God is a Bullet is a hard edged, pot boiler of a movie that requires a steady hand and a strong focus to ride the weighty story.

Based on a novel by Boston Teran, it details the pursuit of Lena who is kidnapped following the brutal murders of her mother and stepfather by members of an evil cult. Leading the investigation (albeit off the books) is the girl’s father, Detective Bob Hightower (Nicolaj Coster-Waldau – Game of Thrones), a devoted Christian man who has lived most of his career behind the desk, pushing papers. So, he’s the last person you would expect to go off the rails and take the law into his own hands, but when push comes to shove, desperate times bring out the darkest side in us all.

To channel his rage and fuel his intent for revenge. Bob seeks the support from the only known person to have survived and escaped the cult, Case (Maika Monroe – It Follows). Case is not surprisingly still unfolding from her own traumatic experiences and has hardened against the typical social means, making her unpredictable and wild; the  polar opposite ro Bob, a man set by rigidity and routine. Both must find a common path for this unlikely alliance to succeed.

The prognosis:

There are elongated moments of stagnation that threaten to swallow up the audience with the sheer depth of depravity, speared by Director Nick Cassavettes vision. This passion project which has taken Cassavettes years to manifest and bring to life, is so entrenched in the social biome that he neglects the strength of pace to the detriment of the storyline, before hitting with a gut punch action sequence to remind you that you need to pay attention. What keeps you temporarily hanging by a thread is the performances of the two leads, both characters embittered by circumstances and reliant on each other’s qualities to drift them to a brutal and high impact conclusion.

Some may be deterred by the creative choices on show. Others happy to coast along, bracing themselves for every bump and hard-hitting shift in momentum. The question will be whether to bail or hold on tightly.

– Saul Muerte