Bullet to the Head is a mismatched buddy comedy

The pairing of Sylvester Stallone with Sung Kang is an uneven partnership, and the film suffers from this imbalance.

Sylvester Stallone's age is the subject of many of the best lines in Bullet to the Head. Frank Masi / AP Photo
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Bullet to the Head
Director: Walter Hill
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Sung Kang and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
***

Walter Hill arguably invented the comedic buddy crime caper with Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte in 48 Hours. Thirty years later he makes the unlikely pairing of Sylvester Stallone as the world-weary assassin Jimmy Bobo and Sung Kang as the cop Taylor Kwon.

You know the drill: they hate each other, are forced to work together by a mutual enemy and respect develops. It's the bromance from a time before the term was coined.

Stallone, as has been his want in recent films, doesn't take himself seriously. His age and refusal to wither are the butt of many of the script's best lines. Kang is always in Stallone's shadow, and the film suffers because of this imbalance.