The Bullet Vanishes
Seen it?2012 | 108 min | Action, Mystery
Saturday Specialearly ratingWhy it’s a Saturday Special
It earned strong reviews (92% on Rotten Tomatoes), despite almost no lasting buzz. A strong pick for the weekend.
Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.Is it for you?
- Who'll love it
- Made for anyone who likes to be kept guessing and action fans.
- The mood
- Tense.
- The pace
- Fast-moving, at 1 hr 48 min.
- What might put you off
- Rated PG-13. Probably too much for younger kids.
- It's in Chinese, so expect subtitles (or a dub).
One rainy night in an arms factory near Shanghai, a young female worker accused of stealing a box of bullets from the ruthless Boss Ding is violently killed in a game of Russian roulette. Half a month later, a series of inexplicable deaths takes place in the factory, where the victims are shot but no bullets are found. Rumors of a deadly curse begin to spread in the factory, terrorizing the workers there. So, eccentric police inspector Song Donglu and his hot-blooded, gunslinging partner Guo Zhui are sent in to investigate the mystery of the phantom bullets...
How it earned its rating
- CriticsStrong
92% on Rotten Tomatoes, 65 on Metacritic
- AudiencesNot counted
Not measured yet: not enough ratings
- AwardsBelow par
3 wins and 13 nominations from smaller awards and festivals
- Box office & staying powerSolid
$25 million worldwide on a $12 million budget; still draws a steady audience long after release
- Buzz & cultural impactWeak
About 5K people sought it out in the past year
Trailer
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Cast & crew
Directed by Lo Chi-Leung
- Lau Ching-wanInspector Song Donglu
- Nicholas Tse Ting-fungCaptain Guo Zhui
- Yang MiLittle Skylark
- Wu GangPolice Chief Jin
- Jing BoranXiaowu
- Gao HuNPA senior officer
- Jiang YiyanFu Yuan
- Chin Ka-LokWu Zhongguo
- Yumiko Cheng Hei-YiLi Jia, forensic doctor
- Wang ZiyiWang Hai