While Let the Bullets Fly isn't the sort of blood-soaked dual-pistol driven overture the title and promotional materials make it out to be, that's not a bad thing. Written, directed by, and starring Jiang Wen, this is a fast-moving and crafty "dramedy" that should please fans of the quirkier side of cinema.

Jiang's character is named Pocky Zhang, a notorious bandit. While robbing a train, Zhang and his men come across scam artist Ma Bangde (Ge You), who makes his living by impersonating governors for rural towns. Zhang thinks that is a good idea, and so takes on Ma's next target, Goose Town. Zhang has no problem pulling his ruse on the townspeople, but the local gang boss, Huang (Chow Yun-Fat) isn't such an easy mark.

At approximately 135 minutes and featuring double-crosses upon double-crosses, Let the Bullets Fly could fall prey to its' own weight and become too dense to be truly enjoyable. But Jiang Wen's direction keeps everything tight and moving forward. There are a few small bits here and there which probably could have been cut, but for the most part, this is a prime example of efficiency in film-making -- something which many directors, especially Jiang's Mainland compatriots, who tend to mistake running time for artistic merit, should take note of.

Jiang's strength in direction spreads over to the actors as well. In particular, the dynamic with Zhang against Huang is set up and delivered very well. This is all the more surprising since one of the participants (Zhang) was directing the film, while the other (Huang) was dubbed over. The dubbing is a bit distracting, but apparently, it was not done because of Chow's mastery (or lack thereof) of Mandarin, but rather the Mainland government's censorship practices that mandate that "perfect" Mandarin must be spoken in films.

There are some other small nitpicks to be found here. For instance, there is a gimmick with the different gangs wearing masks that look like mahjong tiles. Too bad the masks do nothing about the voices or body shapes, so basically, they do nothing at all. Also, the ending seems a little too pat, and perhaps a bit rushed. After investing over two hours, the fates of the characters are dealt to the audience almost too quickly. But, for the most part, these are minor quibbles against what is, for the most part, a really good movie and something that shows some promise that Mainland films can be something other than costume epics or melodramatic weepies.

RATING: 7