This is a movie that I thought would have a simple story and a lot of shoot em up. But it was actually the other way around. In fact this movie sort of reminded me of Quentin Tarantino movies. And wouldn't be shocked if Quentin got some ideas from this movie for "Django Unchained". One thing I was disappointed with this movie is how it has Yun-Fat Chow is shown holding a pistol in the back cover of the DVD for this movie. And was hoping for a dual pistol wielding showdown with Yun-Fat Chow and Jiang Wen but that never happens. In fact Jiang Wen is the one that shoots the most in this movie. Chow Yun-Fat and Jiang Wen is just excellent with the roles they are given and are charismatic while also giving off strong impressions. Even is one is the sharp shooting cool anti-hero guy and the other one is a bit obnoxious and yet dominant bad guy. The plot is cleverly crafted although it might have few plot-holes and don't make sense during few scenarios. It's just a very small gripe because everything else is just entertaining to watch. From the dialogue, the acting and the way Pocky Zhang(Jiang Wen) and Huang(Chow Yun-Fat) try to beat each other with mind games and strategy. Overall this is a well crafted movie and clever one as well. It's a movie well worth checking out and I personally will check out more past and future Jian Wen movies.8.1/10

This movie is really funny and brutal at the same time. Which is a hard thing to balance. Violence is "real" (with consequences for the characters involved that is), but the humor still works. Two factors play into that in my estimation: The script and the really good actors playing in this.Mixture works and the CGI effects are really good too. Then you also have some wonderful dialogue between the main characters that is so rich, the translation might not do it entire justice (watched it with subtitles on and was hard to follow from time to time). But it's apparent how much fun they had shooting this movie. If you like eastern movies, I do not need to convince you to watch this. But maybe this can be your entry into a whole new (fascinating) world for you ...

Jiang Wen is one of China's less well-known directors, especially to filmgoers outside of China. Famously acting as the male lead opposite Gong Li in Zhang Yimou's Red Sorghum (1988), Jiang is a more familiar face than name, but the few works that he has directed have appeared in major film festivals worldwide including his most acclaimed feature Devil on the Doorstep (2000), which won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes. His latest endeavor, Let the Bullets Fly, for better or worse, is significantly more mainstream, and is a surprising box-office hit in mainland China.Let the Bullets Fly is a bizarre film to begin with. It is a film that does not know whether to take itself seriously or not as an action- comedy. It starts with a tense sequence showing a few bandits attempting to rob a train with the governor and his wife aboard. It is serious business, with quick cuts of the bandits taking aim with their rifles, suggesting a well-planned attack. And then the big moment comes when the train is derailed. It is a moment that leaves me stunned.Let the Bullets Fly is not so much an action film in the context of a pure Asian martial arts flick, but a comedy with Western-action elements that even the characters themselves find funny to be involved in. Frankly, if there is a sub-genre called farcical cinema, this film would be an excellent example. To his credit, Jiang's direction of the actors is quite impressive, with the chemistry between Chow Yun-Fat, Ge You, and Jiang himself showing positive signs of spot-on comic timing, though it must be said that much of the humor is derived from mind games played not only to confuse and amuse viewers but also to themselves.Let the Bullets Fly is without doubt an exercise in exaggeration – everything from acting to dialogue to dramatic set-pieces – such that the film overwhelms viewers before it even passes the midpoint mark. As a result, the second half becomes too entertaining for its own good, with potential viewers likely to feel empty watching the flurry of activities that occur on screen. The lead characters are also not developed fully, if they are developed at all. They are almost the same at the start of the film as the end, with no clear transformation. Worse, Jiang's film ends predictably and unsatisfyingly, even to the extent of meaninglessly linking the epilogue back to the opening sequence.In a nutshell, Let the Bullets Fly is a lamentable attempt to break into commercial filmmaking by Jiang, though box office figures tells us a different tale. Despite charismatic actors on board, the film seems to drag along with the sole motivation to quench viewers' thirst for more farce. Stay away from this unless you like draggy, farcical films.GRADE: C- (www.filmnomenon.blogspot.com) All rights reserved.

Comedy action film that is currently (rightly) devouring the Asian box office. I had a chance to see it in Chinese (which I don't understand)with no translation into English, but decided to give it ago since I had heard such great things about it.It's got Chow Yun Fat in a wickedly funny role as one of three gangsters who are playing games with each other. I couldn't follow the details I just know that it has some great action and the jokes are funny even when you don't understand Chinese because the cast sells it.For the most part it's not goofy humor, but you still laugh simple because the rhythms of the jokes is there.I watched the film glued to the screen for much of the first hour, but then I realized that as good as it was there was too much I didn't know and I found I was torn between sticking to the end or waiting until the film appears in English either on DVD or in the movies.This is a super film no matter how you slice it.See this movie if you get a chance.(I should mention that while there is plenty of action- and blood- the film isn't a nonstop shoot out as the title might suggest.)