Rang zi dan fei

At the time of this writing, this is listed as China's highest-grossing domestic film. I went into it expecting some kind of action-packed blockbuster (especially with the title "Let the Bullets Fly," got me expecting stylish John Woo style gunfights or something). I should have known that this film couldn't be identified by blockbuster terms; it's actually a pretty weird and goofy film, with far less emphasis on action and much more on setting up intricate dialogues and intricate plot points. On its own merits, the film is very fast-paced and dense; it has some gunfighting and action, and a few rather violent scenes, but most of it is focused on the storytelling.

The storytelling is satisfying. Even though the comedy can be a huge hit-or-a-miss, and there are a few unbelievable scenes, the characters shine through and dominate the spotlight. It's hard not to enjoy the antics of the bandits and the thugs, and their complex interactions. It's especially hard not to appreciate the complexity of the plotting and counter-plotting that both gangs go through; with the rapid-fire pacing, it may be convoluted for some viewers, but I was never fully lost. Each scene is set up to advance the plot in strange new directions, leading up to a rather fun climax. In the end, I enjoyed watching the chemistry between the characters and their intricate mind games, more than the action.

This film has quality photography, and some really fast editing. Acting can be very over-the-top, but Chow Yun-Fat and Jiang Wen both put on iconic performances. Writing is quite witty and sharp. This production has fine-looking period sets, props, and costumes. Certain special effects look awful, but they are few and very far between. Music for this picture is okay (it includes a pretty odd use of drums and chanting toward the end).

Chances are that some folks will find the comedy, fast pacing, and complex plot a little hard to follow, so I'd recommend it as a rental. Connoisseurs of Asian cinema will probably enjoy this a little more easily than average western audiences.

4/5 (entertainment: 4/5, story: 4.5/5, film: 4/5)

In early 1920s, China was in civil war and it was an era when disorder became part of life. Bangde Ma ( GE, You) who just became the mayor of a remote town through bribery was robbed by a group of bandits led by Pock Zhang ( JIANG, Wen). However Ma could not afford any ransom because he had used up all his money for bribery and the only way to collect money was to use the ruling power of the mayor title. Zhang decided to take Ma's position as the new mayor while Ma posed as his private adviser under the name of Tang.

Their destination, the Goose Town, was actually controlled by notorious mafia clan of the Huang family and the only way to collect money was to fully cooperate with the family and handed out most of their gains. However Zhang was only interested in rich families black money and believed in fair justice for each person, which made Huang the IV ( CHOW, Yun-Fat), the boss of the clan, very very unhappy. Almost immediately Zhang and Huang became enemies and the Goose Town would soon turn to be a battle field as well as a stage of hypocrisy, cheating, apathy and snobbery.

The first impression of the movie is that it is no doubt of a typical Hollywood style action comedy composed by every piece of commercial element you can find in other Hollywood action movies such as gun firing, explosions, beauties, muscles, fast moving, slangs, and etc. The movie itself is of great fun and you will laugh from the beginning to the end. Also the story is told in a straightforward way and there would be no problem of understanding it even if you have no idea where China is located. The problem, however, is how to interpret Jiang Wen. Let the Bullets Fly is becoming one of the hottest and the most appraised movies in recent years in China neither because it is more dazzling than the Avatar nor because it is more surprising than the Inception. It is welcomed because many Chinese viewers regard the story as a mirror of present China and a movie with strong critical acclaim should have not been approved for public show by the authority such as Jiang Wen's previous movie the Devils on the Doorstep. Interestingly, different people can interpret the movie in a way they like and this may be the power of a comedy. Frankly speaking, if you are not a Chinese, chances are you will enjoy the movie for funny stuff while not the metaphor of the movie.

There are so many funny metaphors but you do need to be somewhat acquainted with Chinese to understand them. I think this will be a difficult film for non-Chinese to grasp, especially with a lot of deadpan satire and dark humor. It is extremely funny in a way, especially the scene between Jiang Wen and Carina Lau where she displayed a series of objects to him in bed. You won't "get it" if you don't understand Chinese proverbs and surreptitious meaning. So I'm not surprised if this movie will be rated exceptionally intelligent to its Chinese audience but will appear to many as silly, improbable and illogical.

This is a movie that I thought would have a simple story and a lot of shoot em up. But it was actually the other way around. In fact this movie sort of reminded me of Quentin Tarantino movies. And wouldn't be shocked if Quentin got some ideas from this movie for "Django Unchained". One thing I was disappointed with this movie is how it has Yun-Fat Chow is shown holding a pistol in the back cover of the DVD for this movie. And was hoping for a dual pistol wielding showdown with Yun-Fat Chow and Jiang Wen but that never happens. In fact Jiang Wen is the one that shoots the most in this movie. Chow Yun-Fat and Jiang Wen is just excellent with the roles they are given and are charismatic while also giving off strong impressions. Even is one is the sharp shooting cool anti-hero guy and the other one is a bit obnoxious and yet dominant bad guy. The plot is cleverly crafted although it might have few plot-holes and don't make sense during few scenarios. It's just a very small gripe because everything else is just entertaining to watch. From the dialogue, the acting and the way Pocky Zhang(Jiang Wen) and Huang(Chow Yun-Fat) try to beat each other with mind games and strategy. Overall this is a well crafted movie and clever one as well. It's a movie well worth checking out and I personally will check out more past and future Jian Wen movies.

8.1/10

This movie is really funny and brutal at the same time. Which is a hard thing to balance. Violence is "real" (with consequences for the characters involved that is), but the humor still works. Two factors play into that in my estimation: The script and the really good actors playing in this.

Mixture works and the CGI effects are really good too. Then you also have some wonderful dialogue between the main characters that is so rich, the translation might not do it entire justice (watched it with subtitles on and was hard to follow from time to time). But it's apparent how much fun they had shooting this movie. If you like eastern movies, I do not need to convince you to watch this. But maybe this can be your entry into a whole new (fascinating) world for you ...