Let the Bullets Fly (Jiang Wen)

[Stay Puft]

LET THE BULLETS FLY
Director: Jiang Wen

IMDb page (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1533117/)

http://www.chinesefilms.cn/mmsource/images/2011/05/12/46b65c926c7e452ebc1856d9f0d238 e3.jpg

[Stay Puft]

A mixed bag.

The plot can be fun and I like the actors here. It is an enjoyable film up to a point. However, the visual direction is often weak and that's detrimental to the storytelling. For example, the special effects are generally poor, and when they're the backbone of a shot depicting the fate of one of the main characters, the whole thing just falls flat. I would also say the film did not do a very good job establishing geography (I could not, once the film was over, even picture the town in my mind). There are some good sequences, but they're few and far between.

On a similar note is the tone, which I found a bit haphazard. The film never really worked for me dramatically on account of all the humor, as the humor is generally silly and flippant. The entire proceedings take on a certain frivolity which undermine pretty much everything I was evidently supposed to care about in the third act. It's the kind of film that just starts evaporating from my mind while the credits are rolling. Not a bad way to spend an evening but not a great way either.

Worse still is that the female characters have nothing to do. Which means Carina Lau is utterly wasted. Which is a goddamn shame.

There appears to be a lot of wordplay in the film and the plot is often whipping around at breakneck speeds, so I'm also conceding a position of ignorance. The subtitles move fast and don't always seem to be up to the task. I'm sure there's quite a bit lost in translation. But for now, for reasons articulated above, I'm leaning towards a nay.

[soitgoes...]

Yeah, this isn't very good. Just a mess of a film. I can't believe this is the same Jiang Wen.

[baby doll]

Apparently this is a lot funnier if you speak Mandarin Chinese.