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Bullets Blades and Blood Review
Image Credit: Meyham Films
Loading...Bullets Blades and Blood Review
Robert D. Parham– Marcus Blades
Kenya Hunter-Placido– Neva
Andre McCoy– Jherico
Randy Taylor– Max Nelson
Darwin Mendioro– Osbourne “Ozzy” Jackson
DeMarco Davis– Darryl
(check out the rest of the cast here)
Directed by Warren Foster
Screenplay by Robert D. Parham and David Perez
Runtime– 73 minutes
Bullets Blades and Blood is set for a limited theatrical release starting August 9th, 2025 followed by a future streaming release
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Bullets Blades and Blood, directed by Warren Foster and set for a limited theatrical release starting August 9th, 2025 (there will be some sort of streaming release in the future), is a mega low-budget action drama starring real deal martial artist Robert D. Parham as a badass mercenary of sorts with one of the coolest character names I think I’ve ever heard. While it’s true that the movie is rough around the edges, Bullets Blades and Blood is also chock full of personality, action, and an R & B soundtrack to die for. The movie also features a surprise ending that’s, well, a big goddamn surprise.
Robert D. Parham stars as Marcus Blades (see what I mean? Cool as hell), a badass mercenary and courier that decides to become more heavily invested in his profession after his wife is gunned down in a restaurant by gangsters that decided to engage in a public shootout after a business deal goes south in that same restaurant. Blades travels the world for various clients, moving things for a price and taking down various criminal dumbasses dumb enough to start shit with him. We see Blades take a job to “escort” Neva (Kenya Hunter-Placido), an up and coming R & B singer, to some sort of business meeting. When Blades arrives with Neva at this business meeting, Blades finds out that his “boss” for this particular job is Max Nelson (Randy Taylor), the very same gangster that instigated the restaurant shootout that killed his wife. Unwilling to continue to participate in this particular criminal scheme, Blades decides to protect Neva, take her as far away as he can from Nelson and his criminal enterprise, and plot his revenge.
So then some stuff happens, Nelson sends Osbourne “Ozzy” Jackson (Darwin Mendioro), his deadliest henchman, after Blades, and Blades tries to keep Neva safe from all of the other deadly Nelson henchmen that have been dispatched to take out both Blades and Neva (well, not so much Neva because Nelson really wants to sign her to a contract, as Nelson apparently wants to get into the music promoting business. He wants her alive). While all of that is happening, the badass scumbum cop Jherico (Andre McCoy) has been tasked by his boss, the perpetually annoyed Chief Willis (Darryl Vidal), to figure out what the hell is going on, as dead bodies keep piling up all over the place.
Bullets Blades and Blood moves quickly from moment to moment, using its very modest resources as best it can. There are times where you wish the movie would slow down and take a breath, especially during some of the hand-to-hand fight scenes (there’s also an action scene towards the end of the movie that would have benefitted from taking a moment and letting the scene play out instead of piecing together what appear to be multiple elements into a mega low-budget special effects sequence that just doesn’t work. It’s always better to do what you can actually do than try to do something you have absolutely no hope of pulling off). You’re also going to want to hear more of Neva’s music sung by Neva as it’s quite good (I can’t stress enough how outstanding the movie’s soundtrack is). The Jherico part of the story also could have used a little more time to develop, as it feels a bit tacked on in its current form.
The relationship between Blades and Neva is engrossing and different, as it isn’t meant to be a romantic relationship. Blades wants to keep Neva safe and alive, but he isn’t interested in her as a potential love interest, and Neva isn’t interested in that, either. You don’t see that sort of situation all that often. In a “typical” action flick, Blades and Neva coming together at the end would be the point of the movie. Bullets Blades and Blood doesn’t do that. Bullets Blades and Blood has other things on its mind. The Ozzy character is also a bright spot in the movie, as Ozzy is a completely unhinged psychopath and it’s fun, in a sick way, to watch him in action doing his job to the best of his ability. It’s also quite funny watching Ozzy try to talk to his boss while taking a very loud dump, something you don’t see all that often in any sort of movie. I mean, when you have to do that kind of business, you have to do that kind of business, right?
The flick’s various hand-to-hand fight scenes are generally well done, brutal, and exciting. I’m not entirely sure which fight/fights were choreographed by “special guest fight choreographer” Art Camacho and which ones were done by “regular” fight choreographer Andre McCoy, but they all work and the movie could have used more of them. The “vagina punch” sequence is one that I’m sure people will remember. The movie’s shootouts are also fairly well done, especially the big warehouse shootout. The final fight could have been more spectacular, but the way the scene plays out makes sense. I do think the movie should have had more face punching in it. You really can’t go wrong with that kind of thing in an action movie.
Robert D. Parham does a great job as Marcus Blades (God, I love that name). Parham gives Blades a melancholy that, yes, we’ve all seen in countless action movies that feature a similar sort of mercenary character, but ends up feeling fresh due to the innate integrity that Parham possesses. You can’t really fake the sort of screen presence that Parham has. It’s also interesting how Parham isn’t afraid to make Blades vulnerable in his fighting and action scenes. Blades is an elite professional and a full on badass, yes, but he also isn’t superhuman and can get his ass kicked. What makes Blades difficult to take on and defeat is that he doesn’t quit. If you’re going to stop Blades, you’re going to have to goddamn kill him and make sure he’s dead. Why isn’t Parham a bigger star in the low-budget action movie world? Makes no sense to me.
Kenya Hunter-Placido does a nice job as Neva, the up and coming R and B singer that Blades has to protect and criminal boss Nelson wants to hire. Neva is overwhelmed by the violence and carnage surrounding her, but with the help of Blades you just know she will somehow get through it. Because she, like Blades, has no quit in her. Neva’s relationship with her brother and manager Darryl (played by DeMarco Davis) is fascinating, especially with the big twist that happens towards the end of the movie. The movie definitely could have used more of Neva singing and owning the stage.
Randy Taylor is brilliant as Max Nelson, the scumbag crime boss that Blades wants to take out. Taylor plays Nelson with a low key malevolence that is often hilarious, mostly because you don’t expect him to be as full on evil as he is. I mean, at first, it seems like Nelson might just be a piece of crap crime boss that wants you to refer to him as a “business man” because that’s what he’s always doing, business. As the movie goes on, though, we see that Nelson gets off on being a crime boss, on ruling over a vast criminal empire and destroying people at will simply because he has the money and power to do it. Nelson is also calm as can be, which makes Nelson an unsettling figure. Again, you can tell this guy really gets off on being an evil piece of garbage.
Darwin Mendioro is awesome as Osbourne “Ozzy” Jackson, the unhinged henchmen Nelson sends after Blades and Neva. You never can tell what version of Ozzy you’re going to see, either the calm and collected employee of Nelson, or the screaming henchman shooting someone in broad daylight simply because he became annoyed for some reason. Both versions are fun to watch. And kudos to Mendioro for agreeing to do the “taking a loud dump” scene because, outside of a Troma movie or Dumb and Dumber (1994), you just don’t see that kind of thing all that often. You just don’t.
I also want to mention Rick H. Jones for his performance as Vladimir, the low level Russian gangster that Blades sometimes deals with. Based on where he works out of and his general demeanor, you could probably make a very funny movie out of the Vladimir character. Because, really, what the hell kind of stuff is he involved in when he isn’t interacting with Blades? I’d love to know.
The ending to Bullets Blades and Blood is unexpected. At first, you think that the movie is actually what Blades is telling his therapist, as that is what appears to be happening when the movie begins. Blades is meeting his therapist. That isn’t what’s happening, though. Something else is actually happening. I won’t tell you what that is, but I will say that it is a poignant surprise. I liked it quite a bit.
And I liked Bullets Blades and Blood quite a bit. It’s rough around the edges and moves by too quickly (again, the movie could have taken a moment to breathe every now and then), but it has a heart and integrity that plenty of low-budget action movies with more resources wish they had. The movie also features a real deal action star in Robert D. Parham that should definitely have a bigger presence in the low-budget action movie world. You can’t fake what he has.
See Bullets Blades and Blood. See it, see it, see it. Bullets Blades and Blood is set to have a limited theatrical release starting August 9th, 2025, with some sort of future streaming release to follow.
So what do we have here?
Dead bodies: Around 20
Explosions: Several, big and small.
Nudity?: None.
Doobage: A shoulder bump. A flashback. Talking to a therapist. Happy crying. Booze drinking. A nefarious criminal business deal done right out in public. A briefcase exchange. A very public shootout. Attempted mugging. A three-on-one beating. Bullet to the leg. A hilarious messed up “I met a celebrity once” story. A phone exchange. A gun exchange. Bricks of money. Letter reading. A limo with a California license plate. A big bad guy meeting. International finance talk. Talk of fight fixing. Hot coffee spilled on a guy’s hand followed by a bullet to the head. A lunch date. Private plane hooey. An alley beatdown. A slow motion kiss. A rock band opening act. Money counting. A warehouse meeting. Attempted shotgun attack. Another shootout. Serious neck breaking. Gun to the face. Exploding car. Car stealing. Arguing. A seriously annoying alarm clock. Shooting a seriously annoying alarm clock. An orange motorcycle. Foot shooting. Police investigation hooey. Voicemail hooey. Dead bodies in a warehouse. Golf. Betting at golf. Apple eating. A fight on a boat. Gut stabbing. Serious shirt ruining. A wicked bullet to the head. A very drunk cop. A bar beating. More neck breaking. Attempted threesome. A nefarious limo. Exploding boat. Attempted contract negotiations. A surprise shooting. Even more neck breaking. A very strange shootout. Hand tattoos. Mega face punching. Tie destruction. Guy kicked down an elevator shaft. Somehow even more neck breaking. A vagina punch. Woman punched out of a window. Bullet to the back. A brutal beating. Exploding building.
Kim Richards? None.
Gratuitous: Robert D. Parham reading the Egyptian Book of the Dead in a waiting room. A white BMW convertible. Music recording. Bad guys opening a door to a room in slow motion. The Golden Gate Bridge. “Chicago.” A Jiu Jitsu training montage. A championship belt. Coffee. “Fuck next week!” Rite Aid brand hand sanitizer. A musical interlude. Flashback on a boat. Slow motion guy jamming to a song. Guy taking a shower with his clothes on. Firemen putting out a car fire in slow motion. “Take your shoes off.” A cemetery visit. A deadly female assassin spinning a knife on her finger. A surprise ending.
Best lines: “Hey, man, I don’t want any trouble.” “Stay still. You might hit me.” “And you became a transporter? I like to call it courier.” “I wouldn’t mess with this guy.” “So, does everybody want coffee?” “You know, money makes the world go round. But, money isn’t everything. But it’s a helluva lot better than not having money.” “I swear, some days this guy makes me tremble with disgust.” “What about him? Man, fuck him!” “And so, you became a mercenary?” “How is that working for ya, fella? Not too good.” “Bitch, I’m Cupcake.” “You know these people?” “Damn, I’m getting old.” “Are you just going to use me? Whatever it takes to get my money.” “Anything else? Yeah, get the fuck out of my office!” “Goddamn super cop.” “I swear, one day I think I’m going to have to shove this driver right up that young man’s ass.” “You must be here for breakfast.” “Man, this is a $1600 shirt!” “That’s a drunk pig right there.” “Marcus, what are you willing to sacrifice?” “Fuck you, Darryl!” “Send in the Beast.” “I need a favor. I’m going to need an army.” “Nice suit. My friend, I’m dressed to kill.” “I just bought this tie!” “Fight me like a man!” “You kick like a bitch!” “It looks like you’re going to break my glasses.” “Ooh, that hurt, Mr. Blades?”
