Detroit Free Press: Asian American Leading Man Isn’t Allowed to Lead

When I first learned that an Asian American male actor would play a starring role alongside Sylvester Stallone in his movie, Bullet to the Head, I got excited. Now I’m wondering if that excitement has been misplaced. I should know better. The mantra should be proceed with caution.
At least that’s what a review from McClatchy News Servicce published in the Detroit Free Press advises to do. Bullet to the Head co-stars Korean American actor Sung Kang. Kang plays Detective Kwon who teams up with a hit man, Sylvester Stallone as Jimmy Bonomo,  to go after the bad guy who set Stallone up and also killed his partner.  If that sentence is confusing and poorly written, maybe its because the movie is that way too.

According to the reviewer, Kang plays a pretty weak leading man. Roger Moore wrote: “Kwon fails utterly to hold up his end of the bargain. When your tough-guy leading man says “You stay here and listen to the radio” whenever he’s about to walk into trouble, you might as well have the word “lightweight” stamped on your head.

“It doesn’t help that Jimmy and everybody else here trot out the race card whenever they encounter the Korean-American cop. But again, this is old school. Ethnic actors are for belittling. Bad guys are for shooting. Women are for rescuing and gratuitous nude shower scenes.”

Sigh.