Sylvester Stallone & Jason Momoa gave us a criminally underrated thriller

It is easy to eliminate Sylvester Stallone as anything more than an action star, even though his most iconic roles began rather humbly. It is easy to forget that both Rocky and First blood were straightforward character dramas that relied on emotionally charged performances from Stallone; they just happened to promote big action franchises. Stallone’s work was not so interesting in the last decades, because he began to choose roles that did not require as much of him as an actor. However, Stallone proved he still had a great performance left in him with the 2013 crime thriller Bullet to the Head. Although it has been exciting to see Stallone return to familiar franchises Rambo: Last Blood and Faith, Bullet to the Head proving that he can still create new action heroes.

Bullet To The Head

After watching their partners die, a New Orleans hitman and a Washington, DC detective form an alliance to take down their common enemy.

‘Bullet to the Head’ is a darker film with Sylvester Stallone

Bullet to the Head ditches the typical New York setting of Sylvester Stallone’s films for the dirty, crime-ridden streets of New Orleans for its opening sequence. Stallone’s character, Jimmy Bobo, has no advanced training or combat skills that differentiate him from other cops. Bobo also lacks the moral altruism that defined so many of Stallone’s roles. In the opening moments, Bobo works with his partner Louis Blanchard (John Seda) to bring out a corrupt cop (Mindhunterand Holt McCallany). It’s a great opening sequence that shows Bobo is willing to do the kind of “dirty work” that rookies or idealists wouldn’t do, because he’s not. Bobo has put his life’s work into this work, but not all of that work has been “heroic.”

What makes these opening moments so remarkable is how different they are from most of Stallone’s other work. His moral altruism was one of the reasons he became such an iconic action star in the 1980s and 1990s; Stallone’s characters were super heroes who were always on the right side of the law. Even the violent scenes that John Rambo felt were right in the context of the films; Rocky always fought for his country, his family, and his friends. Bobo’s motivations are completely different. He is just doing his best to survive in a bitter world.

Bullet to the Head presents a non-verbal, vulnerable version of Stallone that he had not appeared since James Mangoldand worthless crime thriller Copland. There is a problem with movies like The Past Things and Get Carter it was the cheap, silly one-liners that Stallone had to deliver; they felt completely unrealistic for such a fragile actor. While Bobo is a very different character compared to Rocky and Rambo, he shares their quiet sensitivity. Bobo has a hard time expressing himself, but the rare situations he is in are profound. Bobo has learned to trust the men around him because of the deep corruption within the ranks of the Metropolitan Police Department in the District of Columbia. He can be forgiven for not wanting to form any personal relationships with other members of the group.

Sylvester Stallone is vulnerable in ‘Bullet to the Head’

Bullet to the Head It comes from a crime film maestro Walter’s Hilla veteran of the genre that includes past classics The Driver, The Heroes, and the strange sequel 48 others. hrs. Hill does a good job of creating brutal fight sequences with a film that reveals seeds. Hill focuses on what goes on behind closed doors, and nothing about it Bullet to the Head which feels idealized. This was the perfect place for Stallone at this point in his career. While he revisited franchises like Rocky and Rambo, Bullet to the Head feels like a return to his roles in classic crime films like FIST and Nighthawk.

Sylvester Stallone’s age meant that his ego had to be kept in check. Bullet to the Head he may have the stamina of a modern action movie, but that doesn’t suggest that Bobo shares the physical abilities of a young man. He has been burned by a post in the service, and although this gives him experience, it also means that his body is severely damaged throughout his life. Bobo is often on the receiving end of fights, and even the winning ones leave him very scarred. It felt like the complete opposite of what Stallone was doing just a few years earlier The Past Things; while a geriatric action franchise required him to be essentially a superhero, Bullet the Head let him be vulnerable again.

Sylvester Stallone passes the torch to Jason Momoa in ‘Bullet to the Head’

Although he felt more vulnerable, Sylvester Stallone still passed on a few lessons to the next generation of action stars. In Bullet to the Headhe is able to share a few brutal fight sequences with him Aquaman himself, Jason Momoa. Momoa co-stars as Keegan, a mercenary hired by crime lord Robert Nkomo Morel (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) to kill Bobo. Bobo’s motives for taking down Keegan are personal, as he was responsible for the death of his partner Blanchard. Although Blanchard and Bobo weren’t exactly “close” on an emotional level, working with another cop for so long had created a sense of loyalty. Bobo feels that Blanchard owes it to Keegan to see his actions affected.

The battle between Bobo and Keegan is undoubtedly the highlight of the film; in many ways, Momoa seems to be giving a performance that sounds like one Stallone himself might have given at the height of his career. Both characters have a crush and try to inflict as much pain on each other. While this felt like a return to his previous work for Stallone, it felt like Momoa was allowed to play things darker than the DC franchise had ever allowed him to. It felt like “passing the torch” moment. from one action giant to another.

Sylvester Stallone the movie star gets a lot of credit, but Stallone the actor is still underrated. Bullet to the Head It showed that the “Italian Stallion” was still able to produce emotional shows that took into account dark characters. The fact that he also defeats bad guys is almost beside the point!

Bullet to the Head available to stream on Max in the US

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