit roll, is eighty-seven minutes. Even for a action movie, everything really has to be “clicking” to result in a good, memorable action flick that doesn’t seem rushed or ‘glossed over’ with a comparatively brief duration like that. Fortunatley, Bullet to the Head pulls it off impressively. The Blu-ray release does leave something to be desired though, but given the film’s modest returns at the box office it’s not too surprising WB didn’t go all in on this one.
{media load=media,id=2117,width=720,align=center,display=inline}
So, all that said, let’s break it down. Stallone plays Jimmy Bonomo, former Navy serviceman who’s been arrested dozens of times across the US for a variety of illegal activity. His latest and longest running gig is as a hitman, but he refuses to kill women and children. He’s hired by bad guys to do away with even badder guys, as he essentially puts it in one of the few narrator-type monologues he has. The movie begins with he and Jon Seda’s character, Louis Blanchard, performing a hit on Holt McCallany’s character (Hank Greeley), a good cop gone really bad. Things seem to go well, but the duo are caught in a dangerous double cross and Jimmy is now seeking revenge in his own violent way.
Meanwhile, the local PD bring in Detective Taylor Kwon, played by action star Sung Kang. He’s investigating the killing of Hank Greeley and the depth of the corruption Greeley was a part of. Simultaneously, Robert Nkomo Morel, played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, is hatching a sinister project with Christian Slater’s character to tighten their grip on the city. Naturally everything is related, but some of the connections and quick plot twists might surprise you, in a positive way.
As was evident from the trailer, Jimmy and Detective Kwon end up working together, although it’s not a very pleasant relationship in the beginning. It is, however, the source of some good comic relief, but nothing too out of place. Given the aggressive pacing of this movie, the banter between the two is kept purposeful and I thought it worked well. The inclusion of Sarah Shahi as Sly’s daughter tightens the bond between the two reluctant ‘buddies,’ Jimmy and Kwon. In practice, Kwon’s resources to get information and Jimmy’s brutal way of getting things done go hand in hand in classic buddy-movie style. It’s a combination that works and is very entertaining.
On the villain side of things, Jason Momoa’s character, Keegan, is an intimidating presence. He’s a merc as well, but the type that loves his job a little too much. He’s a former professional merc and his military tactics are evidence of such. You know he and Stallone are due to clash at some point, and that showdown doesn’t disappoint. It took me the entire film to remember where I had seen Jason before — Stargate: Atlantis as Ronon Dex.
Bullet to the Head is a very violent film with plenty of headshots and brutality, but it’s done in that particular Sly Stallone style. It’s gritty and in your face, maybe not as over the top as Expendables or Rambo, but it rarely if ever felt as though it were being done for shock value. The violence is more so to bring some grit and realism to the table to help define the characters and increase the intensity and sense of uneasiness for the audience. These scenes are balanced very nicely with comic relief, and combined with the fun story and aggressive pace, makes for one very solid bang for your time experience. Perhaps the only major detractor from the action and story is the importance placed on a single piece of technology and how woefully out of touch the movie is with, you know, how things would really work. I realize that’s very vague, but I don’t want to drop any spoilers. This oversight or wild assumption, however you want to look at it, is not a deal-breaker, but it does takeaway a little bit from the overall enjoyment.
As for the home release, WB did it right by giving consumers a two disc, three format version with a Blu-ray, DVD, and Ultraviolet code included. When you pop the Blu-ray in, a nice introduction/how-to video for Ultraviolet plays, and then you’re taken right to the menu. I appreciated that I didn’t have to skip through a bunch of other trailers. The menu is pretty weak though, for what it’s worth. It almost seems like someone whipped it up last second as besides the movie-poster like still image in the background, the icons and text for the menu look like the default settings for a template in a DVD authoring tool. Subtitles for English and Spanish are supported and you can select a chapter or play the movie. The only other option is to view the lone extra feature, which runs about ten minutes and is in HD. This feature has a few interview scenes with the actors, Sly included, and the director, discussing the merit of the movie and little else. You do see some neat production footage, but it’s mostly a promo feature that doesn’t have a lot of real substance.
The image and sound quality of the movie (on Blu-ray) was solid as you would expect. There are really no special effects here, it’s a “down toEarth” realistic movie in that sense, so its art direction might wow you. The technical side of things is excellent though and I didn’t notice anything negative of note. The audio package is similar — it does its job very well and didn’t detract from the experience at all.
Own Bullet to the Head on Blu-ray Combo Pack and Digital Download 7/16
To the summary…
