Bullet in the Head (1990)

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

hyped garbage

Don't listen to the negative reviews

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Part of John Woo's Hong Kong gangster film filmography and a fine example of all that's both good and bad about all of them. The story follows three friends, played by Tony Leung, Jacky Cheung and Waise Lee, all of them part of a gang. After Cheung's character ends up dusting a member of a rival gang, all three of them decide to flee the police to Vietnam. It's the 60s and the Vietnam War is in full swing, offering opportunities for easy money.And from there it's pretty much every single Vietnam War film you've ever seen, with a slight tilt towards gangster film aesthetics and subplots. I'm mostly reminded of The Deer Hunter, especially as it comes to the ending. Not that there's anything wrong about this, but personally I didn't find this film quite as captivating as some other John Woo films. The gritty urban style is there in the beginning, but the Vietnam scenes are pretty forgettable. The ending is also pretty good, but then it's so obviously influences by The Deer Hunter.And that's my main problem with the film. If it had been the first John Woo film I've ever seen, I probably would have found it fantastic. But as I've seen so many of them already, this one simply blends in with all of its predecessors.Still, it's a decent film. Not an outstanding one, but if a Vietnam War film directed by John Woo sounds interesting to you, you'll get your money's worth.

A bullet in the head is a crime story set against the background of the Vietnam war.Just think "A better tomorrow"+"deer hunter+"Apocalypse Now" and you hit the right spot.Woo is amazing in this one and it contains his trademarks: themes of friendship and betrayal, shameless sentimentality backed up by extreme violence and his penchant for showing scenes with entertaining/shocking excessiveness (the riot in the beginning of the movie, Simon Yam's botched escape etc.) The violence is surprisingly unchoreographed and this adds realism to this film (don't worry, you stile get hundreds of people getting shot) What separates this movie from other HK and even American fare is the POW scene, which makes the similar "Deer Hunter" look soft by comparison.In here, Woo lets go of all restraint and shows us how evil and violent the world could be. Not even Coppola or Scorsese or even Cimino could show me that.Woo is more than just an action director. This movie is the ultimate testament to this fact. He is as adept in showing characters interact in streets or even that beautiful shot of water flowing from the petal of a flower as he is in showing people getting bloodily shot. I can't believe that this is not in the top 250 when there are movies that don't even deserve to be there.Overall, a very violent and honest film. Not for the squeamish.John woo fans! this film deserves something higher than 7.6!

I've been using my DVD subscription service to go back over old films that I have either not seen or have not seen for ages and am focusing on those from the Far East that everyone expects you to have seen – mostly, at this point, the work of Kurosawa. I came to Bullet in the Head because I do enjoy John Woo's action films – even some of those he did when he came to America. As an "earlier" Woo film, I knew what to expect from Bullet in the Head, or at least I thought I did. Going with it we appear to have the standards of his creations all in place. Criminals, tragedy, flamboyant gunplay and massive action sequences with relationship drama going on in the middle of it. All of this is here and it works pretty well. Essentially it is the tale of three friends who go through crime and war together, changing their dynamics in tragic ways. At this level it is fine and I was interested in the characters and the relationships – OK, not a lot of complexity in there but enough to suit an action film such as this.The action sequences involve the usual jumping around, use of slow-motion and multiple showers of bullets. So, in essence, I can see why the film is loaded down with 5* reviews from the majority of the site's prolific reviewers (that's the filter I use when viewing the comments section), because the film does deliver much of what one would expect from John Woo and John Woo is/was good at doing it. But here is the problem – he sets it in Vietnam. Not only that but he acknowledges the horror of the war and the impact it had on those involved in it – mental and physical. OK, so nothing wrong with that in itself but it doesn't work when you have one scene of extreme violence that is shocking and harrowing and then you following up immediately with one that is exciting and well-choreographed. The extreme violence doesn't take away from the central story (because it is part of it) but by mixing it up with a much darker version of it he sets out a real challenge for himself, which is – can he manage to produce a film that explores themes covered in "serious" films such as Deer Hunter, while also delivering an action film based on the violent splintering of three friends? Sadly the answer is no, he cannot, and this is demonstrated within the film. It is a clumsy affair that does deliver harrowing scenes but is scared to linger on them or to do more with them that cheapen them by only having them as a device to move the plot the way it needs to go. It also doesn't help that Woo doesn't seem interested in being subtle or clever – so a film that really should end in an emotional kick in the guts in the boardroom (where the explosions are character based) spills out into a car chase and shootout that isn't exciting and doesn't fit with the tone of the ending. Within this the cast do a reasonably good job and some do almost manage to carry the film across the jumps in content and style. I always like Tony Leung and he is a good piece of casting. He doesn't totally manage to convince with what the script asks him to do but he is a good heart of the film. Cheung is not quite as good but works well with Leung to build a believable friendship. Lee has less to work with as his character is a lot simpler and I thought his performance was weaker as a result. Yam was an invincible and cool presence that didn't add a lot to the story but made for a good character.Overall, Bullet in the Head produces many of the things that I came to the film for and as such had enough to keep me interested. The problem was that it never hung together convincingly and the use of the war as a backdrop introduced things that could have been impacting but just didn't gel. The action scenes are good (even if not as well choreographed due to the scale of the battles) but the plot is the start of the problem in a film that is never what it should be and certainly shouldn't be listed among the "must-see" films from Woo.

Bloody hell...I saw this movie just yesterday,and it still burns in my mind!! This is probably the most emotional and intimate John Woo,if not the best of his career...It's an epic tale of friendship and betrayal,and,God,at the end i almost cried...Speaking about the ending:the DVD that i retrieved is the "car-chase version",and tonight i discovered that Woo filmed another ending,with (if i have understood well)Ben killing Paul in the boardroom,as Paul killed Frank in Vietnam (pulling his jacket over his head and shooting him down)...Well,too bad i haven't seen the so-called "true ending",anyway i also liked very much the over-the-top final duel...It was very moving,showing the end of the brotherhood between the main characters in a so sad and bloody way...9 out of 10,guarantee!