God Is a Bullet

Amid its relentlessly brutal confrontations and deep religious contemplation, God Is a Bullet perhaps stands out most for the extensive and meticulous body art adorning its ruthless collection of rogues and scoundrels.

Still, introspective brooding often substitutes for genuine suspense in this ultraviolent revenge thriller from director Nick Cassavetes (The Notebook), in which the immersive visual style fails to yield a more visceral emotional impact.

The story follows Bob Hightower (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), a rural detective who arrives to visit his estranged family over the holidays, only to find that his ex-wife has been murdered and his teenage daughter (Chloe Guy) has been kidnapped.

Clues point to the involvement of a misogynistic religious cult on the outskirts of town, although he’s reluctant to believe it. “We’re a small Christian community,” he reasons. “We don’t have much in the way of deviant behavior.”

When he becomes frustrated with the internal investigation, Bob takes up the case himself, forming an uneasy partnership with Case (Maika Monroe), a young woman who escaped from the abusive cult and seeks payback of her own.

In order to infiltrate the collection of rogues and scoundrels and rescue the girl, he essentially goes undercover, subjecting himself to the whims of an enigmatic outcast (Jamie Foxx) with conflicting motives in hopes of confronting the merciless and power-hungry cult leader (Karl Glusman).

The meandering stretches of God Is a Bullet are punctuated by vivid outbursts of savagery that are potent and appropriately disturbing.

The jumbled if mildly intriguing screenplay by Cassavetes, based on a novel by Boston Teran — which apparently is inspired by true events — combines melodrama about personal redemption and fractured families with a broader examination of corrupt belief systems and spiritual crises with mixed results.

As the film’s emotional anchor, veteran Danish actor Coster-Waldau (“Game of Thrones”) generates sympathy for Bob’s resilience and dedication in the face of considerable danger, as he evolves from a mild-mannered pencil-pusher into a cutthroat vigilante.

Yet the ponderous pacing forces moviegoers to wallow in his misery. While the final act turns into an inevitable bloodbath, the twists and characters aren’t compelling enough to justify the epic length.

Rated R, 155 minutes.