God Is a Bullet

Maika Monroe is the only one who sort of holds together this pretty dysfunctional drama about the search for an abducted daughter / thriller about a struggle between mortals and a gang of crackpot goons / unexpected romance between two emotional castaways. God Is a Bullet is quite inept in terms of its use of emotion and suspense, not to mention the comically inappropriate brutality and unsuccessful effort to shock with eccentric bad guys, among which only Karl Glusman hands in an impressive performance. And Jamie Foxx is surprising in a supporting role. Otherwise, there’s not much of value here. The dialogue is superficial, the directing is disjointed and the main character played by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is lifeless. (09/17/2023)

I don't share the enthusiasm of some local reviewers, even though it is a genre-interesting film with a fantastic cast. In fact, in this regard, the film is top-notch. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau acts as if his life depends on it, without a doubt. But I was especially surprised by Maika Monroe. She formed the backbone of the film. Otherwise, in terms of the story, don't expect much innovation here. It's a straightforward drama about saving a daughter. However, the film relies on one unique aspect, an unsettlingly depicted satanic cult that will make your stomach turn. Overall, the pervasive pessimism in the film will not bring joy to your life. I haven't seen such a negatively toned cinematic creation in a long time. The ending was intriguing. You won't be blown away, I promise, but on the other hand, it won't offend either. I give it a 6.5/10. (11/12/2023)

A surprisingly good film for its 58% rating. All the more impressive is the fact that Nick Cassavetes is a director without a distinctive signature, he has made many mediocre comedies, crime dramas, action movies and a hodgepodge of all sorts of things, and now he pulls off an unexpectedly confident, brutal and visually captivating thing. The only downside I can see is the brutally excessive running time of 150 minutes, which already had me worried before watching, that it wouldn't be able to entertain me and, although I certainly can't say I was that bored, unfortunately the film lost me a little in places and didn't quite fully hold my attention throughout. Other than that, though, I'm satisfied, and quite a lot. Visually, the film doesn't mess with anything and serves us plenty of violence, juicy gore (it's really wholesome in places!) and the cult/gang setting is rendered believably, just disgusting, dirty and filthy enough to be smelled a mile away. Where the story (which is virtually non-existent and is pure revenge) loses points in the long running time, the characters make up for it. I was entertained by this duo right from the start, Maika Monroe is awesome, she fits the role incredibly well and her sex appeal oozes off the screen, and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is as good as ever, but the best thing is the chemistry between them which is on full blast from the moment they meet, their relationship with each other and the development of their characters is the best thing about the whole film and watching the transformation of honest cop into cold-blooded avenger is gripping. The closer the film gets to the finale, the tighter it gets, and if it had stuck more to the ground and not gone beyond believability (read immortal superhero), I would have actually been completely satisfied. As it is, it's still a better-than-average film that I enjoyed and has its distinct qualities, but the overly long running time and weaker final showdown put me off a bit from giving it a fourth star. Hint: I might watch the CUT version next time, which is 30 minutes shorter (08/31/2023)

That's how I imagine “something terribly harsh and uncompromising” can be conceived by someone who has otherwise spent a lifetime making weepy and weepy dramas. Yeah, , really, if it hadn't run a monstrous 155 minutes, I'd recommend it as an unintentional comedy. Poor Maika Monroe, how did she get that way? (09/22/2023)

Wow... As a gritty, action-packed B-movie, it would easily earn four stars. It didn't hold back on the intense action sequences, delivered plenty of bloodshed, and stuck to a predictably simple plot. However... The screenwriter was obviously a fan of movies like Taken and the Mad Max series, resulting in a somewhat disjointed fusion of these influences. Despite my best efforts, I couldn't take this attempt seriously. Being a fan of the Far Cry video game series, I couldn't help but draw comparisons; the crazy cult reminded me of Far Cry 5, and the fascination with tattoos echoed Far Cry 3. However, Cyrus lacked the charisma of Vaas or Joseph, and his gang of henchmen felt inane. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau was particularly disappointing – I've seen him in a better shape. The overly loud soundtrack didn't help matters, and despite all the mayhem, I found myself bored at times, which was quite unexpected. / Lesson learned: Your typical American family movie. (11/08/2023)