Movie Review: Bullet Train

Bullet Train is a exhilarating, fast-past paced action/comedy film. Despite running for nearly two hours this film doesn't feel at all long winded. Probably like Japan's iconic trains themselves, Bullet Train feels a lot faster than it actually is, which I think is a real noteworthy feat to appreciate. 

David Leitch has a short filmography at this point, but the films he does have under his Directorial credits are recognisable for their fluid mix of action and comedy in a way not many other directors can claim to. Having the likes of John Wick, Atomic Blonde and Hobbes and Shaw under his belt you know his films are always going to offer a unique sense of action. It's with Deadpool 2 a lot of similar elements are on display with Bullet Train, even to a point that a few notable actors from that film in particular make a nice cameo. It's worth recognising the films cast on top of that point as well, as I feel the film has a really solid and fun cast of actors inhabiting the role of these very distinct characters. Brad Pitt  plays the main role but he's joined by the likes of Aaron-Taylor Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Joey King, Sandra Bullock, Michael Shannon and Hiroyuki Sanada.

The story of Bullet Train is "surprisingly" enough based on a collection of passengers who are on board a Bullet Train in Japan heading toward Kyoto. These are no ordinary passengers however, as these particular people are all assassins for hire. Each of these assassins have been paid to steal a briefcase of particular note and as the film progresses we see how their objectives force them to cross paths in the most chaotic and bloody of ways. Brad Pitt's main character is an agent codenamed Ladybug and he claims he has notorious bad luck and we see how the concept of luck and fate tied heavily into the roles and actions of all these characters. 

It's a very smartly crafted film in my opinion. It's sharply written with comedy in mind but it knows when the gravity of certain scenes needs to be reflected over the humour. I like how it manages a really nice balance of displaying a lot of humour while also crafting a clever narrative which keeps you guessing constantly. I think that was one of the main elements I liked about the films story is just how unpredictable it was, there was no obvious plot beat here and the film sneakily puts red herrings in there to draw you off.  I think the whole concept of basing an entire film on one enclosed location works really nicely too because it forces the creative approach to the movie's story and visuals to be more smartly considered. The way the film uses the fact these people are all confined to a small collection of train carriages is fully realised in my opinion as well. I like how despite having to constantly go backwards and forwards, the characters interacting and the situations they face are never quite the same and there's all smartly written too. 

As for action, as I noted earlier because the film is restricted by the confines of it's set-up, it makes the opportunity ti implement action sequences way more creative. I think the issue is there wasn't as much action in the film as I hoped for, in fact I think this is the films one core weakness is the mis-balance of dialogue scenes and action scenes. This disproportionate balance isn't too bad though because the dialogue is made engaging with the humour and actors behind them but it still felt worth noting. In any case the unique approach to action scenes is really cool to watch. I like how the fights are quick and shot to make the most of the unique carriages these assassins find themselves in.

I think Bullet Train is another solid entry into David Leitch's filmography. It utilises a creative premise in a really interesting way and I think there's enough value here for any type of audience to enjoy. It's not a perfect film but for what's here, it's entertaining and humorous enough to give you a very fun watching experience.