Remember this brief, silly period in Hollywood when movie executives thought Sylvester Stallone was getting too old to be a action hero? It lasted maybe three or four miserable years and ended with the abysmal DRIVEN. Truth is, nobody care about Stallone if he's not killing several people in movies. He has now reached the age where it's not considered tragic anymore to have a heart attack while hosing down your driveway, he's still jacked and he still kills a lot of folks on screen. He is right at home in Walter Hill's BULLET TO THE HEAD, an adaptation from an ultraviolent french graphic novel. It's a visually competent film that doesn't get in the way of its own story, delivers action at a good pace and makes the most out of Sylvester Stallone's unique skill set. It's not subtle, but it works well.
Jimmy Bobo (Sly) is a career hitman in Crescent City, some sort of depraved, dystopian little brother of New Orleans. Jimmy gets fucked over on a regular enough job, his partners gets killed and he narrowly escapes a grim fate himself. Locked down in his secret retreat, he is contacted over the phone by Detective Kwon (Sung Kang) who has been investigating his latest contract, who happened to be an ex-cop. Kwon is a man who's sense of justice often gets in the way of his health and who will need Jimmy to survive in the mean streets of Crescent City. But Jimmy needs Detective Kwon's hook ups and police ressources to find the bastards who set him up. So they form an unlikely alliance to set the streets of Crescent City on fire. But you know how these things go. People don't like to be reminded of their sins.
BULLET TO THE HEAD's tagline is ''revenge never gets old'', which I believe is wit about Sylvester Stallone being ridiculously old to be doing what he does. It's a revenge flick all right, but I never got the impression that BULLET TO THE HEAD was meant to be righteous. Jimmy is moved by an instinct of survival, first and foremost. He does a job where he cannot appear weak or preyed upon. So revenge for his partner Louie's (Jon Seda) death is a component of the plot, but it's never its motor. I thought it was a refreshing spin on an overused storyline. BULLET TO THE HEAD is as noir as it gets. Corruption as run the city over and its carcass is left to reckless businessmen. The moral Detective Kwon is in way over his head with his lawful, by-the-book methods and his fancy idealism. It felt good to see Sly act in something that was both meant for him and not artistically devoid of meaning.
Axe fight, guys! Axe fight! Axe fight is the new bat fight.
BULLET TO THE HEAD is extremely visual and relies on the graphic novel's sense of aesthetics, so it also realies on the actors to carry a lot of its weight. That's where it gets funny. Because you can't take any movie that has Stallone in it seriously, acting-wise. It's usually a gimmie that he's the worst actor in every movie he stars in, but here he's not. Jason Momoa is BEYOND terrible. He is an atrocious miscast as hardened mercenary Keegan and he overkills whatever demands subtlety : one liners, micro-expressions, things like that. It's too bad, because Keegan is a well-written character and the dramatic weight of his background carries Momoa a good part of the way. It called for somebody older, awesomer like maybe Bruce Willis. Kudos to the extremely talented Sarah Shahi who shines as the daughter trying to break the cycle of violence she was born in. Once again, the character was very well-written anyway, but Shahi's accurate, understated game really lets her shine. She is due for her big break. Bond Girl, anyone?
Not all art is meant to be a celebration of beauty. A movie like BULLET TO THE HEAD will never receive any awards of get overwhelmingly good press, but it understands its purpose and exploits it to the best of its director's abilities. It's still possible to shoot competent action movies in this day and age and director Walter Hill did a fine job at crafting an efficient one. BULLET TO THE HEAD is original, doesn't take its characters more seriously than the story it's trying to tell, has dramatic tension that leads to every important dramatic scenes and acting that ranges from very good to very bad. Sure, it may lack a memorable performance and surreal plot twists to be considered a classic of the genre, but it should find a small, cozy place within Sylvester Stallone's legacy and into his fans' hearts.