I am nobody's old man

BULLET TO THE HEAD (2012)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Like fine vintage wine, Sylvester Stallone has aged and has added a few nuances to his abilities - he has also become a better actor. His gravelly voice and his amazing physique complement his world weariness - a man who has seen and heard it all. Except Stallone, pushing past his mid-60's, is not weaker nor weak-minded - he is just as physically imposing as he ever was. He has also developed a wicked edge, something which none of his past roles ever elucidated. Stallone is not just the best thing in "Bullet to Head" - he is the movie.

Stallone is an impulsive hit man and long-term criminal named Jimmy Bobo who loses his partner in crime to a vicious stabbing by another vicious killer (Jason Momoa, from the unfortunate "Conan the Barbarian" remake). Jimmy is now in hot water, especially after he and his partner killed a corrupt cop who was working for the devious businessman Robert Morel (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje). Morel is handicapped, walking around with two canes, and he is plotting to demolish some low-income housing development and build condos instead (considering this violent tale takes place in New Orleans, I am sure there is an element of truth there).  An investigation is spearheaded by a Washington, D.C. detective, Taylor Kwan (Sung Hang), into the death of that corrupt cop whom he deduces that Bobo had a hand in. Guess what happens next? Bobo becomes an unlikely partner to Kwan and they both become embroiled in digging deeper into Morel's network of corrupt cops, masked balls, bathhouses and, lastly, an abandoned factory.

Director Walter Hill ("48 HRS.," "The Warriors") does an expert job of making the action fast and furious for its near-90-minute running time. I could have lived without the shots of solarized freeze-frames that interrupt the flow and rhythm of Hill's jazzy nighttime city streets (most of the film takes place at night) and his exemplary use of blues and bayou music riffs - the latter add to the atmosphere and overall mood but solarized images in frequent bursts diminish the impact.

I have lost interest in Christian Slater, an actor who back in the "Heathers" heyday seemed to be headed in the direction that Jack Nicholson went. Here, he plays Morel's lawyer and it doesn't give Slater much to do except play a one-dimensional weasel. Also lacking much charisma is Sung Hang, far too inanimate to be Stallone's partner. Faring much better is Adewale Akinnuoye-Agjabe as the always smiling villain whose toxic charms get under your skin. And despite a small role, Sarah Sashi as Bobo's daughter, a tattoo artist, gives the film a little lift as well - she has intoxicating charms that can only lead to better roles.

"Bullet to the Head" is nothing new in the action film world (though I can't recall the last time that a cop and a hit man were paired in the buddy-buddy genre) yet Stallone and director Hill make it far more tolerable than the cartoonish whiz-bang explosions of "The Expendables." The movie is sleek, crisp, lean and doesn't waste time. And Stallone proves that, in remarkable close-ups, he is nobody's old man even when wielding an axe.