Una bala en la cabeza

I saw this film once with my friends and it ruined our nerves. This film grabs and doesn´t let loose till its finished. It is the only film I ever saw that had violence really, not only so to say, non-stop. Even if the guys crossed a street or bought something to eat the bullet-showers didn´t stop. Watching this film is a nightmare because it just doesn´t stop till nearly everyone is dead. What it makes so attracting is the fact, that it works, this film is the climax of its genre, it is hard to imagine that any film can be more focused on violence than this film. Its also hard to tell entertainment from rejection and thats what John Woo can do better than anyone. His intensity in violence is close to Pasolinis 120 Days Of Sodom And Gomorrha and some films of David Lynch, but he does it in his own unique consequent ways, which certainly generated a new set a new style and standard in filming. This film though not so amusing as hard boiled got 10 instead of 9 because of its extraordinary strangeness. Watch this film and be sure to have a good beer with friends afterwards to come down again, otherwise your sleep will be affected.

"Bullet in the Head" (aka "Die xue jie tou") is a classic Hong Kong action movie from the grandfather of action movies director John Woo, of course. And anyone with a taste for Hong Kong movies would have to have lived under a rock if never having come across a John Woo action movie.

John Woo sort of deviates from his usual formula with "Bullet in the Head" in comparison to a movie such as "Hard Boiled", for example. While "Bullet in the Head" definitely has lots of action sequences, it is not really as action packed as most of his other movies. Instead, there is a healthy amount of drama and character building in "Bullet in the Head". Which was actually serving the movie quite well.

And even in 2019, this action movie from 1990 still stands tall and is definitely watchable and enjoyable still. Sure, you just don't concern yourself about the oddly colored blood used, but focus on the action and the acting.

"Bullet in the Head" features some very iconic Hong Kong actors, such as Tony Chiu-Wai Leung, Jacky Cheung and Simon Yam, whom all carried the movie quite nicely. And the supportive cast were also doing great jobs.

I have watched "Bullet in the Head" three times or so by now, since it was initially released and I had it on VHS back in the day. And I will say that the movie definitely has value to it, as it can viewed again and again with years in between.

If you like Hong Kong action movies from the golden age of over-the-top-action, then you will definitely have to watch "Bullet in the Head".

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.

John Woo directs an absolute merciless Vietnam war drama that is comparable to The Deer Hunter in it's power and is quite possibly one of the greatest movies of Woo's career. The movie follows three trouble-making kids (Tony Leung, Waise Lee and Jackie Cheung) who are exiled to Vietnam to escape the Hong Kong authorities after a rival gang member is killed by them, once in Saigon the run into "The Viet Cong" who are far worse than the HK authorities and their rival gang and what the V.C do to our trio makes them regret in all their hearts that they didn't go to prison in the much safer Hong Kong. A Bullet In The Head would be a tale about friendship overcoming the hard times of war, if the friendships in the movie actually prevailed. Instead the movie gives us a heart wrenching look at war and what it does to the three friends in the movie. The kids in the movie are in the beginning not very sympathetic and give off the impression that they deserve what they get but once they go to Vietnam you realize just how much in over their head they are and Woo filters the emotion from this situation and effectively conveys a story that is hard to watch but very rewarding nonetheless. After witnessing the debacle of Windtalkers I decided to see if Woo could direct war, well it goes without saying this blows that one out of the water. This is up there with Hard Boiled and The Killer as Woo's best film.

* * * * out of 4-(Excellent. A Must See!)

This masterpiece is a crime story and a war drama as well as a wonderful film about friendship and the power of money. "Bullet in the Head" is a truly amazing epic that takes place in the era of Vietnam war and it becomes better and better with every minute: the performances of the four main actors are excellent and John Woo´s great action choreography is out of this world! This film is loaded with so much dramatic, emotions and explosiveness what will make you forget anything other you´ve seen before easily!!

I was truly speechless because of this great movie!!!

10/10