Bullet to the Head

A New Orleans hit man (Sylvester Stallone) and a Washington, D.C., cop (Sung Kang) form an uneasy alliance when their respective partners are killed by the same gang. Here, the French graphic novel by Alexis “Matz” Nolent is retooled by writer Alessandro Camon and director Walter Hill as a vehicle for Stallone, more or less indistinguishable from every other movie he's made for the last, oh, 200 or 300 years. Stallone blew past self-parody years ago, but he's always had a middling flair for comedy (Oscar and Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot) that his audience never warmed to; still, it makes his snarling banter with Kang between gunfights the best parts here. For the rest, it's business as usual for Stallone to charm yet another generation of fans. Some things never change; it's almost comforting, in a way.