Arts

Bullet to the Head misses its target

by John Reese

It is always nice to watch old school action movies. They are movies that do not rely too much on CGI (Computer Generated Images) and the action scenes and stunts are real. This is why I like Arnold Schwarzenegger’s latest film, The Last Stand. The movie is entertaining despite its ridiculous plot and stock characters. Plus, I think Schwarzenegger made a good comeback movie despite
his age. However, it was a box office flop. Now we have Sylvester Stallone’s new movie, Bullet to the Head, which is Stallone’s first solo movie in nearly five years. So, can
Stallone still sell this movie on just his name alone?
Bullet to the Head stars Sylvester Stallone as Jimmy Bobo, a New Orleans hit man who is hired to eliminate corrupt ex-cop Hank Greely. Bobo and his partner Louis Blanchard (Jon Seda) accomplish this task and wait at a local bar to receive their payment from their employers. However, Bobo realizes their employers have set them up when an assassin kills Bobo’s partner. Bobo then partners up with detective Taylor Kwan (Sung Kang). Now the two decide to work together, and their investigation leads to a wider conspiracy involving an African gangster, corrupt politicians and dirty cops. This film tries to pay homage to
the mismatched buddy cop action films like Lethal Weapon, Running Scared and Tango and Cash, but it fails to do so. Stallone is one of the kings of 1980s action movie,
but in this flick, he seems to be on autopilot. Director Walter Hill, who jump started the buddy cop film genre with 1982’s 48 Hrs., does nothing new here. Given the director’s long and interesting career, I had expected something better than
this stale film. The movie treats itself so seriously that it has no time to develop any type of buddy relationship. Kang and Stallone have no chemistry at all, and that really hurts the film. Ultimately, Bullet to the Head does not add anything to the action genre. The movie is based off the critically acclaimed French graphic novel, Du Plomb Dans Tete, but
something obviously gets lost in translation as this is just a generic action movie. There are so many recycled elements in this film from better action movies. This movie has nostalgia on its side, but besides that aspect, this is a cliché action film that can easily be labeled as direct-to-DVD material.