Admirable film.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

LET THE BULLETS FLY has an extraordinarily fast pacing to recommend it, so you better be ready to pay attention with this one. It's a twist-a-minute tale of gangsters battling corrupt politicians in a remote township, where everybody is saddled down with greed and rivalry and death is only a footstep away. The film it most reminded me of is THE GOOD THE BAD THE WEIRD, with both films revelling in their quirkiness and action-packed narratives, although this isn't quite as good as the Korean movie.I was thinking about LET THE BULLETS FLY after I'd finished watching it and I realised that in reality this is quite a slight tale; not much in the way of substance really happens come the end, but it's the journey there which is so entertaining. This is highbrow, intelligent humour for the most part, where the fun comes from watching Chow Yun-Fat and Jiang Wen doing their best to constantly outwit each other. What the film has going for it are two fine performances from the leads and some great cinematography, which makes the various violent interludes highly enjoyable. It's a film that brims with energy and gusto, although I did find it quite wearying especially in the second half. Good fun but now I know the outcome I don't see any need to watch it again.

If William Shakespeare had written a western that takes place in China at the beginning of the 20th century, it would be thus. This intricate plot contains many of the hallmarks of Shakespearean storytelling, conveyed with clever and engaging dialogue and satisfying action: murder, revenge, hidden identities, nobility of purpose, greed, political machinations, romance, violence, greathearted heroes, petty tyrants, henchmen, and impostors. My only real complaint with this film is that the denouement is a little weak. But, overall, I loved it.If you buy/rent it on DVD, I would recommend viewing it in Mandarin with English subtitles —I found that the English overdub was enjoyable, but a little too "American"; the subtitles had more punch, and kept the flavour of the original Mandarin (fyi, watching it with English overdub *and* English subtitles is trippy).

"I do not care about being rich but I must come up with a game plan to rid of Huang once and for all. Give me time, Pop will avenge your death." When bandit chief "Pocky" Zhang comes to a remote Chinese village he says he is the new mayor. After things go too far and someone ends up dead a battle for revenge begins between him and Master Huang (Yun-Fat). This is a movie I was actually really looking forward to. The preview looked really good and action packed. The first 15 minutes was great and full of action. Then it started to gradually slow down. The story was very interesting and kept me watching, but it really lost momentum and by the end I was starting to lose interest. I'm not saying this is a bad movie but it was like coasting down a mountain, the closer you get to flatting out the slower you go. This is worth seeing but don't expect excitement all the way through. Overall, a good movie that could have been better I think. I give it a B-.

In early 1920s, China was in civil war and it was an era when disorder became part of life. Bangde Ma ( GE, You) who just became the mayor of a remote town through bribery was robbed by a group of bandits led by Pock Zhang ( JIANG, Wen). However Ma could not afford any ransom because he had used up all his money for bribery and the only way to collect money was to use the ruling power of the mayor title. Zhang decided to take Ma's position as the new mayor while Ma posed as his private adviser under the name of Tang.Their destination, the Goose Town, was actually controlled by notorious mafia clan of the Huang family and the only way to collect money was to fully cooperate with the family and handed out most of their gains. However Zhang was only interested in rich families black money and believed in fair justice for each person, which made Huang the IV ( CHOW, Yun-Fat), the boss of the clan, very very unhappy. Almost immediately Zhang and Huang became enemies and the Goose Town would soon turn to be a battle field as well as a stage of hypocrisy, cheating, apathy and snobbery.The first impression of the movie is that it is no doubt of a typical Hollywood style action comedy composed by every piece of commercial element you can find in other Hollywood action movies such as gun firing, explosions, beauties, muscles, fast moving, slangs, and etc. The movie itself is of great fun and you will laugh from the beginning to the end. Also the story is told in a straightforward way and there would be no problem of understanding it even if you have no idea where China is located. The problem, however, is how to interpret Jiang Wen. Let the Bullets Fly is becoming one of the hottest and the most appraised movies in recent years in China neither because it is more dazzling than the Avatar nor because it is more surprising than the Inception. It is welcomed because many Chinese viewers regard the story as a mirror of present China and a movie with strong critical acclaim should have not been approved for public show by the authority such as Jiang Wen's previous movie the Devils on the Doorstep. Interestingly, different people can interpret the movie in a way they like and this may be the power of a comedy. Frankly speaking, if you are not a Chinese, chances are you will enjoy the movie for funny stuff while not the metaphor of the movie.