ThiefHott
Too much of everything
Cathardincu
Surprisingly incoherent and boring
Arianna Moses
Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.
nzpedals
But that's what the DVD cover said. I watched it a year ago, yet couldn't remember a single thing about it! So watched it again, and didn't recall a single scene either!There are hundreds of scenes of course, but every one is pointless and silly and sometimes ridiculous, ie, the guy with a machine gun lets off a magazine, but doesn't hit anyone, even at close range? The blow-gun scene is also simply not realistic. They might work in the Amazon, but to imply that one could fire a dart about 20 metres, up to the balcony with 100% accuracy is nonsense.Is there a story here? Not much. Cop goes after chief hood, tries to retrieve the man's dolly-bird, a real air-head. At least her (Jill Ireland) acting is good, but the role is so awful I can't see why she accepted it. The rest of the cast simply don't matter.My original rating was a 4, which is hard to justify now, but I'll let it stand.
Michael_Elliott
Love and Bullets (1979)** (out of 4) Charlie Congers (Charles Bronson), an Arizona cop, is sent to Switzerland by the government to try and track down the girlfriend (Jill Ireland) of an infamous gangster (Rod Steiger). The cops only goal is to bring her back but soon the gangster puts a hit out on her life.LOVE AND BULLETS is a pretty flat, boring and lifeless picture, which is somewhat shocking when you consider that it was meant to be a major blockbuster. All sorts of money was spent on the production but very little excitement actually made it to the screen, which is too bad for Bronson fans as the actor turns in a decent performance and the setting is certainly great enough to where something more should have came from it.There are all sorts of problems with this movie but we'll start with the fact that it just has an overall cheap and tired look. There are quite a few action scenes throughout the running time but they're just downright boring for the most part and I'd argue that there's no energy to be found in any of them. What's worse is the fact that there's clearly meant to be some suspense as the cop and woman barely get away from the hit men but that never happens. The lack of suspense is a major letdown.Of course, it doesn't help that you really don't like the annoying woman. Ireland is given the task of playing an idiot with a Southern accent and I think it's fair to say that this is probably the worst performance she ever gave. The accent is just all wrong and comes off more annoying than anything else. Steiger really isn't any better as he's rather hammy and the sometimes stuttering has zero effect. Henry Silva and Strother Martin are always fun to see. As for Bronson, I thought he was good here in that typical Bronson kind of performance.LOVE AND BULLETS isn't the disaster some people make it out to be but there's no question that it falls well short of the actor's best movies.
lost-in-limbo
What's on mind… love definitely more so than bullets. The premise seems rather straight-forward, but within the context is a primarily downbeat and melancholic angle. The crime/thriller slant is pretty low-key (as the chase scenes leisurely tick along) with the main focus being on the three performances; Charles Bronson, Jill Ireland and Rod Steiger and the eventual bonds that are crafted and from that the situations that occur. Love follows on… tragedy also with guts and grit winning out.Police detective Charlie Congers has been picked to head to Switzerland to rescue an ex-mistress of crime boss Joe Bomposa who now wants her dead. Getting her first means a chance to probably convict Bomposa, but is she as innocent as she claims to know anything of importance about his crime ring.I'm not particularly surprised to see this Bronson outing become a forgettable title in his career that rarely sees daylight, and those who had seen it mainly want to bombard it for being tedious and bland. I didn't feel that at all. It has a very European vibe to the get-up with a stylish and almost uncommon development. Stuart Rosenberg's textured direction (who replaced John Huston) is economically surefooted, as he works with the beautifully moody and authentic European backdrops (that the compelling cinematography frames) and constructs moments of high-strung suspense. Plentiful they're not, but those few are well-executed. I just wished that the dangerous side wasn't kept in check. Writer Wendell Mayles' (the man behind 'Death Wish') minimal screenplay is simply old-fashioned and the pacing is quite relaxed. Concisely structured. but nothing surprises… well the final climaxes do come up and pinch you. Were I thought it achieved a rather powerful imprint was because of Lalo Schifran's arousing score. It was exotic, colourful and flavoured. Never did it not make some sort of impression. I would say it's up there with his inspired score for 'Dirty Harry (1971)'. He knows how to place the action or feelings on screen with music and successfully push the buttons.A strong cast do a serviceable job. Bronson's impassively stalwart turn fits accordingly and his chemistry with an empathic Jill Ireland (his actual wife) pays dividends. She was practically in nearly every movie he made during this period. Rod Steiger puts in an outstandingly staggering performance that grows with believable weight. Henry Silva and Paul Koslo hold up well in the bad guy roles. Also featuring with fine turns are Bradford Dillman, Strother Martin, Michael V. Gazzo and Val Avery.
gridoon
This is an extremely boring Bronson thriller, one of those movies that nobody has seen, and deservedly so. Charlie looks understandably fatigued, Rod Steiger gives a hammy performance as the gangland boss and Henry Silva plays an assassin very much like the one he played in "Sharky's Machine", only far less memorable. The movie was filmed in beautiful locations, and has a good Lalo Schifrin score, but you'll still be checking your watch frequently. (*1/2)
