'Gone with the Bullets' receives mixed responses

Chinese director and actor Jiang Wen, left, poses with his actress wife Zhou Yun on the red carpet for the premiere of their new movie "Gone with the Bullets" in Beijing, Dec 15, 2014. [Photo/IC]

"Gone with the Bullets," set in 1920s Shanghai, is based on a true story. The movie begins with a scene mimicking the opening scene of "The Godfather," in which main characters Ma Zouri (Jiang Wen), Xiang Feitian (Ge You) and Wu Qi (Wen Zhang) are discussing how to establish a beauty pageant called the "Flowers Competition" in order to launder money.

Later, all of the world's elite attend this live-broadcast gala event, but when Wanyan Ying (Shu Qi) unexpectedly wins, it triggers a series of tragic events that changes the characters' destinies. Ma causes Wanyan Ying's death and is then hunted down by police, all while the drama of Wu Liu (Zhou Yun)'s love for him unfolds.

"'Gone with the Bullets' has all kinds of craziness, all kinds of irony, all kinds of flirtations, all kinds of homages and an unscrupulous evolution... it is the most entertaining movie made by Jiang thus far," top film critic Raymond Zhou, also a writer for China Daily, wrote.

Others found the "crazy motion picture fun mess is overdone by an arrogant director afflicted by super narcissism lacking in emotional depth."