Let the Bullets Fly

• There are elements of Leone, Peckinpah and classic martial-arts cinema in this big, noisy, action-comedy-western from Chinese actor-director Jiang Wen. It is a mad scramble of a movie: full of black comedy, surreal capers, violent set pieces, and some interesting satire. It crackles with cynical energy. With an all-star cast including Chow Yun-Fat and Ge You, Jiang gives the audience a fiercely entertaining ride.

• A rollicking, violent, Western-cum-comedy that serves many masters, but adds up to an entertaining hot pot of wry political commentary and general mischief, Let the Bullets Fly owes major debts to Sergio Leone, CGI technology and the prodigious talents of his co-star, Chow Yun-Fat. Directed by Jiang Wen, who was once accused by China’s censors of an “individualistic approach to filmmaking,” the big-budget actionfest has already been a blockbuster at home.

• Brazenly entertaining, the Chinese Western serves as an allegory on power, corruption and rough justice with flashes of intelligence and political acumen. But the real masterstroke is its racy storytelling, handled with nuanced dialogue, plot twists and bravura acting. China’s biggest domestic hit is also the liveliest Chinese commercial film in ages.

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