Bullet (1996)

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

I took my Mum to see this when it came out in 97. A male usher came walking over to me, and said "I don't mean to pry but why you going to see this". "It's like a private screening". One of my answers was "I like Mickey Rourke". This one that only ran a week at two Wallis Cinemas, was actually Mickey's comeback to cinema after White Sands, five years prior. Here, this film proves time and time again, why Mickey Rourke is one of the all time acting greats. You might think, oh, not another drug movie, which really it isn't. Bullet's different, as to the interesting and funny characters is Rourke's family. Rourke's just got out of prison, with his pet rat, after an 8 year stint, the rewards you reap, all for keeping your mouth shut. Already to start business again, his father starting on him at the dinner table, we see the hopelessness of this family. Rourke's character, Butch, nickname Bullet was once a prize fighter, who sports a number of trophies in his room. His younger brother (Adrien Brody) who idolizes him, is a gifted artist, friends with Rourke's best friend, Lester who drives a pink Cadillac, (this actor played the pimp in Phone Booth). Now we get to the real character of the family, the much older brother Lewis (great character Ted Levine) classic who's room like Lebanon, a war nut, a psychiatric case, who keeps two pit bulls in his room, and hardly washes his underwear. He likes stuffing cake into his mouth for dinner too, but also he's of course into guns. In one scene this grown man harps onto his mom, nagging him to buy him this new gun. When she's not really agreeing to his request, he resorts to crazy talk. Truly a funny scene. Lewis also teaches army survival skills to kids, standing on top of a mound in the district. Totally a zealous gun and army nut. It makes me laugh recalling these scenes. Another scene, while he's out at night, walking his dogs, he really gives it to these two cops, patrolling the area who have it for Bullet's family. All the while, Bullet and Lester are only a few short hundred meters, upstairs, doing over the neighbors place. Bullet is funny, sad, tragic, but different. If you watch Tupac Shakur in anything, make it this. He plays Bullet's enemy and bad guy Tank, in an impressive piece of acting, almost stealing Rourke of this movie, or surpassing his performance. Though the ending is tragic, it's act of retribution, finishes this movie perfectly. A good satisfier but very funny too, fans of drug movies will get a kick out of this one, I've viewed a few times. A little shock violence, here and there, one scene, a bloodied victim of Lewis's big army knife.

I have to agree somewhat with the comment entered before mine. The film is pretty predictable, had a weak storyline, contains a LOT of violence, and is full of holes.... and yet the characters (the two bothers and the parents especially) --- if not all always put in credible situations 100% of the time --- are very strong and surprisingly deeply moving, Rourke's perhaps being the weakest written and acted. Ted Levine, as the mentally-disturbed war vet brother, is especially moving and disturbing despite a scene or two (training children in warfare from atop a sandpile) which were a bit far-fetched. In fact I would have to say that the film itself is overall quite disturbing, violent, and a bit ugly, yet those aspects only cause the few images of humanity and tenderness to shine all the more. And isn't that what director Rourke intended...?Overall, I'd say ---- with all the incredibly weak screenplays, seemingly written by ten-year- olds, that end up on the big screen every day --- his film is surprisingly well-crafted and under-rated, and definitely worth a look.

I rented this film because i consider myself a Rourke fan. I've made it a goal to watch every Rourke film that COULD be good. Pretty much everything from the 80's and nothing post-'97. Out of all the movies i've seen of Rourke's, this is in my top 3 (Angel Heart and 9 1/2 weeks are the other 2). Rourke turns in a mesmerizing performance as Bullet, a heroin addict who gets released from prison after serving time for a crime he did not commit. Bullet returns to his estranged and troubled family and once again falls into a web of violence, drugs, and crime. But there is a gangster named Tank (Tupac) who has a grudge against Bullet and wants him dead. I was glad to see Tupac is only in it for maybe 20 minutes and Rourke is in the best shape of his life. There are some great performances form Ted Levine and Adrien Brody. John Enos III is pretty solid too. I was surprised that the film wasn't low-budget and had great quality. Rourke co-wrote the script and his character is an interesting and provocative one. Rourke still looks good facial wise, so i take it this was before he became some what deformed (hence why i pass on anything post-'97). I was shocked, moved, disturbed, and intrigued through the entire film. It's a gangster film with a very realistic and gritty feel. The family life and how his family all reacts to Bullet's release and his life style are fascinating and deep. Ted Levin is great as the psychotic and disillusioned older brother. This is a real treat for Rourke fans and fans of gangster dramas. One of Rourke's best films.

I'd like to correct some errors stated by others.First off, this film is not well-done. The plot is virtually nonexistent, and at times it looks like it was created by an adolescent, especially at the ending.It is also not "realistic" at all. It plays like some suburban (or European's) vision of the "mean streets", and has no knowledge of the actual grittier side of life.However, it does have some interesting scenes, from where the friend is banging two chicks in the kitchen of the bar, from the fight scenes, to the Vietnam brother's psycho character.In all, it seems like a series of unconnected vignettes, some of which are interesting to watch. Kind of like a college kid's first attempt at film-making.Rourke is indeed an interesting, though flawed actor, and he stays in good shape for an older guy.