Bill Gibron is a veteran film critic from Tampa, Florida.Let the Bullets Fly, currently the most popular film in the history of China, is an engaging exercise in deception. It's a movie built of double crosses, triple crosses, and eventual illusory denouements. It features fantastic performances by actors Chow Yun Fat (as suave local crime lord Master Huang) and writer/director Jiang Wen (as bandit turned executive fraud "Pocky" Zhang) and a script that out Sting's that Oscar winning '70s classic for cons, cheats, and bamboozling. Sure, it gets way too wrapped up in itself sometimes and loses a little in the inevitable translation (the dialogue is so rapid fire a screwball comedy would be jealous), but the end result is a masterwork of manipulation and moviemaking magic. It's the 1920s. After hijacking a train, Zhang confronts a man (Ge You) who swears he has just bought the governorship of the small village of Goose Town. Seeing a way to leave his life as a bandit and get behind some legitimized crime, our lead takes over, taking the hostages as his counselor and his wife (Carina Lau). Once in power, he confronts Huang, who sense that something is not right with his new rival. Behind the scenes, this gangster is grooming a double to aid in his nefarious acts. A series of clashes end up with a beloved member of Zhang's 'family' - a godson named Six (Mo Zhang) - dead. Vowing to get revenge and bankrupt Huang in the process, our cad contemplates various plans to trap his prey. Turns out, all he really has to do is wait for the man's pride to kick in - either that, or his greed. It's hard to describe Let the Bullets Fly as a typical Chinese action film. Sure, there are gun battles, and the occasional fistfight, but there is none of the high flying kung fu choreography that we've come to expect from the genre. In fact, it's safe to say that anyone coming to this epic effort looking for same will be sadly disappointed. Instead, this is a war of words, a wise guy back and forth which sees two impressive stars trying to out-dialogue each other. Indeed, there is a moment early on when Chow and Jiang have a sit down that practically sizzles with electrifying verbal volleying. Almost the entire movie is a weird combination of exposition and ego, the careful placement of plot puzzle pieces being far more important than thrills and chills.
For his part, Jiang is a marvel behind the lens. He lights up even the most mundane scene with a real sense of visual flair. Acting as Zhang, he also undermines our typical perceptions of the baddie. Our crook is not necessarily evil, just someone who is open and honest about his illegality. In fact, the theme of corruption catered to and carried out within the corridors of power is what this movie is best known for. In a country so closed as China, many view Let the Bullets Fly as an act of defiance. With its themes of power bought and abused and the common man crushed, it's not hard to see the sentiment. Luckily, Jiang buries it all in so much bravado that he gets away with such insolence.
Though not perfect, and lacking a real spark to push it truly over the top, Let the Bullets Fly is still a sensational slice of period propaganda. It warns of friendly faces turning fiendish while arguing that no one in a position of leadership serves without some manner of malfeasance pushing them forward. As an example of the kind of kinetic experience we expect from the foreign film format, there are much better. But it's the deeper message of Let the Bullets Fly that lingers long after the ammunition runs out.
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