Bullet to the Head (2012)

This is another movie that I skipped seeing in the theatre because I was uncertain that the aging main character could make the movie worth watching.

The senior action movie stars keep making movies and I think that audiences are beginning to question whether or not these old guys are just too old for the parts that they are playing.  In this case, Sylvester Stallone is the main character.

Earlier this year Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger were in similar situations respectively; Willis in A Good Day to Die Hard (2013) and Schwarzenegger in The Last Stand (2013) .

I respect my elders, and these guys rule!  However, if they keep making action films, I will probably keep waiting until those movies are released on DVD before I watch them.  (Bruce Willis is the younger of the mentioned bunch, but can still be questionable.)  There are always exceptions, but right off the bat, their old age is not working in their favor.

Stallone has had the right idea by bringing all of the old geezers together for his Expendables movies, but in this day and age, if there is one old headliner then it better be in the right movie.

All 3 movies mentioned lost a lot of money:

The Last Stand (2013) lost 18 million dollars.

A Good Day to Die Hard (2013) lost 25 million dollars.

Bullet to the Head (2012) lost 46 million dollars.

Bullet to the Head is about a ruthless hit man (Sylvester Stallone) who goes on a rampage tracking down the men responsible for the murder of his partner in crime.  He is a one-man wrecking ball out for revenge.  Along the way, he teams up with a cop who happens to be tracking the same people.

The film was directed by Walter Hill and the rest of the noteworthy cast includes Sung Kang, Jason Momoa, Christian Slater, Jon Seda, Sarah Shahi, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Holt McCallany, and Brian Van Holt.

Like the title suggests, Bullet to the Head brutally gets to the point early on and the graphic violence continues throughout.

The film is fast-paced and loaded with tons of great and for the most part, believable action.

The movie very much deserves the R-rating as there is a lot of language, nudity, and very realistic blood and guts.  There are in fact, many people that end up taking a bullet to the head and or the rest of their body.

As with most action movies, not all of the characters get fully developed, but the action and witty dialogue make up for what is missing.

The film accomplished what it set out to do and that was to be explosive.

Even at his age, Stallone carries himself well in perhaps his most gruesome role yet.  He is a stone cold, no nonsense, sarcastically funny killer.  It’s almost like he flipped a switch and became somebody else.  The rest of the cast is likable, but Stallone takes over and makes it a one-man show.

Compared to The Last Stand and A Good Day to Die Hard, in my opinion, Bullet to the Head is the better film.  Ironically it lost a lot more money than the other movies and it was probably the most underrated of the bunch.  Stallone also gave a better performance than Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

If you enjoy rooting for the bad guy, then this film is for you.

I rate this movie an 8 on a scale of 1-10.

Buy, rent or run?  Buy.