FrightFest 2019: BULLETS OF JUSTICE Review – Danny Trejo Vs Mutant Pig Monsters
Starring Timur Turisbekov, Yana Marinova, Ester Chardaklieva, Doroteya Toleva, Danny Trejo
Written by Valeri Milev, Timur Turisbekov
Directed by Valeri Milev
The award for the most bizarre and outrageous film screened at this year’s FrightFest unquestionably goes to Bullets of Justice, an insane satire of modern action movies which will probably divide audiences, although it may earn a cult following over the years.
In the not too distant future, humans attempted to create an army of super-soldiers by mixing human and pig DNA, which resulted in a new race of human/pig mutant hybrids called Muzzles declaring war on humanity. What follows is one of the most gross-out and insane action films you’re ever likely to see, and we’ll let you decide whether or not that’s supposed to be a compliment.
Although he’s featured prominently in the poster and promotional materials, Danny Trejo’s role is nothing more than an extended cameo, so don’t go in expecting him to have a large amount of screen time. Instead, the lead role goes to Timur Turisbekov as Rob Justice, a bounty hunter in the post-apocalyptic world fighting to defend what remains of humanity. Justice is also obsessed with finding a Muzzle named Benedict Asshole, and you don’t want to know what he does to identify the bodies he comes across.
Throughout his journey across the post-apocalyptic landscape, Justice is accompanied by his sister Nina (Yana Marinova), who happens to have a mustache. Why she has a moustache is never exactly made clear (a character asks her at one point, but the music drowns out her reply), so it’s just something you’ll have to accept. Most of the so-called ‘humour’ in Bullets of Justice comes from the fact that the actors play everything with a straight face, no matter how ridiculous their situation happens to be. While this wasn’t a particularly well-acted film, credit still goes to the actors for playing it straight all the way through.
At one point, for instance, Rob goes back in time to tell his younger self not to do something or other (by this point most viewers will probably not be paying much attention to the plot), and the ‘joke’ of the scene is that his younger self speaks with a completely flat and monotone sounding adult voice, despite just being a young kid. Whether or not you’ll find that funny will probably answer the question of whether or not you’ll enjoy Bullets of Justice.
While it mainly relies on OTT gore and shock value, Bullets of Justice actually did deliver some truly impressive action set pieces, including a shoot out with a muzzle on a jetpack which, aside from the shoddy explosion at the end of the scene, could have come straight out of a Hollywood blockbuster. Although the washed-out grey colour grade became a little dull to look at after a while, this was still a visually impressive project considering the fact that it was made for barely a fraction of the budget of its Hollywood counterparts. Some viewers may also be distracted by how the spoken dialogue seems to randomly switch between Kazakh and English, so again, this is just something you’ll have to accept.
Interestingly, Bullets of Justice was initially planned as a TV series before being turned into a movie, and that’s probably for the best. Because while it was only 76 minutes long, this is not a world most viewers would want to spend any more time in. It wasn’t terrible by any means, but this is still a film you’re probably only going to want to watch once. After all, how many scenes with farting pigs do you want to sit through? It’s not a film vegetarians will enjoy, but even those who are left hungry for bacon after watching Bullets of Justice will probably agree that one viewing is enough.
Summary
It may be too gross and silly for some viewers, but those hoping to leave their brain at home and have a good time will probably enjoy Bullets of Justice.
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