Vinnie Jones occupies a bizarre place in the action movie ecosystem. His early star vehicles, Guy Ritchie‘s Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, could have launched him to the top. Instead, they provided a beautiful boost to his costar, Jason Statham. As a perfect example, he’s the kind of guy Ritchie wouldn’t tap for his 2019 film The Gentlemen but would bring in for the straight-to-streaming spin-off show. In the meantime, Jones keeps himself busy with stuff like Bullet Proof.
Vinnie Jones’ Bullet Proof Takes Paramount By Storm
Bullet Proof, AKA Death Pursuit, is the passion project of one James Clayton — because one bad title wasn’t enough. Clayton cut his teeth as an actor. In 2002, he made his cinematic debut in K-19: The Widowmaker, where he performed without credit alongside Harrison Ford. He had one-off parts in Supernatural, Fringe, and The 100. Bullet Proof is his directorial debut and his first real feature-length starring role. It follows Clayton as an unnamed thief who makes off with a bunch of gang leader Temple’s (Vinnie Jones) money. He quickly discovers he also has Temple’s unhappy wife, forcing him to turn his theft into a rescue mission. What follows is a boring mess of fistfights, gunfights, and driving sequences.You’ve seen a movie just like this, and you’ve probably seen a dozen better ones. There were ways to make it better, but this is as bog-standard as they come.
Back to Vinnie Jones, because I find his career a lot more compelling than James Clayton’s. Jones started in the English Football League, but he found his calling on the big screen through Guy Ritchie. Ritchie has an eye for talent that evidently allows him to pull actors out of other careers. Jones got stuck in the generic tough guy role Ritchie put him in. That’s why the best performance Jones ever gave was in The Midnight Meat Train. Don’t shy away from that title. The Midnight Meat Train is a hugely underrated 2008 horror film and one of the best Clive Barker adaptations ever made. Its best asset is Jones as Mahogany, a solemn, contemplative walking nightmare. If you want to see Jones do something unique, watch The Midnight Meat Train. If you want to see him do much worse versions of his Ritchie routine, watch Bullet Proof.
Bullet Proof‘s success on Paramount is more of an indictment of the streamer’s selection than a feather in the film’s cap. Is Vinnie Jones enough of a draw to bring a few million people to the service? It’s far more likely that the generic poster and title appealed to people who weren’t paying attention. If you’re looking for an action film you won’t remember during the credits, check out Bullet Proof. Worse films exist in the genre, but most of them bother to spell their title correctly. Bulletproof is one word, and don’t let anyone convince you otherwise.
