Tetsuo: The Bullet Man

Shinya Tsukamoto's original Tetsuo: The Ironman is most certainly one of my formative cinematic experiences. I remember watching it for the first time one night with a friend in his parents' basement the summer after my freshman year at college. His dad had to get out of bed and yell at us to stop shouting. The film was just blowing us away, and we were very loud about how awesome and freaky it was. Tsukamoto had won a fan for life in me, and, indeed, I have very much liked every single piece of work he's produced that I've had the pleasure to see. The third Tetsuo movie is no exception. It's very much in the same style as the previous two films. Half-Japanese, half-white Eric Bossick plays the title character here. He's a mild-mannered office worker, until, that is, his eight-year old son is viciously run down by a car. When Bossick gets upset, he becomes a metallic, murderous monster. The story is pretty silly (Bossick has "android DNA" because his dad made it with a robot version of his mom), but it's all about the images, the violence, and the Lovecraftian horror. There is one major aspect that will detract from the film's value for some: it's in English. I'm guessing that Tsukamoto felt that this would give the film wider appeal, not only because it could be released in English speaking countries unsubtitled, but in other countries, too, where a good amount of people can understand English. That's a bad plan, though, as most fans of this type of stuff, especially in the United States, where the film still hasn't opened except for perhaps at some film festivals, much prefer the Japanese films they watch to be in Japanese. It's about authenticity. Or perhaps it's about the fact that most of the actors just aren't very good, which makes their dialogue come off rather poorly, or even laughably. And other actors, most notably Shinya Tsukamoto himself, who co-stars as the villain, has a sometimes incomprehensible accent. As for myself, it didn't bother me much at all. It comes off somewhat like the English dialogue in Takashi Miike's Sukiyaki Django Western, kind of weird and almost hypnotic.

If you know Tsukamoto's other films and you have already seen Tetsuo 1, at the vision of this one you will be unsatisfied. You will not recognize the original Tsukamoto storytelling, where you must evince everything about the story only by images, and not from an actor that speak and explain what happened since that scene of the movie. The good thing you can find in the first one or in the other movies by this author are that you must concentrate on the movie, on the images to be able to understand, and the images make you stay on your sit with your eyes open and your mind full operative. But this chapter of the Tetsuo saga is not that kind of film. It's more similar to an American movie than a Tsukamoto movie. I don't understand if it's Tsukamoto changing or it's only because this was an American co-production.

Maybe someone who don't know Tsukamoto will appreciate it for it's fine director's style or for the incomparable music, but it's better if you make a comparison with the first one, that will remain an absolute masterpiece, 20 years before, a lot of money less.

Still,this is a remake, with a lot of changes in the story, but not in the message the author wants to tell us!

1989's 'Tetsuo: The iron man' is a uniquely disturbing horror classic. I haven't had a chance to see 'Tetsuo II,' but given an opportunity to watch 'Tetsuo: The bullet man,' how could I decline?

I should have declined.

The production value is higher, but the writing is simply terrible. It's as though 'The bullet man' is a parody of not just the "Tetsuo" concept, but of any film with a vaguely similar narrative bent. Even writer-director Shinya Tsukamoto's camerawork seems to wink at the audience, like he's saying "Heh heh, check this out." And Eric Bossick's performance is so pointedly over the top that I can't rightly think of an immediate comparison, except maybe Hammer horror films of the 60s and 70s.

As if to emphasize the point: protagonist Anthony's Hulk-like display of grief, after the pivotal moment that launches the plot, would be far more convincing if Bossick weren't just wildly flailing about in a splatter of water that instantly invokes 'Flashdance.' He's a maniac! Maniac! What a feeling!

I do like the conspiratorial aspect of the narrative, the manipulation at hand - even if it reeks of unnecessary, unseemly one-upmanship. The ending, though a bit curt in its simplicity, is fitting. But even these are squandered here, while characterizations, dialogue, particular details of the plot, and the build of specific sequences defy good sense. Even the effects, the makeup and prosthetics that illustrate Anthony's transformation, very quickly cross a line from "somewhat unsettling" to "obnoxious."

If there's anything to actually enjoy here, it's the industrial music that slowly builds throughout the film, reaching a crescendo at the climax. It lends definite atmosphere to 'The bullet man' - more than it makes use of, or deserves. The fact that Nine Inch Nails contribute a swell original song over the end credits is a great gift that's wasted on the bluster we just sat through to hear it, and still not enough to make these 71 minutes worthwhile.

This feature is a mark of shame ill-fitting the status of 1989's progenitor. So much so that I wonder if a passing line from the film's "antagonist" isn't actually a subtle admission from Tsukamoto of a realization he's gone too far: "This shot would be far too tacky."

I've found myself watching some really great movies recently, but also some regrettable clunkers. None of them compare to 'Tetsuo: The bullet man.' Two thumbs way down.

On a positive note, this movie does not resort to using CGI or other crappy special effects. The costume did the job well enough for this movie.

Sound was one of my first issues with this film. The background "music" was mostly someone beating the hell out of a metal trash can or banging a pipe wrench against a jungle gym at the park. There was some metal rifts that were pretty loud. Then the dialog would come in and either I was suffering from deafness or the actors would whisper their lines.

I never have been a fan of shaky cam filming, but this goes way beyond shaky cam to earth quake cam. At no point can I remember any scene that didn't move and flash. If you are epileptic you may have a seizure prior to the credits. The noise, flashes, and bombarding images are just like some hardcore death metal videos.

It takes forever for the origins to be discovered and then the last 20 minutes of the film the "bad guy" -with poor motive- gives the Bullet Man just 60 seconds to kill him... some how 20 minutes = 60 seconds doesn't seem to fit.

Overall a poor movie, I have watched worse. Maybe it would be better as an anime or if I was a big fan of the creator of this film.

Tetsuo: The Iron Man - A film so manic, hyper, weird, and stylish, it represented the epitome of an experimental film. David Lynch would have gouged his eyes out.

Tetsuo II: Body Hammer - A sequel so intense and crazy, it took the strange visions of the first film and spat them out at the viewer in a refreshing barrage of insanity.

The third Tetsuo film, The Bullet Man, is pretty much more of the same. You can certainly expect the film to break out in hyperactive bombardments of flashing rapid-fire images. You can certainly expect the main character to mutate into a metal monster and wreak some havoc (and this time, he spits bullets!). You can certainly expect this to be weird and crazy.

However, this Tetsuo film is notably different, and not in a way that's refreshing or necessarily good. In between the manic freak-out scenes, the film slows down drastically, trying its best to weave in some semblance of an actual story with actual characters and actual reasons behind the madness. With the terrible dialogue, short runtime, and overall freakiness of the film, I really don't think this story works as well as it wants to. The film really wants to give a compelling vengeance story (the exact same type that went into the last two films), it really wants to give us emotional characters, and it wants to give us some kind of background to the "Tetsuo Project" and its connection to the characters. In the end though, it comes off as being too short and underdeveloped for its own good.

The experience of the film overall is pretty agitating. Granted, the other Tetsuo films are agitating as hell, but The Bullet Man seems to be a grade worse. Nearly every scene is shot with a camera that never sits still. Given the other issues listed above, I was rather apathetic about the film overall. I actually value the other two films for their remarkable styles and visions, even though they are pretty hyperactive in their own right, but this third film never felt like it brought anything new to the table.

In addition to being really hyper and annoying, the film is rather drab-looking, with lots of dark lighting and gray settings. Photography is among the worst I have ever seen, and the editing is crazy. I was personally appalled by the acting and writing; most of the dialogue is terrible, with very stupid lines and absurd delivery. On the plus side, the sets, props, and costumes are pretty decent, and it's especially cool to see that the filmmakers preferred to use practical effects rather than cheap CGI. Music consists of lots of airy noises and metallic banging, further adding to the annoying experience.

As much as I value the first two Tetsuo movies, I couldn't bring myself to enjoy The Bullet Man as much as I wanted to. I halfway wonder if Shin'ya Tsukamoto is purposefully trying to make the most annoying movie possible. Established Tetsuo fans will probably enjoy The Bullet Man, but casual viewers will probably want to keep their distance. I personally recommend the first film, if at all interested.

2/5 (Experience: Annoying | Story: Very Poor | Film: Marginal)