Bullet

I saw Bullet about a year ago after really getting into Mickey Rourke films and i have to say i really liked it a lot. I can see why some critics flushed it, yet not all of them the film is very different from Rourke's usual work and nothing like other ghetto greats like 'Boyz n the hood' and 'Above the rim'the film has a kind of quirky way about it especially since it's story centres around a Brooklyn born Jewish junkie(instead of African-American)and his rivalry with drug dealer Tank (a small yet great cameo from Tupac Shakur)and also his social problems with friends Lester (who he thinks might be gay) and his two brothers Ruby (Adrien Brody)a painter who is looking for a way to get out of the whole street life and Louis (amazingly played by Ted Levine) who is a freaked out ex-soldier who still thinks the war rages on. So the story is very different,but in a good way i think. The acting is superb and directing from Brit Julien Temple is great. 9/10.

A lot of people bitch that "Bullet" is far from standard Hollywood fare, but what that means to you depends heavily on your personal opinion of Hollywood fare. If you, like myself, don't think too highly of it, then consider this your first boarding call.

The "Bullet" spoken of in the title is the film's central character, a 35-year-old Brooklyn heroin junkie (Mickey Rourke). The film begins with his release from the pen after serving an eight-year sentence, and then proceeds to closely follow the lives of him and those around him -- the parents, an eccentric little brother, a completely shell-shocked headcase of a big brother (Ted Levine, creating yet another standout psychotic), as well as various players in the substance supply industry (Tupac Shakur makes his last screen appearance as the druglord Tank, and does a decent job in a rather thankless role). I'd summarize the plot more clearly if I could, but the fact is, these people's lives just aren't that simple.

"Bullet" is one of those rare movies which somehow leak through the cracks and make it into production with their soul (or lack thereof) intact. One of the few who dare pay attention to the dregs of society. Worse still, actual dregs of actual modern day society. The REAL dregs. The "uncool" dregs which are far less likely to break out the one-liners after offing someone then they are to strip the corpse of all valuables and sell them for drug money.

"Bullet" wastes no time whatsoever on making it's characters presentable. I admit it, there's no way this film could ever have raked in the cash. On the surface, the majority of scenes depicted in "Bullet" are the furthest thing any decent human being would classify as entertainment. But below this poverty and violence is a complex and intriguing world filled with complex and intriguing characters.

The film's craft cannot be faulted. The direction is superb, the soundtrack appropriate -- at times eerily so -- but even despite all this, most viewers will recoil in disgust at the request to tune into the lives and minds of characters as genuinely vile, violent and emotionally unstable as these. Characters that would instruct packs of ten-year olds in mortal combat. Characters that can no longer see the future beyond their next hit. Characters that assault their own image in the mirror. This is ground most viewers aren't willing to tread, and why this film was doomed to fail commercially. But that by no means makes it bad. Those who can stomach the imagery and see beyond it will not be disappointed... with the *movie*. How you'll feel once it sinks in that these kinds of things happen on a daily basis in what is supposedly the most civilized country on the planet is anyone's guess.

since i watched the wrestler i've been on a kick of renting mickey rourke movies and aside from the wrestler i'd say this is his best performance i've seen so far. he was just so good in this movie. he shows so much emotion and still pulls off the whole tuff guy bad ass thing. mickey rourke is effing cool man.

the guy who plays bullet's older brother also really stands out to me. he definitely had crazy, paranoid war vet down.

and bullet's best friend was funny as hell. what a joke.

i heard mixed reviews about this movie so i decided to go in without expecting much and i was pleasantly surprised. i really enjoyed it.

it's not a feel good movie. it has lots of funny bits (for those of us with a sick sense of humor) but at the same time it is quite serious and i think people can learn from it. it may sound cool to be hard and tuff but watch this movie. i think the main intention of the movie was to show kids what street life can do to people (which of course had been done before in other films but its still good).

anyway... they say that this one of mickey rourke's few good moments in that point of his acting career and i would definitely encourage people to check it out.

This is not Mickey Rourke's best work (that title goes to "Barfly"), but it's close. It's a pity that the grittiness of this film made it unacceptable to so many, but for those of us who have known people stuck in the quicksand of inner-city life despite their best instincts (and loved them in spite of their mistakes), "Bullet" rings so sadly true. Rourke, Adrien Brody, and particularly Ted Levine elevate a depressing little gangland story to the level of an epic commentary on the degredation of life at the end of the 20th century. This one is not for the weak stomach, but it IS for the social crusader.

At first I drifted through this one 'cause it was just there but when I really sat down and watched, they really went in-depth about Bullet(Rourke) and his family. It really makes you realize you can't take life for granted and just how wicked the streets really are, worlds do collide in this. the dude who played Paddy was decent, Jermaine Hopkins holds his own in a small role as Pudgy, and I had no idea that Michaek K. Williams(Omar from The Wire) was in this he too had not too big a part. Tupac as Tank, Bullet's long time rival, gives a tight performance in this as well. This movie is not for everybody and it wouldn't have done well if it was in the theaters anyway, I thought it was decent cause I actually sat through this and tried to understand it...

not that bad 6/10