Bullet

Good cop gets accused of being a bad cop, good cop gets angry, hands in badge, goes out on his own and gets all the bad guys, including the really bad guy (naturally, he goes down last), dodging all the bullets and saving the day (and his nephew). Heard that one before? I'm sure you have. So have I. Been there, done that. Sometimes I get the feeling that the gun manufacturers in the USA finance movies just to show off their arsenal of weapons - especially when there's a scene in the back of a low-dive bar where all sorts of weapons are on display, shining like diamonds, for the good cop to choose from. I think the only smart phrase in the whole movie is when good cop meets naughty daughter at the detox center and addresses the recovering folks: "Remember, work the steps because the elevator is broken". Every other scene and piece of dialogue is deja vu all over again. No smart twists in the plot, nothing. Pity, because I like Danny Trejo - his ragged looks, his style, the characters he portrays. I just think he stands out more in supporting roles than as the man in charge of operations.

source: Bullet

I really appreciate Danny Trejo in everything he does, or should i say more or less. The guy usually have good screen presence even when relayed to a supporting cast, or even close to an extra. But this movie... The general plot on paper does not sound bad at all. Classic... VERY classic sure, but there is plenty that could be done with it. But the execution is sloppy, like very sloppy, in everything. The story, the gunfights, the bare knuckles fights. Trejo does not look like a one man army on a mission like for example Liam Neeson in Taken, he just look like a tired old man and there is full of clichés that does not help its cause either. Like bad guy have could shoot him, but decide to for ... we don't know why? Its really one of those very low budget movie that really do not deserve a second look. I don't blame Trejo but really the production company and the director. Oh and i watched a dubbed version, and its really one of those super cheap dubbing in french, where you recognize every one of the voice actors, like there is a total of 10 people or less they employ in that company. And its really mediocre recording and "talents". So yeah this didn't help, but usually they pick very low budget cause if not for them we wouldn't get those movie anyway, as nobody would pick them. So well...

BULLET is a cheap straight-to-video digital thriller starring everyone's favourite Mexican hardman, Danny Trejo. It feels like a deliberate spin on the whole MACHETE mythos with Trejo cast as an unstoppable killer who destroys anyone who gets in the way of his quest to rescue his kidnapped grandson. The plot is very similar to TAKEN and the overall film has a great pace with lots of violence to see it through. Jonathan Banks, an old-time B-movie villain who previously appeared in the likes of UNDER SIEGE 2: DARK TERRITORY, makes for a great criminal mastermind. The main problem with this is the direction, which is really schlocky and poor when it comes to the action, giving everything a fake, rehearsed look. Not a good look, and frankly it spoils the movie.

If you're a Trejo fan, you might like this a bit more than others. It's an obvious "star" vehicle for him. Though not even close to the Machete league he elevated himself to. The action is sometimes decent, sometimes awful. The story itself not really worth mentioning (I don't even think it's possible to spoil any of it, even if you tried, because it's so clear cut). Some of the actors are way over the top (like the "german" bad guy of the week), which you'll either love or loathe. But even Trejo struggles at times with some lines. Especially trying to repeat one of the better jokes in movie history -> "Don't bring a knife to a gun fight" ... maybe even mocking his Machete character? Who knows? Only thing that's for certain: It doesn't work, because the delivery is off by miles! Add to that the inability of the bad guys and one slide/move by Trejo that would put Neo to shame (or Lucky Luke and his shadow combined)

We all like Danny Trejo. He's one of a kind. With his rugged mug he can be menacing, frightening, lovable and funny. In this outing, he gets off to a good start, even having some pretty good lines to spout. True, it's formula action, with, as usual in these films, lots of plot holes and contrived situations. As usual we have the good guy with serious problems, the bad guy who just can't get any badder, the child you know will end up being the bad guy's hostage. In this case they went overboard and threw in two hostages. And speaking of bad guys, who can better represent bad than Jonathan Banks? When he looks at you, you tremble. They even managed to work in a bridge in downtown LA. That's, as Tevye would say, "Tradition". Every action flick in LA has to have some scenes on, around and under one of the bridges. As soon as I saw the city hall in the background, I told my wife to watch for the bridge scene and we weren't disappointed. Maybe it's something in the city charter that any action film made in LA County has to have some scenes including one of the bridges over the LA River, or in the actual riverbed, or both. So far so good. They missed the abandoned factory shootout, but on a budget of $3,000,000 you can't have everything. Where this film falls apart — make that, where this film completely breaks down, is when a fully armored SWAT team with assault weapons hits an apartment and two men, one being Mr. Banks hitting on seventy, armed with two pistols, kill each and every one of the SWAT team plus a couple of other detectives with only Danny Trejo. escaping, we simply broke down in laughter. From there it was downhill the rest of the way, with the usual standoff and bittersweet ending. This started off as one of Mr. Trejo's better outings, but something got lost in the translation.

Carlito Kane kidnaps the Governor's daughter and her significant other in order to free Carlito's son Manual Kane. They kill the young man to show how serious they are. Shortly thereafter, Carlito kidnaps Frank's grandson Mario, then attempts to force Frank to recant his testimony against Manual. Vanessa (Frank's daughter, Mario's mother) uses the money Frank gave her (which he won from prize fighting) to buy drugs. After she attempts suicide, Frank takes her to emergency. In the meantime, the Governor takes Carlito's trumped up evidence to force the Attorney General to have Frank arrested. Frank does get arrested, but he and the cops sort things out. Frank goes rogue for a while, handing in his badge, even though he does not have to do so. Does Frank get Mario back? Does the governor's daughter get rescued? -----Scores----- Cinematography: 7/10 OK, not great. Sound: 6/10 A bit out of control on levels at times. The actors seemed to be miked OK. Acting: 6/10 Danny Trejo and Jonathan Banks are their usual menacing, intimidating selves. John Savage gave a sub-par performance, which I did not expect. The other actors were forgettable, except for the terrible Torsten Vorges. Screenplay: 4/10 Throughout the film, I was confused as to whether Frank ever was a righteous cop. Early on, he kills a couple of cops, for instance. I was surprised to see that he had a badge a bit later. After the large number of felonies that he committed, I did not see how he was not arrested. When Frank and the kids leave the site of his killing spree, I wondered how many years of therapy those two would need later on. They leave happy, though. Sigh.

Review: Typical Trejo movie, but in this one he actually lives. This is your average cops against the baddies type of movie with some kidnapping added for flavour. Although Trejo is looking pretty old, he proves that he can still kick ass against the bad drug lord who is trying to save his son from a lethal injection in prison. The storyline isn't that complicated but it could have done with a bit of work. It isn't as bad as a lot of Trejo movies that I have seen lately, but it still felt like a B movie that deserved to go straight to DVD. Average! Round-Up: I'm enjoying watching these mindless Trejo movies, because you know what to expect. He usually dies within minutes of his movies, but in this one he lasted all the way through, which was quite surprising. He actually said more than a couple of lines and I could tell that the director wanted to make a franchise out his character. All of the other actors need to go back to acting school, but it can't really blame them because the script was pretty terrible. At the end of the day, it isn't amazing but it's a easy way to pass the day. Budget: $3million Worldwide Gross: N/A I recommend this movie to people who are into there thrillers about a cop trying to take down a drug lord, 2/10

Writer & director Nick Lyon's "Bullet" looks like a Nicolas Cage crime thriller without Nicolas Cage. Instead, producer Robert Rodriguez cast likable veteran character actor Danny Trejo as eponymous LAPD detective Frank 'Bullet' Marasco. Marasco has to rescue his adolescent grandson from a ruthless, trigger-happy, cartel chieftain, Carlito Kane (seasoned heavy Jonathan Banks of "Beverly Hills Cop") and his loquacious Teutonic sidekick Kruger (Torsten Voges of "The Lords of Salem") who like to wave their guns around and threaten our rugged hero. If you have any doubts that Carlito is a hopeless dastard, you won't after he beats a small-time drug dealer to death with a golf club. When our hero isn't struggling to recover his grandson, Mario (Kyle Villalovos) he has to prove to his peers that he did not murder three fellow police officers as well as help his junkie daughter Vanessa (Tinsel Korey) kick a narcotics habit. Ironically enough, the daughter had cleaned up her act and then the villains snatched her son and she reverted to her bad ways. Carlito grabbed Marasco's grandson because it was Marasco's testimony that prompted Manuel's conviction. Lyon and three co-scribes, Ron Peer of "Goodbye Lover," rookie writers Byron Lester and Matthew Joynes, recycle all the usual clichés in this contrived crime thriller. Our hero turns in his badge, like John Wayne did in "McQ," goes out and gets arms from the underworld type, and metes out vigilante justice that seals the fate of several villains. Nevertheless, despite its low-budget look and formulaic plotting, "Bullet" isn't bad for a bullet-riddled kidnap & extortion thriller. Banks' bald-headed hood orders the abduction of the daughter of California Governor Johnson (John Savage of "The Thin Red Line") so Kane can compel the state's chief executive officer to release his notorious son, Manuel Kane (Eric Etebari of "2 Fast & 2 Furious"), who is scheduled to die by lethal injection. Lyon orchestrates several interesting but obstreperous shootouts and some of the dialogue is actually memorable. The German villain Kruger has some funny lines, too. Mind you, "Bullet" is nothing special, but a robust cast and a trim 87-minute running time compensate for the familiar nature of the plot.

I bought the blu ray because it was cheap and the tagline is one of the most awesome and hilarious i've ever read - "They tried to stop him....they died". Based on that and Danny Trejo's legendary cult movie status i was expecting a hard as nails, over the top action movie. What i got though was a pretty unexciting movie with flat dialogue and performances and ropey action scenes. Trejo is a legend who has appeared in so many great movies and he still looks awesome with his leathery face, moustache and tattoos. He's great as a support character or an evil henchman but he isn't a leading man. Jonathan Banks from Breaking bad plays the bad guy which was pretty cool. Not the worst thing ever but i wouldn't watch it again.