Let the Bullets Fly (2012)
Average Rating: 6.1/10
Reviews Counted: 29
Fresh: 22 | Rotten: 7
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 5.8/10
Critic Reviews: 15
Fresh: 11 | Rotten: 4
No consensus yet.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.7/5
User Ratings: 3,633
My Rating
Movie Info
Since its release this year, Let the Bullets Fly has been lauded across the globe for its stunning mix of dark comedy and eye-popping violence. In China, this action-comedy starring Chow Yun-Fat has become the highest-grossing domestic film of all time. Set in 1920s Sichuan, the film tells the tale of the bandit "Pocky" Zhang Mazi, who poses as a local governor in a dusty town- but finds himself at odds with the local mobster, who is not eager to share his turf with another drifter. A complex
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Cast
-
Yun-Fat Chow
Huang, The Godfather -
Jiang Wen
Pocky Zhang, The Govern... -
You Ge
Tang, The Counselor -
Jun Hu
Fake Pocky, The Fake -
Carina Lau
Mrs. Ma, The Mistress -
Yun Zhou
The Hooker -
Kun Chen
The Enforcer -
Yao Lu
The Butler -
Jiang Wu
The Martial Scholar -
Bing Bai
The Courtesan -
Li Ming Hu
The Noodle Vendor -
Shao Bing
Number Two -
Liao Fan
Number Three -
John Do
Number Four -
Li Jing
Number Five -
Zhang Mo
Number Six -
Wei Xiao
Number Seven -
Feng Xiaogang
The Dead Counselor -
Miao Pu
The Wife -
Xiaogang Feng
Counselor Tang -
Wen Jiang
Pocky Zhang -
Pu Miao
Shanxi MIstress
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Let the Bullets Fly Trailer & Photos
All Critics (30) | Top Critics (15) | Fresh (22) | Rotten (7)
This period action comedy by Jiang Wen is great fun in the Shakespearean tradition, stuffed with lively characters, dramatic stand-offs, and stolen-identity subplots.
Top CriticAfter watching it, I was as confused -- and giddy -- as if I had been rolled down a hill in a rain barrel. For unmitigated insanity, this is a hard film to beat.
Jiang directs with great vigor, serving up plenty of blood and a lot of laughs as he turns his picture into a propulsive blast.
See it now, uncut and in widescreen, before it disappears - and then reappears, years later, referenced in some Quentin Tarantino picture.
Along with the familiar East-meets-West elements derived from Akira Kurosawa and Sergio Leone, Jiang offers cleverly choreographed action scenes and fun-house mirror complications.
Word is that Jiang went though 30 drafts of the script before he was satisfied. Perhaps he should have gone for 31.
It's satire of sorts, but broad, confused, extremely talkative and interminable.
Between the kung fu, the gunplay, a gentle romantic subplot and the extreme gastronomy - there's something for everyone.
Overwritten script, ugly visuals, queasy rape humour, feeble special effects and all-round incoherence.
Fans of the genre may enjoy the bizarre humor. But, the story seemed never-ending to me.
The real pleasure is seeing Chow and Jiang square off. Chow mugs for the camera with the same finesse as he handles guns in Woo's films.
The film offers real fun, particularly in the early going, when the energy and enthusiasm recall Stephen Chow's "Kung Fu Hustle."
The stylish direction of Wen Jiang helps to overcome some flaws in his convoluted screenplay.
Director Jiang is also an effortlessly charismatic actor. And the film is elevated by its epical widescreen cinematography, which is purely gorgeous.
Rival crooks battle for control of a beleaguered town in 1920s China in a fast-paced and surprisingly layered adventure.
Audience Reviews for Let the Bullets Fly
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
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- Tang: My ass hurts.
- Pocky Zhang: Counselor, your ass is in that tree. I doubt that you can feel it.
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- Tang: There's something else I want to tell you, I lied about two other things.
- Pocky Zhang: That doesn't matter.
- Tang: But I need to confess to you before I die.
- Pocky Zhang: Okay, what's the first thing?
- Tang: Well, I want to tell you the second thing first.
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Foreign Titles
- Let the Bullets Fly (Rang zidan fei) (DE)
- Let the Bullets Fly (Rang zidan fei) (UK)
