100 movies: 22 Bullets

comments 18
100 movies of 2012

Every year I set myself a target, usually of about 100, of films to watch. These are new films. Not new, new films. But films that are new to me. Any time I’ve seen a new one, I post a bit of a brain dump of my thoughts on the film here. Enjoy!

22 Bullets22 Bullets (28/04/12)

A retired mobster goes on a revenge spree after being left for dead with 22 bullets in his body.

22 Bullets or L’Immortel is your tried and tested revenge story. Complete with family in the balance. Jean Reno’s Charly is an ex-mafia boss who’s left the world of crime in favour of a quiet family life. He’s gunned down and miraculously survives getting 22 bullets thrown at him.

I quite like my French thrillers. They usually have a nice style to them. Taut with some slick action sequences. Notice how I say, usually. 22 Bullets doesn’t quite hit the spot, though it’s a fair enough revenge film. Just nothing above that slightly below average. Jean Reno’s fine as the guy seeking revenge. But it’s just a bit lack lustre. There’s nothing in the plot or the look of it that lifts above anything than just your average thriller.

There’s a sub-plot concerning one of the main detectives who’s after Charly and her own need for revenge, which is also intertwined with Chary’s plight. I think I forgot about her character totally.

Then things got a little bit silly with Charly going through layer upon layer of barbed wire to get to his son. It just got a bit comical, rather than serious. The little boy who plays Charly’s son was brilliant though. I believed his tears!

There’s a final ‘twist’ which isn’t so much a twist as a ‘oh of course’ moment, that I’m sure most people will have figured out from the near the beginning.
Rating: 2/5

Read on to see all the films watched this year…

32 Films so far this year

  1. The Tourist 1/5 (02/01/12)
  2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 5/5 (03/01/12)
  3. World’s Greatest Dad 2/5 (14/01/12)
  4. Haywire 3/5 (19/01/12)
  5. Dead Snow 3/5 (20/01/12)
  6. The Artist 5/5 (21/01/12)
  7. Priest 2/5 (05/02/12)
  8. The Muppets 5/5 (15/02/12)
  9. Faster 4/5 (19/02/12)
  10. Chronicle 4/5 (22/02/12)
  11. Safe House 4/5 (24/02/12)
  12. Reservoir Dogs 4/5 (25/02/12)
  13. This Means War 4/5 (02/03/12)
  14. The Royal Tenenbaums 3/5 (03/03/12)
  15. Reign of Fire 3/5 (04/03/12)
  16. Dear John 2/5 (04/03/12)
  17. Road to Perdition 5/5 (05/03/12)
  18. The Three Musketeers 3/5 (06/03/12)
  19. The Eagle 2/5 (10/03/12)
  20. Everybody’s Fine 2/5 (14/03/12)
  21. Frankenstein 4/5 (15/03/12)
  22. Love and Other Drugs 2/5 (15/03/12)
  23. You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger 2/5 (17/03/12)
  24. The Big Lebowski 5/5 (18/03/12)
  25. The Hunger Games 3/5 (23/03/12)
  26. Headhunters 4/5 (07/04/12)
  27. Super 1/5 (07/04/12)
  28. The Cabin in the Woods 5/5 (13/04/12)
  29. Watchmen 4/5 (14/04/12)
  30. The Hurt Locker 3/5 (21/04/12)
  31. Avengers Assemble 5/5 (26/04/12)
  32. 22 Bullets 2/5 (28/04/12)

18 Comments

  1. Bloody hell sounds like it should be quite good. Shame to hear you didn’t like it. Hadn’t heard of this one! Love the banner pic at the top of the page!

    • I remember it went straight to DVD and thought it sounded pretty interesting. So when it showed up on Sky, I wanted to give it a try.

      It should have been a lot better than it was. Also, I swear the subtitles were quicker than they usually are!

  2. I noticed this on Sky and thought about watching it. By the looks of things I’m glad I didn’t in the end. Thanks for the words of warning Jaina.

    • It caught my attention on Sky too. But yeah, skip it. If you’re mildly intrigued, maybe give it a go. If you really have nothing better to do.

  3. Dang, that’s too bad. I like thrillers, especially revengeful ones. When I first read the plot line the first thing that came into my mind was the rapper, 50 Cent. Didn’t he get shot at 22 times? LOL

    On a happier note, I can’t wait for the Summer movies. This summer is going to be Epic!

    • Ha! I think he did. I can 100% guarantee, Jean Reno was not playing 50 Cents. Though I might be interested in seeing that just for the crazy!

      Looking forward to the summer movie season. Next up on my big film list is Snow White and the Huntsman.

      • OOh, let me know how Snow White is. I won’t be in America, I think I’ll be in Germany. Between you and I, I can’t speak any Germany, so I can’t watch it there. That would be ridiculous. LOL

        I know everyone give Kristen Stewart a lot of BS, but I think she is a descent actress, unlike her Twilight counterparts (not naming names).

        • I probably won’t be able to see it until a few weeks after release, as I’ll be dog sitting and the poor girl can’t be left alone for too long. But hopefully, I WILL see it in the cinema!

          See, I’m not on K-Stew’s side. She was good in Into the Wild, but since Twilight, every non-Twilight film she’s been in she’s just been miserable! She has more going for her though, you’re right.

          Chris Hemsworth and Charlize Theron are the motivating factors in Huntsman for me!

  4. I got this through from LOVEFiLM recently. And I am the same as you. I like a French film, thriller or not… but this was just BAD. I was so bored by the end.

    • I just plain stopped caring! I could see the end but it took forever getting there.

      And now, under a week on, I can’t actually remember what happened at the end.

  5. So one to skip then? I watched Sleepless Night last week (also a French thriller) which was quite good, suggest you try to watch that.

    • I’ll put that on my to-watch list. Just looked it up on IMDB and it sounds really interesting.

      I’d skip 22 Bullets. I was drawn in to watching it by the plot and Jean Reno, but if I’m honest, Jean Reno’s looking a bit … old!

  6. Too bad this wasn’t as good as you expected. I like Jean Reno a lot and it’s too bad he hasn’t been in a good Hollywood movie since… Ronin.

  7. Jean Reno is so type cast isn’t he? But he’s good in this type of roles. Not too interested in this one though.

    • He is and he does the role well. Just would have helped if the actual film was good in this place.

  8. Just from the plot description, this sounds like something that should kick all sorts of ass. Too bad it was a bust. Thanks for the heads up, Jaina. I’ll be avoiding this one.

    • It’s funny, the plot description on IMDB gives away a major plot point! Thankfully, read it after the film.

      This film goes into the basket of great idea… bad execution.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.