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Bullet to the Head (2013)

tomatometer

46

Average Rating: 5/10
Reviews Counted: 132
Fresh: 61 | Rotten: 71

Bullet to the Head's unapologetically trashy thrills evoke memories of its star and director's proud cinematic pasts -- but sadly, those memories are just about all it has to offer.

39

Average Rating: 4.8/10
Critic Reviews: 31
Fresh: 12 | Rotten: 19

Bullet to the Head's unapologetically trashy thrills evoke memories of its star and director's proud cinematic pasts -- but sadly, those memories are just about all it has to offer.

audience

42

liked it
Average Rating: 3.1/5
User Ratings: 24,437

My Rating

Movie Info

Based on a graphic novel, Bullet to the Head tells the story of a New Orleans hitman (Stallone) and a DC cop (Kang) who form an alliance to bring down the killers of their respective partners. -- (C) Warner Bros

R,

Mystery & Suspense, Action & Adventure

Alessandro Camon

Jul 16, 2013

$9.5M

Warner Bros. Pictures - Official Site External Icon

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All Critics (132) | Top Critics (31) | Fresh (61) | Rotten (71) | DVD (2)

Hill's eye for back alley scuzz is as strong as ever, but the story, adapted from a French graphic novel by Alexis Nolent, is so die-cut it gives neither him nor Stallone anything to work with.

February 4, 2013 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

On its own degenerate terms, the movie works.

February 4, 2013 Full Review Source: Vulture
Vulture
Top Critic IconTop Critic

It's a series of fight scenes that build to a climax that is surprisingly unsatisfying in the way it ultimately plays out.

February 3, 2013 Full Review Source: ReelViews
ReelViews
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Sylvester Stallone shoots people in the face. That's it for subtext in this formula action swill. Why do I sound like I should expect more. Because the credits list the director as Walter Hill.

February 2, 2013 Full Review Source: Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Bullet to the Head doesn't try to adapt its star to 2013. It just pretends that we're still living in 1986. And for 91 minutes, it just about works.

February 1, 2013 Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Stallone can still be entertaining, but here he's got no character to play, nothing fun to say, and the craziest hair/hairpiece/scalp growth this side of John Travolta.

February 1, 2013 Full Review Source: The Wrap
The Wrap
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The movie's titled Bullet to the Head, what the heck do you think it's going to be?

October 5, 2013 Full Review Source: Examiner.com
Examiner.com

It says "revenge never gets old." Yeah, but Sylvester Stallone did. Yikes.

July 27, 2013 Full Review Source: Movie Chambers
Movie Chambers

A big, dumb action film that charges forward believing Stallone is charismatic enough to sell even bad writing. He's not.

July 16, 2013 Full Review Source: Reno Gazette-Journal

Walter Hill's Bullet to the Head is a gritty and tough throwback to times when action films were simple, fun and still considered entertaining and worth the money.

July 15, 2013 Full Review Source: We Got This Covered
We Got This Covered

As unsubtle as its title, this action film is repetitive and packed with silly cliches that should be put to sleep.

June 30, 2013 Full Review Source: Big Hollywood
Big Hollywood

Nothing to write home about, but with some decent fight sequences, good stunts, and amusing banter between Stallone and Kang. No need to rush out to the cineplex, although worthwhile to catch on-demand later this year.

June 6, 2013 Full Review Source: Film Threat
Film Threat

The roar dies into a hollow echo, the growl gets gutturally one-note and the grit becomes B-movie background. Has too scuzzy a heart to pump out a deep throb of action. Peel this one back and you get more pit than pulp.

May 6, 2013 Full Review Source: Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada)
Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada)

The film could be summed by its product placement for Bulleit Bourbon, treated like a rare luxury when it's actually $20 a bottle at Trader Joe's; director Walter Hill serves this inexpensive, everyday material with a serious flourish.

March 19, 2013 Full Review Source: MetroActive
MetroActive

At its ridiculous best Bullet reminds us why we liked Stallone in the first place. But time has moved on, for him and for us and there's a point where looking back this way stops being entertaining and starts to become sad.

March 18, 2013 Full Review Source: ComingSoon.net
ComingSoon.net

Walter Hill has lost none of his directorial prowess!

March 15, 2013 Full Review Source: Movies With Butter
Movies With Butter

What's it about? Some bad guys. And some other bad guys. And some badder guys. And bullets to the head, as though through repetition of the title in action we're meant to finally understand the platonic ideal of how to murder a person with a gun.

March 8, 2013 Full Review Source: Movies.com
Movies.com

A barely passable, if unmemorable, bit of action-heavy entertainment -- as long as you don't think too hard about the script's eye-rollingly contrived setup.

March 1, 2013 Full Review Source: Times-Picayune
Times-Picayune

Look, Stallone has a perky daughter. Will she end up tied to a chair in a disused refinery (or something)? You know it.

February 17, 2013 Full Review Source: Irish Times
Irish Times

... a star vehicle for Stallone first and foremost, giving him a potentially intriguing antihero character surrounded by a story that shoots blanks.

February 16, 2013 Full Review Source: Cinemalogue.com
Cinemalogue.com

Stallone still mumbles the lines, but his timing is pretty good and the jokes are well done. Violent as the film is, the special effects and stunts are impressive, especially the ax fight at the end.

February 9, 2013 Full Review Source: Tolucan Times
Tolucan Times

An okay action movie but sadly Stallone has entered into the "who cares" category.

February 9, 2013 Full Review Source: jackiekcooper.com
jackiekcooper.com

Stallone and Hill make the often-corny dialogue sound not only plausible but weirdly logical.

February 8, 2013 Full Review Source: East Bay Express
East Bay Express

With a cracked-asphalt voice, a shaved-wildebeest hide, the veined musculature of Swamp Thing and the apparent flexibility of a tree trunk, the aging Sylvester Stallone remains a commanding, amusing and somewhat awe-inspiring screen presence.

February 8, 2013 Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

Thanks to Hill's directorial brio and some hot-wired one liners, Stallone can still put bad folks out of their misery real fast.

February 7, 2013 Full Review Source: Birmingham Mail
Birmingham Mail

This is a very violent police action film, and that is all you can expect from it.

February 7, 2013 Full Review Source: Laramie Movie Scope
Laramie Movie Scope

Audience Reviews for Bullet to the Head

Walter Hill's Bullet to the Head misses its mark.The 90 minute story is dull, unexciting, and full of predictable plot details. Yes, there is definite room for improvement when it comes to the writing, but it could also have been a lot worse.The violence is where this picture excels. The shootings are bloody and what better way to live up to its title by delivering a lot of head shots, backed by some decent cinematography.While muffled and blunt at times, Sylvester Stallone's persona is fit for his hitman character. Sung Kang is a disappointment due to his dialogue and line delivery. It's hard to argue with the beauty of Sarah Shahi, so its best to leave it at that. Jason Momoa proves to be a solid adversary for Stallone and the cell phone product placement is big enough to almost warrant a character name for it.Bullet to the Head puts some bullets in the head, but it doesn't do much more than that. Watchable once and that's it.
September 19, 2013
skactopus
JY Skacto

Super Reviewer

Veteran director Walter Hill helms this graphic novel adaptation about New Orleans (or, going by the film, Crescent City- NOLA's nickname) hitman James "Jimmy Bobo" Bonomo (Sylvester Stallone) who teams up with greenhorn D.C. cop Taylor Kwon (Sung Kang) to bring down the killers of their respective partners.

It's one of those "uneasy alliance" films- something Hill is no stranger to. How exactly the plot comes together and why these two team up is a bit of a mess, but that's not the point. The point is to see a veteran action star and a veteran director make an ass-kicking action film.

There is some success in this aim. The film has lots of action, and it is entertaining. But, overall, it's a rather lackluster and generic thriller, and that's a shame. The film is really typical in all the ways you'd suspect (especially the writing), and it really bums me out just how awful of a job the writing and characterization of Kwon was. He's a really dumb, whiny, and ineffectual cop (a lot of the time). I think Kang is fine, and he's just playing the part he was given, but it sucks he couldn't have been given a better part. Maybe they just didn't want someone to outshine Stallone? Yeah, that's probably it.

Stallone is in typical form here, and admittedly some of his banter with Kang is fun, despite being derivative cliche. Christian Slater is okay, but appears all too briefly, which is a real shame. Jason Momoa however, is great as the primary thug, though not chief mastermind antagonist. His axe fight with Stallone is definitely a highlight.

Overall, this is unspectacular stuff. Like I said, I was entertained, and, if you just want some good action and violence, it's here. I'm happy that Hill is still making movies, but I hope that if he makes another one, that it ends up being far better than this one.
July 23, 2012
cosmo313
Chris Weber

Super Reviewer

    1. Jimmy Bobo: I know. I've heard the speech. You should have taken him in.
    – Submitted by Jerome M (3 months ago)
    1. Jimmy Bobo: You're starting to sound like a broken record.
    2. Taylor Kwon: They don't even make records anymore.
    3. Jimmy Bobo: Right.
    – Submitted by Jerome M (3 months ago)
    1. Taylor Kwon: You don't just kill a guy like that!
    2. Jimmy Bobo: I just did!
    – Submitted by Jerome M (3 months ago)
    1. James Bonomo: Bang. Down. Owned.
    – Submitted by Maher J (7 months ago)
    1. James Bonomo: Are you a cop or shrink?
    – Submitted by Maher J (7 months ago)
    1. Robert Nkomo Morel: In classical literature the hero dies.
    – Submitted by Maher J (7 months ago)
View all quotes (9)

Discussion Forum

Topic Last Post Replies
The most violent film I have ever seen. 2 months ago 25
We all know where this movie is heading 7 months ago 8
Another Kill Flick with Stallone yeaaaa 49 days ago 5
AV Club review 7 months ago 2
@RogerMoore 8 months ago 0

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The erstwhile Punisher has a few choice words for Walter Hill and Sylvester Stallone.

Foreign Titles

  • Shootout - Keine Gnade (DE)
  • Du Plomb dans la tête (FR)
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