Bullets of Justice is at its best in the opening moments. There is an introduction to the main characters, a strange pig man, and Danny Trejo. It is also at this point that there is no story for the audience to have to decipher. Before filmmakers tried to intentionally make bad movies, there was exploitation. Though the term is still used, it seems like people are more willing to describe a movie as awful on purpose than exploitation. Either way, it is a thin line.
Bullets of Justice does not just straddle that line. It callously (or maybe it is unintentional) walks back and forth across it. One moment the movie wills seem to revel in its how bad it is; the next it will do something that will turn any viewer away. In any year before The Room was released, it would be called exploitation. For better or worse, many today will call it an honest attempt at being a horrible movie.
So, which is it? The movie is about an America in which super soldiers known as Muzzles (a human/pig hybrid) eat humans. A hero known as Rob Justice teams with his sister and lover to defeat them. Bullets of Justice is filled with over the top mayhem. When one of the characters is named Benedict Asshole, any chance for subtlety is gone. The movie lives up to this expectation with plenty of gore, vulgar jokes, and nonsensical violence.
It works most of the time. The chaotic action is too over the top not to enjoy. As juvenile as some the jokes are (a government program to make the human/pig super soldier is code named Army Bacon), they will elicit laughs. And if a person is willing to take a deep dive into Bullets of Justice, they may even be able to argue how it is a deconstruction of action, horror, and sci fi movies.
The main issue with the Bullets of Justice is that it runs too long. This is especially obvious since the film runs less than an hour and a half. Jokes are constantly repeated and the story is a complete afterthought. Lack of a tight plot is not a deal breaker in these types of movies, but a concept this thin should not be confusing. Yet, this one is so erratic the audience can never be quite sure of what is happening.
Just when it seems time to write things off as a complete loss, the creature design is a prominent part of another scene. As off putting as the Muzzles may be, the actual look is the highlight of the film. Unfortunately (for some), It will not be long before one of the characters name-drops Benedict Asshole yet again. Bullets of Justice is one of those movies that has no middle ground. People will either love it or hate it. But will anyone remember it?
Comment in this article to be entered into the Back to the Future Ultimate Trilogy giveaway!
You must be logged in to post a comment Login