Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.

Listonixio Fresh and Exciting

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

Derrick Gibbons An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

NateWatchesCoolMovies Bullet is a violent cautionary tale about what it means to live a life of crime in New York City's brutal Hell's Kitchen, to live (and die) with all the baggage and tragedy that comes along with it. Mickey Rourke is excellent as Butch Stein, a pathetic yet somehow endearing Jewish American hoodlum locked in a personal war with local drug dealer and gangster Tank (Tupac Shakur). Butch still lives with his family, and spends his nights slumming about with slick wannabe wiseguy Lester (John Enos III) and his gangly brother Ruby (Adrien Brody). One gets the feeling that all of them are essentially still little kids who never learned to grow up or use their words, but the sandbox they're squabbling in now is a dangerous area of town, and their toys are heavy artillery. Butch has another brother, a reclusive weirdo played phenomenally by Ted Levine. He's distant and strange, but there's breaks of clarity that shine through, and in those moments he's pretty much the voice of reason amongst all the tomfoolery that adds to the mortality rate in their district. Levine is unique and shelters the gold in his work until right at the end, letting off an emotional stinger of a cap to his performance that is yet another testament to his skill. Rourke broods through his work with sombre self loathing and a grim resolve, dead set in his ways, perhaps unable to live his life differently, and feeling helpless at the road he's taken, a dark one that has strayed far from what might have been. Tupac's role is somewhat underwritten, which isn't quite fair to the guy, because he has more acting talent than pretty much any other rapper I've seen in film. Reduced to a mostly a jive talk sterotype gangsta antagonist, I would have liked to see them allow him to level with Rourke in a way that made their locking horns seem a little bit more than just a petty turf war. Director Julien Temple comes from a music video background, and transitions nicely into the world of the urban crime drama, shooting the seedy NYC locales with glittery precision that suggests festering rot below. It's an anti-crime film, and I'm always curious to see if such a sentiment is undone by the glorification of such a lifestyle, intentional or otherwise (it's easy to get caught up in sensation and cinematics, losing sight of what you set out to say in the first place). This one stays true to its word, showing us characters who have irreparably lost their way, and assuring bullet by bullet, death by death, that this isn't any kind of life for anyone. Searing stuff.

Anchor81 Bullet ...This film can be put as raw, seedy, grimy ,realistic,dark and depressing. So that explains why this movie never got the respect it deserved as most people like to avoid these films as these stories of dysfunctional family's ,gang wars etc make the news everyday in our lives,except we only see the headlines and a brief story ,but with 'Bullet' we see the full 99min unrated story of a broken family and street life.This movie in my view is a 'masterpiece' like many other movies out there ,but this never got enough attention, but now its gaining more attention and becoming a classic gem. The direction in this movie is excellent,some great arty shots of the streets in Brooklyn's and flashbacks from bullet himself... excellent music score also. As for the characters they all play superbly . Bullet is the street thug who just got out of the pin and cant come to terms with normal life ,whilst an old friend is on his trail for revenge,as bullet trys to step on his turf. This is 'Tank' played by Tu Pac ,this has to be one of the best ruthless thug characters i have seen played on screen since the 80s.Rourke is amazing as the bullet,he roams around the streets with his bad addiction.....taking one day at a time, he looks cool in this movie,their's so much i could say for his character,but id be here typing for weeks ,so just watch him for yourself.... also 'Ted Levine' plays a superb role.I seen this film in 96, i loved it then ,but didn't understand it as much then,i just loved the characters. But now my eyes are open and i can see the message, don't slip, cause its tough and mean out here. This movie tells the story of the street thug and all that comes with it like no other,forget menace to society etc...this is the 'real' deal....'You ain't gonna make it out there,take long hard look in the mirror'- Butch Stein (bullet)

Kodoffi Blow (tothextreme2099) Bullet is the type of film that makes me want to look for other films with the same actors. The main characters are very unique and some times funny, for example I thought that Ted Levine was great as a psycho Vietnam vet, whether or not I was supposed to laugh at him i don't know. I laughed because that is just the type of humor I have , I'm not bashing the acting because it was good. Some famous names that appear in the film are Adrien Brody of The Pianist, Tupac Shakur, and even Donnie Wahlberg, (Mark's brother...new kids on the block) as a thug. The film is available on DVD with a R and an Unrated version, I've only seen the unrated version though, it contain graphic drug use, a sex scene, and violence of course.

ms_jade_li This film has a feel of a home movie mixed with real actors. It's hard to explain. Nothing is hollywoodized as far as being over the top, yet the characters are "professional" as in comfortable in front of the camera. They are almost stylized.Back to the realism. The family here is so real they feel like they could be neighbors. However there is an added component of the family being Jewish, and honestly, this is the first time I remember seeing a Jewish family being portrayed in middle-class, "street" style (if anyone has suggestions for other examples, email me).By the time it's over you feel like you know the characters, or that you've met people exactly like them if you've ever lived in a moderate to large sized city. Mickey Rourke as Bullet is great, as usual. It's almost as if this role were made for him. I see him as a tragic, heroic figure, fighting against the demon heroin. His kid brother is Adrien Brody, a talented artist and headed down the same path as his brother if he's not careful. There's the 3rd brother, played by Ted Levine, who isn't quite right after coming back from the war. You will feel affection for this man before the end credits. There's the mom and dad, who could be anyone's mom and dad (watch it and you'll see what I mean). A real standout in the film is Bullet's sidekick, John Enos III. In 1996 when this movie was made let's just say Enos was a perfect specimen of the male form. YUM. (Mickey was, likewise, in *excellent* shape!) Not only is Enos gorgeous, but he plays the faithful buddy who is also very wrapped up in his looks role well. Tupac, as Tank, the villain, isn't the greatest actor but he does OK. His clothes and his style are noteworthy. A couple of the gang members have screen presence, including Pudgy and Bullet's old pal who is now one of the white guy gang leaders.There's a day-to-day sort of realness in the plot. It shows probably a week in the life of the characters. Some disturbing images of abandoned buildings-turned-heroin houses (not sure if they are called that, but if you know what a crackhouse is like, it's the same thing but with heroin. who knows maybe heroin houses are the forerunners to crackhouses and I just don't know it.) Lots of sad junkies doing their various things (shooting up, giving blowjobs for drugs, buying, selling, ODing.) Weaknesses in the film have less to do with the plot and the actors as it does with what seems to be sh*tty editing. That's a shame too, as Bullet (1996) has many elements that could have turned it into a classic.I decided to watch Bullet for 2 reasons: 1) Mickey Rourke; and 2) it was going to be on HBO at a time when I was looking for a movie to watch. I was glad I watched it. I'll watch it again too. Give it a chance and see what you think of it.