Rating: 
Summary: In a word: Overrated
Review: I think my major beef with this film is the paper-thin simplicity with which almost every character is presented. It reminded me of really bad Shakespeare. The movie begins incoherently with a lame fight scene between poorly dressed Chinese youth, to the tune of something out of West Side Story. This left me scratching my head. Then we get the requisite back-story on each character, hmm... where I have I seen THIS story before? (Perhaps a better question would be, where HAVEN'T I seen this story before).You've got the "handsome one," the "stupid one," and the sullen "greedy one." And let me clue you in, THEY NEVER LEAVE CHARACTER throughout the ENTIRE FILM! The "pretty one" is always pontificating and grating, the "dumb one" is always bumbling a la Curly from the 3 Stooges, and the "greedy one" never shakes his gold addiction for long enough to be anything except boring (though the boring one is the best actor here). The boring side-story of the drug-addicted pop-singer that the boys all fawn over (yawn), the boring filler scenes (lets bike ride along the river! why! ), the SAME "touching" happy-birthday-sounding music that creeps in whenever there is a melodramatic moment (and in this film, there are VERY FEW non-melodramatic moments), the ridiculous A-Team maneuvers that happen when hoards of "enemies" come swarming upon the good guys (when Luke detonates the charges by the river). Is this naivete supposed to be endearing? Which brings me to a good point, Luke is the only redeeming quality of this movie. Cool guy, good actor, decent part, knows his stuff. Too bad the movie wasn't centered around him. And, honestly, if this is a "war movie" I'll eat my hat. The only war they find is the one that the 3 Stooges bumble into while on their nonsensical and poorly portrayed quest for... whatever they left HK looking for. Granted, the prison camp scenes were gruesome (in fact, almost too gruesome, and much too prolonged) but that contrasts very poorly with the constant mugging, double-takes, and over-the-top melodrama. I had high hopes for this film (I loved The Killer and A Better Tomorrow) but walked away feeling very disappointed. Perhaps CYF would have helped.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Movie Full Of Lots Of Action
Review: I went in expecting John Woo the usual movie, mostly action not enough story line. But when I popped this into my DVD player and hit play, I was astounded to find a great plot behind this movie. Even though it does run a little long, it never lost my attention. There are tense conflicts that arise between three friends who came to Vietnam insearch of selling drugs, but there plan is cut short due to an unfortunate accident. Now they must get out of Vietnam alive, and make it back to British ruled Hong Kong. I would recomend this movie to any John Woo buffs, or action-thrill seekers
Rating:
Summary: Stunning, depressing, alive and outstanding
Review: I've said it all above. Leave yourself plenty of space around this movie, but then when you have recovered see "Underground", a Serbian film, which is totally different yet, in parts the same, in portraying the inhumanity, and the humanity, of mankind.
Rating:
Summary: Best Film ive ever seen. MUST SEE. Trust Me
Review: IF YOU LIKE GOODFELLAS, CON AIR, SCARFACE, FACE OFF, GODFATHER, DESPERADO, KILL BILL etc. You have to see this, im telling you.
I thought the best film ive seen were one of the above. But no. its defenitly Bullet in the Head.
IT HAS A BRILLIANT STORYLINE. The ACTING WAS MAGNIFICENT. Tony Leung (Hard Boiled/Prison on Fire)is Excelent alongside (Waise Lee (A better tomorrow) and Simon Yam (Full Contact) But The Outstanding Serious Performance which will get to you is Jackie Cheung (as tears go by/Jet Lis Meltdown). Its John Woos personal Favourite. Everybody i Lent it to absoulutely LOVE it. its a Hong Kong Classic which doesnt come on TV. If its available to in your local shops or ebay.co.uk I advice you to Buy It. you wont be dissapointed. If you are then You have BAD TASTE in Movies. No offence.PEACE
Rating:
Summary: Exhausted
Review: In "The Killer", perhaps the best pulp/asian thriller of all time, the violence felt full, voluptuous; its excess created a kind of operatic grandeur. In "Bullet in the Head" the violence is so over -the-top, so gratuitous, you want to run for cover (I might have blown up my tv if I had to watch another gangster do a cartwheel as a big explosion lifted him of his feet). This movie proves to me how repetitive a director Woo is, and I got a similar feeling from Face/Off - its like watching a figure skater do figure 8's all night - you want to shout "ok, I get it!" Loud, irritating and chaotic. Jacky Cheung's shameless overacting and bulgy, beady eyes were as irksome as the excessive violence - give this one a miss - its a wet blanket of sentimentality and schlock.
Rating:
Summary: Exhausted
Review: In "The Killer", perhaps the best pulp/asian thriller of all time, the violence felt full, voluptuous; its excess created a kind of operatic grandeur. In "Bullet in the Head" the violence is so over -the-top, so gratuitous, you want to run for cover (I might have blown up my tv if I had to watch another gangster do a cartwheel as a big explosion lifted him of his feet). This movie proves to me how repetitive a director Woo is, and I got a similar feeling from Face/Off - its like watching a figure skater do figure 8's all night - you want to shout "ok, I get it!" Loud, irritating and chaotic. Jacky Cheung's shameless overacting and bulgy, beady eyes were as irksome as the excessive violence - give this one a miss - its a wet blanket of sentimentality and schlock.
Rating:
Summary: Quite simply, this is the greatest film I have ever seen.
Review: John Woo is one of modern cinemas greatest visionaries. In this intense and harrowing eastern Deer Hunter he weds his trademark themes of brotherhood, honour and loyalty betrayed with his own childhood memories of 1960's Hong Kong and wartorn Vietnam. Ben, Frank and Paul are three idealistic youths living in Hong Kong circa 1967. When Ben and Frank accidently kill a gang leader (on Ben's wedding night, no less) the three flee to Saigon, having organised to smuggle contraband for a Hong Kong crime boss. They are at once caught up in local riots and lose their goods in the chaos. Their friendship is ultimately doomed when, with the aid of suave ex-CIA agent (Simon Yam), they come to possess a case of gold bullion. The bonds of brotherhood are tested in a climate of war, betrayal and greed as the film races to it's incediary conclusion. The performances of all the cast are exceptional, particularly Jacky Cheung's bold, brave performance as the "title character", and Tony Leung turns in the performance of his career. As with Woo's The Killer, images of soporific calm are at once juxtaposed with images of strife and chaos, to incredible effect. This is a superbly ambivalent film; at once condemning man for his inhumanity yet simultaneously redeeming him for his decency. Bullet in the Head is a supremely intense film; each scene drains the viewer as the innocence, ideals and the friendships of these three young men are shattered by war. In the end, this film may be too bleak and violent for mainstream audiences and it is definitely not for sensitive viewers (the scenes inside a Viet Cong containment camp are especially harrowing). Bullet in the Head is John Woo's masterpiece; a frenzied kaleidoscope of war, friendship, greed and violence.
Rating:
Summary: Gloriously shocking
Review: Not only does BULLET IN THE HEAD function as John Woo's response to the Tianamen Square massacre, it offers a perspective on the Vietnam War that we rarely, if ever, find in our history books, documentaries, or burned out flower-children acquaintances/high school teachers. As harrowing and gut-wrenching as anything Oliver Stone and Kubrick presented to us, Woo also takes us to the Hong Kong border riots of the 1960s, through clandestine corruption, and shows us that American foreign policy was just one of many major elements in an era that affected a generation worldwide.
Rating: 
Summary: John Woo's finest to date?
Review: Produced in the wake of the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989, John Woo's BULLET IN THE HEAD is both a response to the appalling violence that was taking place in mainland China at the time, and a pointed examination of the director's traditional themes of loyalty and brotherhood and the consequences of betrayal. For all its explosions and gunplay, the film is actually a very human drama, played out against the vast backdrop of the Vietnam conflict, and invested with such a palpable sense of love and compassion for its leading characters and their circumstances that it defies all attempts at categorisation. The cast is pure gold: Tony Leung (superb as the film's tragic 'hero'), Jacky Cheung (giving a revelatory, career-making performance) and Waise Lee play lifelong friends who flee from a murder rap during the civil unrest of 1960s Hong Kong, only to have their loyalties tested to breaking point by their experiences in wartime Saigon. Overall, the film is less an action-thriller than an operatic valentine to Woo's teenage years in HK and to the personal values which have shaped and defined all his films since A BETTER TOMORROW. Only HARD-BOILED comes close to it in terms of greatness, though many people - myself included - would argue that BULLET is not only Woo's finest achievement to date, but also one of the best films ever made, anywhere. In terms of content, the widescreen HK DVD version is virtually identical to Made in Hong Kong's uncut UK video release, though the familiar Golden Princess logo at the beginning of the film has been replaced by Media Asia's insignia. As expected, the increased resolution of the DVD format has yielded a visibly superior image, but the disc's muted color scheme is a disappointment, and the optional English subtitles - though reasonably coherent - are no match for MIHK'S definitive translation. BULLET's effectiveness depends on your complete comprehension of the dialogue, and Media Asia's clumsy subtitles often stumble over the dramatic highlights, thereby diluting their quite considerable impact. Sadly, Media Asia has also remixed BULLET's original mono soundtrack in 5.1 Dolby Digital surround, apparently for no other reason than the fact that DVD technology allows it. Aside from the newly-directional gunshot effects and the magnificent music score (which, amongst other things, transforms Jacky Cheung's poignant farewell sequence into an occasion of shattering heartbreak), the remix adds nothing that wasn't already conveyed in the original version. Bottom line: A fine film, and the DVD is certainly worth a look, but first-time viewers are advised to check out MIHK's UK video version before taking the plunge. Believe me, you WON'T be disappointed...
Rating: 
Summary: Overacting and just not believable
Review: Some of what the characters did and some of the action scenes are just not believable. The movie suffered the classic endless ammunition during every fire fight scenes. During one shooting scene before the trio was captured by the Vietcong, one man was able to hold off a platoon size adversary with a pistol while two of his friends were rescuing another friend from the river. At another fire fight scene at a brothel/club, there were just endless bad guys being shot dead by our heros with endless rounds. If the bad guys with their endless supply of men would just surround the place, our heros would not have easily escape through the front door and into a car. As for overacting, just look at the POW scene in which prisoners were forced to shoot each other. Enough said.
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