Review of Bullet (1996) by Your Friend — 11 Oct 2008
Watched the newly restored 'unrated' version of this lost gem. Very strong underrated feature starring Mickey Rourke (in the lead) as an ex-con who is released from prison and must slowly adjust to a normal life in a dysfunctional environment.
With his constant addiction to heroin, he must also face a local gangster by the name of Tank, played by the late Tupac Shakur whose eye he had injured in a previous encounter. Rourke's siblings are noteworthy in their performances.
We get to enjoy a young Adrien Brody as the artist and Ted Levine who as an ex-Vietnam veteran is still fantasizing about the war, even training children for potential combat. Rourke's best friend in the movie is a real delight and seems to have awoken the ghost of Manolo (Steven Bauer) from 'Scarface' in every nuance of his performance.
This is not a light film and the characters are very well-written and layered. We also get to see another character who resembles and speaks like Rourke during he 1980s with a young Donnie Wahlberg in his crew.
The film moves at an easy pace and the audience is well-rewarded for their time spent. There is some action and the fight scenes are well-shot. A good drama that is not at all like the typical 'rap / hood' movies that were so popular during the 1990s.
An underrated gem that belongs in the best of Rourke collection!
This review of Bullet (1996) was written by Your Friend on 11 Oct 2008.
Bullet has generally received positive reviews.
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