Bullet Points: God is a Bullet (2023)
There are certain movies that speak to you like nothing else. A movie that feels like it was made for you at this exact point in your life. I think I’ve found movies like this throughout my years and if you look closely enough, you’ll see that I write about those movies in any way that I can. God is a Bullet is a film that only hit my radar when I saw the cast involved. Maika Monroe has been incredible in everything I’ve ever seen her in and she’s not afraid to take chances on a film. Jamie Foxx is looking different here and probably brings more credentials than anyone else in the film, but the real reason I turned it on was because of Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. While he’s most known for his role as Jamie Lannister in the HBO Series Game of Thrones, he’s been making some of my most favorite movies of the past decade. Let’s see how game this cast is….
Synopsis: Taking matters into his own hands, Detective Bob Hightower tries to infiltrate an evil cult to save his kidnapped daughter and avenge the murder of his wife.
- Writer/Director: Brought to you by Nick Cassavetes. It’s a name that immediately makes me think of The Notebook (he directed it) but the better comparison for the sake of this film is that he also directed Alpha Dog and John Q. Both films carry a weight to them that most romantic films just don’t have but Cassavetes brings something in God is a Bullet that I haven’t seen in his other pictures; brutality.
- Desk Cowboy: While NCW’s character is a small-town investigator for the Sheriff’s department, he’s little more than a “Desk Cowboy”. At least that’s how they think of him there. That is until his ex-wife is brutally slain and his daughter comes up missing. Detective Bob gives the department several weeks but as nothing is turning up, he’s forced to take matters into his own hands when a former junkie offers some potential information on the attackers.
- Lady and the Stamp: Maika Monroe’s character, Case, comes to the rescue for Bob and offers to lead him in the direction of her daughter. She has a good idea of what is happening because she, too, was taken as a child and spent the past decade in pure hell. One of the first steps for them before they can even think about getting close to those responsible is to get Bob a better look. Something that will help him to not stand out so much in this world of Satan worshippers, biker dudes, and insane murderous gangs. We don’t get a cool 80’s montage of him going in and out of a dressing room at the mall, but we do get to see Jamie Foxx give him tattoos all over his chest and arms.
- Cyrus is a virus: Case has a special place in her heart for Cyrus but it’s one that is black and constantly infecting her from the inside out. He’s the leader of this pedo-satanic cult and a guy that needs a bullet like no one before.
- The Underworld: Whether it’s the criminal type or just some sample of what Hell is like, Bob and Case in up in a town bull of psychos and the tension is ramped up to 11. If there is one thing that is clear about this mission that the duo is on, it’s that Bob will never be the same again. Case has been there and done that but she’s always one step away from the devil and putting herself in this position offers maximum exposure to the things that changed her for the worse.
- Guns Blazin’: The only way to walk out of a hell like that is to stomp through that mother fucker with your barrels spittin’ fire and a wake of death in your tracks. Bob and Case have crossed over into whatever world this is and there’s no going back to the way things were. The gun battles in God is a Bullet can only be described as “intensely violent”. This isn’t a movie for the faint of heart and that goes for the subject matter as well. It’s a film that is ugly, ugly, ugly….but it’s so beautiful to watch.
- No Going Back: Just like Bob and Case, once you’ve seen God is a Bullet there is no going back. While the film has some of the most violent shootouts that I’ve seen in years, it’s the quiet moments that really make this film stick with you. The characters aren’t just on paper. They feel like real people going through real emotions. NCW and Monroe are out-of-this world good and it truly feels like one of those movies that is so good that it’s not for everyone. Some people just won’t “get it”, and that’s ok. That’s the way this cinema thing works and I’m just glad I get to enjoy it without being a pretentious cunt like those other critics.
The Verdict: Duh, watch it. It’s my favorite movie I’ve seen in recent years and the one that I will be recommending to folks for the near future. It won’t be for everyone but it felt right for me. One last thing to say and that is that this soundtrack is crazy good. I was listening to this stuff on YouTube for hours afterwards.
