In Bullet Train, Director David Leitch puts a bunch of gangsters, crooks, and assassins on a train to vie for a mysterious briefcase. Can Leitch make such a script believable? The answer is no. But why should he even try?
What’s it about?
A criminal contractor codenamed Ladybug (Brad Pitt) has terrible luck. No matter how easy the job is, something always goes wrong. Despite his back luck, Ladybug is excellent at what he does and usually delivers on his contract. After a bit of vacation, Ladybug receives a pretty straightforward contract from his handler. He is to get on a bullet train in Tokyo, steal a silver briefcase, and make his exit. Unbeknownst to Ladybug, several other contractors, assassins, and criminals on the bullet train are after the same silver briefcase, just his luck.
Although Ladybug gets his hands on the briefcase quite early, he continuously runs up against the other contractors. Ladybug must figure out a way to exit the train with the briefcase without being killed by the competition. His main competitors are Lemon (Brian Tyree Henry) and Tangerine (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), whom he has run into on previous missions. He knows how deadly these individuals are and must avoid conflict. What he doesn’t know is that there are wolves all around him that are also seeking the case.
Bullet Train Video Review
My Reaction
Originally, Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, Olympus Has Fallen) was tapped to direct and produce Bullet Train. While Fuqua stayed on as one of the producers, David Leitch (Atomic Blond, Deadpool 2) was selected to take the reins. While Fuqua is heralded for gritty, tense action movies, Leitch is better known for the more quirky, comedic, and high-spirited. Needless to say, Bullet Train could have been much different than what audiences receive.
The movie’s premise asks us to believe that assassins and killers can fight, stab, and fire weapons throughout the train without so much as a scream from the regular passengers on board. There is even a scene where a passenger constantly hushes a fighting Lemon and Ladybug because they are in the quiet car, even though they are having a bloody, drag-out fight right in front of her.
It is this type of unrealism that caters to Leitch’s strength. Leitch crafted a bloody, knock-down action movie without worrying about the NPCs in the background. Instead of harping on this unrealistic plot point, you quickly accept the situation’s absurdity. Bullet Train is so action-packed, and the characters are so interesting, that you don’t have time to consider the silliness of it all.
Speaking of characters, Brad Pitt is particularly charming in this film. You buy his overall anxiousness surrounding his “bad luck,” even though he seems ultimately in control of every trap and encounter he finds himself in. However, it is Taylor-Johnson and Henry who steal the show. They were the best part of every scene, especially Brian Tyree Henry. These assassins are a perfect paradox. They are feared in the assassin world but constantly make boneheaded and incompetent decisions. They are intimidating, yet you want to have a beer with them. You are navigating the story of Bullet Train through their eyes just as much as you are through Pitt’s.
Those three are not the only bright spots in casting. Joey King as Prince is surprisingly villainous and holds her own in a battle of wits with the other characters. You revile her in the best way, as she is the biggest threat to every other assassin on board. The 23-year-old King proving believable next to Pitt and others was quite remarkable.
Some of the biggest names in the film have the smallest amount of dialogue and screen time. However, every character presented makes the most of their time on screen.
There are a lot of great cameos in this movie. Some of the biggest names in the film have the smallest amount of dialogue and screen time. However, every character presented makes the most of their time on screen. It isn’t just through the fights, shootouts, and explosions, but the backstory, dialogue, and interaction that grips you. There isn’t a character in this film that I wouldn’t follow in a spin-off or prequel.
With a run time a hair over two hours, the movie can feel a bit long. Since the film establishes an unseriousness early on, you welcome each escalation in action received as the characters move from train car to train car. However, those crescendos may leave some audiences overstimulated and exhausted.
Overall Rating
Bullet Train may prove to be the best action movie of the year. There are multiple characters to root for, and the violence is gratuitous in the best of ways. Pitt is charming, but Taylor-Johnson and Tyree absolutely shine. Some may find the plot too unbelievable or the violence unnecessarily over-the-top. However, I am too immature to hate fun in that way.
