Fresh from prison Butch 'Bullet' Stein (Mickey Rourke), a Jewish ex-convict with sticky fingers and some nasty drug habits, moves back in with his parents and two brothers. His eldest brother Louis (Ted Levine) is a Vietnam war veteran with a severe case of post-traumatic stress, which keeps him locked up in his room-fortress and reliving his experiences. The youngest is Ruby (Adrien Brody), the artistic soul of the family, a talented street artist misunderstood by his parents, but loved and cherished by both his brothers. On release Butch however goes back to his old ways of stealing (from his neighbours or from drug dealers) and is quick to remind about his presence to former foes. Among them local drug lord Tank (Tupac Shakur)...
Famed more for this being the last movie done by Tupac Shakury, than for its actual quality, "Bullet" is a movie overladen by this burden. Within the confines of a chaotic script lies an engaging story, but one that is dragged down by overly rash plotting and over-the-top characters, which threaten to turn the movie into a farce. Nonetheless the three lead roles are masterfully captioned by Rourke, Brody and Levine, each rather memorable with their strong respective presence. Especially the first is tour de force, showing off some of his intricate acting capabilities, which self-detonated during the nineties to throttle him to relative anonymity. Bullet is strong macho persona thrust in between worlds, but controlled by his crack lifestyle. At the same time after his time in prison he is unable to cope with his homosexual tendencies, released during his stay behind bars, whereas the movie suggests more than it explicitly states about his penitentiary experiences. These chaotic character traits deliver a crisp persona with which we are invited to venture into the life of Bullet and his surroundings.
However thrust on top of the story are several themes, which cause it to lose focus. Especially the whole ordeal with Tank meanders through some poor plotting to come to an unsatisfying conclusion. Unfortunately for Shakur his final role wasn't exactly one worth being remembered by. The movie however in general jumps around, at times uncontrollably, as if unable to really envisage whether it has a message or is just another street crime story with no purpose.
Famed more for this being the last movie done by Tupac Shakury, than for its actual quality, "Bullet" is a movie overladen by this burden. Within the confines of a chaotic script lies an engaging story, but one that is dragged down by overly rash plotting and over-the-top characters, which threaten to turn the movie into a farce. Nonetheless the three lead roles are masterfully captioned by Rourke, Brody and Levine, each rather memorable with their strong respective presence. Especially the first is tour de force, showing off some of his intricate acting capabilities, which self-detonated during the nineties to throttle him to relative anonymity. Bullet is strong macho persona thrust in between worlds, but controlled by his crack lifestyle. At the same time after his time in prison he is unable to cope with his homosexual tendencies, released during his stay behind bars, whereas the movie suggests more than it explicitly states about his penitentiary experiences. These chaotic character traits deliver a crisp persona with which we are invited to venture into the life of Bullet and his surroundings.
However thrust on top of the story are several themes, which cause it to lose focus. Especially the whole ordeal with Tank meanders through some poor plotting to come to an unsatisfying conclusion. Unfortunately for Shakur his final role wasn't exactly one worth being remembered by. The movie however in general jumps around, at times uncontrollably, as if unable to really envisage whether it has a message or is just another street crime story with no purpose.