Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

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

Chantel Contreras It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

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

Anssi Vartiainen Part of John Woo's Hong Kong gangster film filmography and a fine example of all that's both good and bad about all of them. The story follows three friends, played by Tony Leung, Jacky Cheung and Waise Lee, all of them part of a gang. After Cheung's character ends up dusting a member of a rival gang, all three of them decide to flee the police to Vietnam. It's the 60s and the Vietnam War is in full swing, offering opportunities for easy money.And from there it's pretty much every single Vietnam War film you've ever seen, with a slight tilt towards gangster film aesthetics and subplots. I'm mostly reminded of The Deer Hunter, especially as it comes to the ending. Not that there's anything wrong about this, but personally I didn't find this film quite as captivating as some other John Woo films. The gritty urban style is there in the beginning, but the Vietnam scenes are pretty forgettable. The ending is also pretty good, but then it's so obviously influences by The Deer Hunter.And that's my main problem with the film. If it had been the first John Woo film I've ever seen, I probably would have found it fantastic. But as I've seen so many of them already, this one simply blends in with all of its predecessors.Still, it's a decent film. Not an outstanding one, but if a Vietnam War film directed by John Woo sounds interesting to you, you'll get your money's worth.

Alex Bullet In The Head is John Woo's most personal film. I don't know why that is, but this movie is definitely the most grueling, brutal, and certainly the darkest movie of John Woo's entire career. The harrowing events that take place on screen will make even those with strong stomachs squirm. And it's not really even the gore that is disturbing, it's the stuff that our three lead characters are put through, the true hell of what war can be. In case you didn't know, Bullet In The Head is a story about three very close friends, Ben (Tony Leung), the natural leader of the group, Frank (Jacky Chung), the friendly one who will do anything for his friends, and Paul (Waisse Lee), the one who tends to give in to his darker impulses. All these characters are played superbly, I've always liked Tony Leung, and Jacky Chung was just brilliant. Out three main characters travel to Vietnam during the 60's to escape from the law and hopefully earn a bit of profit from the war going on. Things start going wrong very quickly, and eventually our leads are flung into a world that they have never experienced before, and they all adapt quite differently. Bullet In The Head is about how even the closest of friends can be torn apart, and it offers none of the hope that is seen in most John Woo films. This movie is greatly depressing, and as I said, usually very hard to watch, and at the end you'll be emotionally exhausted by what you have just seen. But this is why Bullet In The Head is so great. John Woo is famed for his action, so I guess I should mention how BITH holds up in that department. Obviously, very well. I hadn't really heard much about the action in this movie as I had about the depressing story, but it's just as good and the quality is just as high. When Chow Yun-Fat is nowhere to be found, Simon Yam is your go to guy, and he plays the ice cool character of Luke to perfection. The action is explosive and impressive, just what you would expect from Woo. The acting is all awesome, as is the pacing. There's some cheese here and there, especially at the beginning when we see 3 grown men jump rope together and ride bikes... yep... Other than that, Bullet In The Head is perfect and highly recommended to any action fan, John Woo fan, or anyone who wants to see some of the most intense and sad events ever put on film.

gangstahippie I recently watched the John Woo film "Bullet In The Head" on youtube.It's a pity that it does not have a good R1 DVD release because this movie is simply amazing! It was originally meant to be a prequel to "A Better Tomorrow", it even has the forced whiskey and urine drinking scene mentioned by Chow Yun Fat in Better Tomorrow 1.I personally think this is the best Vietnam movie of all time(even though it isn't completely about Vietnam).Yes, even better than Platoon, Dead Presidents and Full Metal Jacket(I didn't see Deer Hunter or Apocalypse Now).The movie has excellent acting, an excellent storyline, great dramatic moments and also a good amount of action/violence which makes this an overall excellent movie.Besides being a Vietnam movie, it's also a movie about friendship and betrayal.The film starts out in the late 1960's when you see three poor friends who are also part of a gang.One gets married and is worried about why his other friend has not shown up.This is because he was beaten by members of a rival gang, but he would not tell his friend until later.Afterwords, they go get revenge on the rival gang leader and accidentally kill him.They then do a job which will send them away while the police forget about them.The three friends need to get some gold in Saigon.While they are there, one of the friends falls in love with a singer who is being abused and kept there.He decides to save her as well and with the help of another man they do.However, they get caught by Vietnamese, the girl gets shot and they are held prisoner.While they, they are forced to witness atrocities.One friend is forced to shoot American prisoners, which he really does not want to do.They end up escaping but the greedy friend saves the gold as opposed to the other friend and the friend gets a bullet lodged in his brain.He is still alive, only now a messed up heroin addict.The friend is saddened to see him like it and kills him mercifully.He goes back and sees his wife and son.He also settles a score with his other friend who betrayed them.The ending is very good.Hopefully this gets a good R1 release, and if it does not, you should find a way to see it anyway, it's an excellent movie.

poe426 Despite the inclusion of a cut made famous by "the prefab four," this is John Woo at his best. Sentimental to the point of being sappy? Sure, but that's one of the things that all of Woo's pre-Hollywood films seemed to have in common. There's nothing wrong with that, either- not in this context (nor in subsequent films). Over the top? You bet your hairy butt. BULLET IN THE HEAD boasts some of the smoothest, most fluid super slo-mo shootouts in movie history. Though I would rate it lower on the scale than THE KILLER, A BETTER TOMORROW or (my favorite) HARD-BOILED, BULLET IN THE HEAD is most definitely in the same league. If you're one of those people fortunate enough to live near friends who share your appreciation for spectacular, over the top fare, get together and rent and watch BULLET IN THE HEAD. It's got a little something for everyone (even her).