Bullet (1996 film)



Bullet is a 1996 American crime film directed by Julien Temple and starring Mickey Rourke, Tupac Shakur, Donnie Wahlberg, Adrien Brody, Ted Levine, and John Enos III. The screenplay was written by Bruce Rubenstein and Rourke, under a pseudonym. The film was released a month after Shakur's murder.

Mickey Rourke was also the music supervisor of the film. It had limited distribution in theaters in the United States. It was shot in New York City with a significant portion done in Brooklyn.

Plot
Butch "Bullet" Stein (Mickey Rourke) is a 35-year-old Jewish ex-con who is released from prison after serving an 8-year sentence for being an accomplice to a robbery. After his release, Bullet and his best friend Lester rob two teenagers for drugs. He returns to Brooklyn to live with his dysfunctional family, including his alcoholic father, depressed mother, unstable older brother Louis, and his younger brother Ruby, an aspiring artist.

Tank (Tupac Shakur) is a local drug kingpin with a score to settle after Bullet stabbed him in the eye while they were serving time together. Bullet seems to welcome the challenge. In the meantime, he keeps himself occupied by shooting heroin and robbing his neighbor's house for jewelry, which he sells to a gangster named "Frankie Eyelashes". He also encourages Ruby to follow his artistic dreams.

After failing to kill Bullet with poisonous drugs, Tank gets his henchman to start a fight with Bullet. The fight ends in a draw when the henchman breaks his hand. Bullet briefly returns home where he tells his mother he's sorry for everything he put her through over the years. He then accepts his fate and has a final showdown with Tank, who shoots him dead to Ruby's horror. Soon after, Louis gets revenge by cutting Tank's throat and leaving Bullet's pet rat (named Tony Curtis) on the dead body.

Cast

 * Mickey Rourke as Butch 'Bullet' Stein
 * Tupac Shakur as Tank
 * Adrien Brody as Ruby Stein
 * Ted Levine as Louis Stein
 * Donnie Wahlberg as Big Balls
 * Suzanne Shepherd as Cookie Stein
 * Jerry Grayson as Sol Stein
 * Manny Perez as Flaco
 * Gina Figueroa as Laura
 * John Enos III as Lester
 * Gene Canfield as Reiner
 * Michael Kenneth Williams as High Top
 * Big Stretch/Randy Walker as Dallas
 * Peter Dinklage as Building manager
 * Jermaine Hopkins as Pudgy