Pretty Good

From my favorite movies..

Absolutely the worst movie.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

I've long been a fan of John Woo's films ever since I saw my first, HARD TARGET, about a decade ago. While I still love that movie, I'm aware that many of Woo's Chinese films are considered far superior to anything he's done in Hollywood. HARD-BOILED is a favourite thanks to the intense action but, having just watched BULLET IN THE HEAD, I can appreciate that this is perhaps his most intense and emotional film yet.The story is a simple one: three young friends, all male, all ambitious, find themselves on the wrong side of the law in Vietnam, caught up with smugglers and the Vietcong army. What follows is an odyssey of discovery and heartbreak in equal measure. Woo focuses on the darker side of life (and death), making this his most downbeat yet. What happens is tragic and moving, yet captured with skilled direction and masterful action sequences that make it utterly compelling. It reminded me a little of the Korean war film BROTHEROOD, although this is superior.The three young stars, Leung, Cheung, and Lee, each put in great performances on different sides of the spectrum. Leung is the clear-cut hero, with a conscience; Lee is the one sidetracked by a lust for riches, and Cheung is the comic relief, the one who finds himself in all sorts of scrapes. There's also a brilliant turn from Simon Yam who should have won an Oscar for his supporting performance here – it's the best I've ever seen him and makes me appreciate him as an actor far more than I did previously.The movie is action-packed and has plenty of brilliant moments. Grenades, sticks of dynamites disguised as cigars, Vietcong torture and a car chase: it's all here, all pulse-pounding. The shoot-out in the bad guy's den recalls SCARFACE in terms of sheer over-the-top carnage, and takes some beating. The finale is over-the-top but works well, and in between we have all sorts of other stuff going down. The Vietcong prison camp sequence is one of the most powerful and disturbing I've seen filmed and it's pretty hard to watch. Blood often flows across the screen in this film and it's definitely not one for the faint hearted. Saying that, I can't help but view this as a masterpiece and a film which should be far better known than it currently is.

John Woo made action films in China before hitting Hollywood, and Bullet in the Head was consistent with his later work.Three friends in Hong Kong of 1967, Ben, Paul, and Frank become part of a gang in their youth, fighting rivals in the bustling city. Years later, Ben marries Jane at a wedding paid for with money from a loan shark, Mr. Kwai. On his way to the event, Frank is robbed by gang members, lead by a guy named Ringo. Frank and Ben find him at a bar and kill him. The next day, with the police in hot pursuit, Frank, Ben and Paul travel to Vietnam after hearing of a lucrative smuggling trade there. Bad luck follows them as a suicide bomber blows up all their goods and they are arrested as suspects. They are beaten by interrogators, and when the real bomber is found, it is a young boy who is executed quickly. Frank vomits when he sees the kid shot. They make their way to a nightclub and brothel to see a singer named Sally, who has been tricked into prostitution, and so they plan a elaborate escape with her, but she gets shot and the four surviving men take a boat up river with gold that they have stolen. The boat breaks down and they are captured by the Vietkong. With the gold is a list of CIZ agents with maps, which the three guys know nothing about; wrong place, wrong time. The VC torture them but they eventually manage to escape. The violence is frequent, with plenty of shootings, and the three main actors are good. The story is interesting with a surprising conclusion.

John Woo's "Die Xue Jie Tou" of 1990 is a great and intense action film that definitely keeps what its international a.k.a. titles "Bullet in the Head"/"Bloodshed In The Streets" promise. This must be one of the most blood-soaked, ultra-violent and tough-minded action flicks of the 90s, and even though I personally liked Woo's earlier films "A Better Tomorrow" and "The Killer" even more, "Bullet In The Head" is also a great film that lovers of violent action and uncompromising cinema can not allow themselves to miss! "The Killer" and "A Better Tomorrow" were not exactly Disney flicks either (more precisely, they are exceptionally violent films too), but "Bullet In The Head" even surpasses them in means of brutality, and is easily the most violent film by John Woo, who wasn't exactly known for his tame films back in his Hong Kong days.After an incident in Hong Kong in which a person is killed, three friends decide to go to Vietnam in order to get rich as quickly as possible. The time is 1967, and the war-torn country is pure hell, but also a promising opportunity for people looking for nothing but a quick fortune...All three leading men, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Jacky Cheung and Waise Lee are great in their roles, especially Leung is outstanding. The supporting performances are also very good, Simon Yam is especially worth mentioning. Both the story itself, and the graphic depiction of violence is uncompromising and exceptionally brutal. But "Bullet in the Head" is not only recommended for its brutality. This is raw, stunning Action cinema in its purest form, and no lover of cinema can afford to miss the brilliance of John Woo's Hong Kong cinema. John Woo truly is an exceptional director of action cinema. None other than Horror genius Sam Raimi has once stated, that Woo is for Action cinema, what Hitchcock was for the Thriller, and, regarding the Hong Kong-produced films I agree. Sadly, John Woo is mostly associated with silly blockbusters of the "MI 2" kind since he went to Hollywood, but the films he made back in Hong Kong, such as "Bullet in the Head" still shine out as true gems of cinematic greatness!

I first started watching John Woo films because of his combination with Chow Yun fat and Violence. Together, Woo has delivered some Brilliant Movies like Hard Boiled and A Better Tomorrow. I didn't expect much from Bullet in the head when i first rented it out. It doesn't star Chow Yun Fat and its a little bit of a war movie, which i don't fancy. After watching the Movie, All i can say is not only is this the Best John Woo movie I've ever seen. It is among one of the Greatest Movies of all time. After i watched it once, i bought the VHS, and as soon as the double disk DVD came out, i had to buy the DVD. John Woo has mentioned in the Special features that this is his personal favourite movie since he has put a lot of effort in this movie. The Acting was Superb from all Stars, especially Tony Leung and Jackie Cheung. The violent Scenes were directed Magnificently. The ending twist was very surprisingly emotional and Brilliantly directed. Till this day, i never found any movie emotional. I can admit, after watching this movie, it did get to me. 10/10