Review of Let the Bullets Fly (2010) by Bruno L — 18 Mar 2012

The record-holder for gross revenue in mainland China, Let The Bullets Fly is more than it appears to be. Most film critics, particularly in the west, are caught off guard, thinking it is something of an Eastern Western.

Let The Bullets Fly is actually a character drama only set the wilderness of 1920s China and loosely based on folk hero Pocky Zhang (played by Wen Jiang, who also directs the film). The film substitutes much of the action and suspense for physical comedy and amusing dialogue, all of which is typical of Chinese and Hong Kong cinema pre-1990s.

But what works for Let The Bullets Fly is the interaction between Zhang, local gangster Huang (played by Chow Yun Fat), conman Tang (Ge You), and the supporting characters that surround Zhang and Tang in their scam to pose as the governship of Goosetown and steal money from the townspeople.

Morally repulsed at the idea, of stealing money from the poorest of this village, Zhang instead decides to target Huang's fortune as his own, yet as members of his own gang are harassed and murdered Xhang's goal against Huang becomes more personal and leaves him with a moral dilemma: should he leave Goosetown with his fortune or should he continue his war with Huang? Supposedly, Director and actor Wen Jiang refused to accept his part until after the script went through thirty drafts, and his persistence appears to have produced a film which, for its title, is surprisingly self aware.