Riding the train offers you many benefits. You have no traffic to slow you down on your travels, you get amazing views along your way, and best of all, you’ll get to your destination without anything stressing you out. Well, the above benefits aren’t exactly on the table for those all aboard this fast-moving train in Bullet Train. Based on the Japanese novel Maria Bettle, this movie sees a group of hitmen boarding a shinkansen, better known as a bullet train, each with a job to do. Little do they know that all of them are connected in some form. The result is a movie that is an absolute treat to watch and a perfect to the end of the summer movie season.
The movie opens with an unnamed assassin who’s back in the game after taking a much-needed break. Upon receiving the details of his assignment, he is given a codename, “Ladybug” (Brad Pitt). He also revels in the fact that he has a streak of bad luck, and when learning that this assignment is supposed to be quite simple, just an easy snatch and grab, he breathes a sigh of relief. The train he’s about to board travels from Tokyo to Kyoto. A trip roughly three hundred miles in total, and all that Ladybug has to do is locate a briefcase with a certain sticker on the handle and exit the train. Sounds easy, right?
Well, it would appear so if not for the other assassins onboard. They each have an assignment, and unbeknownst to everyone, their paths will cross sooner or later, which will reveal one deadly plan that encompasses them all. Ladybug has been out of the game for a while and doesn’t want trouble, but he came prepared because it’s better to have a plan than no plan.
Along the ride are two twins codenamed Lemon (Bryan Tyree Henry) and Tangerine (Aaron-Taylor Johnson) who are transporting a young kid. They also have a certain briefcase in their possession. It could be the one that the Ladybug is looking for. We don’t know what’s inside the briefcase, but it appears that this will be the focal point of everyone aboard this train.
Additionally, we have The Prince (Joey King), who dresses as a young schoolgirl who has a plan on her own. She becomes entangled with another assassin named The Father (Andrew Koji) who has his eyes set on her. All of these individuals will come together at certain points that paints a larger picture of what exactly is going on. I won’t reveal or mention specific characters but know that this story isn’t as simple as you might think.
What I will say is the initial setup that introduces all the characters. Those sequences are done very well, and although the movie does juggle multiple characters, we aren’t ever lost or confused as to who is who. For one thing, the script offers a very good amount of character development for each assassin and invites us to join in on the fun. Zak Olkewicz wrote the screenplay, and his script features laugh-out-loud hilarious moments! Notable performances by Pitt, Henry, and Taylor-Johnson are specific film highlights.
The film is stylistic, funny as hell, and gleefully violent. Being in a tight space, the assassins don’t have much room to work with once the action gets underway. We learn what led each assassin onto this train and the connection that they all share. Director David Leitch keeps the action moving quickly, stops for a short time to retell some important backstory, then rushes back in to cause more mayhem. I appreciated the amount of comedy, action, and plain goofiness in this movie. This is one of the films that we don’t take seriously. We are here to see some wacky stuff and be entertained.
Two more important details I want to mention here. First, a surprise appearance from Hiroyuki Sanada, who plays The Elder, finds himself on the train in a connected sense but not particularly related to the chaos that ensues onboard the train. Plus, there’s the controversy surrounding this film of casting white actors while the Japanese actors are placed in the background because a famed Japanese novel inspires this story. I didn’t feel that this decision hurt the film. The actors perfectly nail their characters, and even if this movie were made with an all-Japanese cast, my opinion would probably remain the same.
Score 4 out of 5
Bullet Train is a perfect action movie that almost anyone can get into; it’s wild, fun, gut-busting funny, and unapologetically over-the-top action-packed. The characters are unusual, quirky, and wholesomely entertaining. While the movie may be just a little too long, Bullet Train benefits from an intriguing premise that gradually gets nuttier by the minute. This is what summer movies are all about. A goofy time at the theater that will have you laughing and smiling once the film ends. This is a show worth grabbing a ticket for and waiting for that train to arrive at the station.
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