Bullet Train is stuffed with style, making it an messy and colorful flick, but does the story itself live up to the hype?
Bullet Train was marketed with a lot of style — some might even say too much — but after watching it we can say with confidence that it has an intense, and sometimes too convoluted, story that makes for a super entertaining watch. The bulk of the entertainment comes from exactly where you would expect — the action.
Bullet Train is directed by David Leitch, who previously directed Deadpool 2, and he doesn’t disappoint. The action along with the stacked cast make this movie entertaining throughout the entire runtime. Coming in at just over two hours, Bullet Train is fast, but the story is faster. It starts a little slow, setting up the Bullet Train, our characters, and the basic premise. As the movie goes on, it gets faster and faster until it is out of control.
More and more revelations are made and as the movie goes on, it just gets crazy. Each character fits into their roles perfectly, which helps the audience become invested in their part of the story.
Without getting into spoilers, no matter how large or small their part was, the cast all contribute to the movie perfectly. With a cast as stacked up as this one, one would think there would be throw away roles, but no. There are none.
The cast includes Bad Bunny, Joey King, Sandra Bullock, Karen Fukuhara, Zazie Beetz, Hiroyuki Sanada, and many more but, the standouts are Brad Pitt, Aaron Taylor Johnson, and Brian Tyree Henry.
Of course Pitt plays the lead, but first we have to talk about Johnson and Henry, they play Tangerine and Lemon, and they are PERFECT. They play funny yet emotional characters, carrying the heartfelt aspects of the film.
As expected Brad Pitt is phenomenal, but a fair amount of viewers will likely get tired of his character as the movie goes on. You can tell he does most of his own stunts and his comedic timing is perfect.
The themes in this movie are something completely unexpected, in a good way, and Pitt’s character is at the center of it. Bullet Train is all about fate, and the way it evolves through this movie is what makes it really work.
Some people might say that Bullet Train has bad writing due to it making everything work just for the story. At the beginning of the movie it definitely feels that way, but as time goes on, and the messages and themes are more prevalent and really settle in. It makes more sense that these things fall into place the way that they do. It allows for a lot of the comedy, but also adds emotional connections that are needed in a story like this.
As a whole, Bullet Train is doing a lot, maybe too much for some people. It is a messy, jumbled, colorful, but intense ride that pays off in the end.
Rating: 8.5 out of 10
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About Bullet Train
In Bullet Train, Brad Pitt stars as Ladybug, an unlucky assassin determined to do his job peacefully after one too many gigs gone off the rails.
Fate, however, may have other plans, as Ladybug’s latest mission puts him on a collision course with lethal adversaries from around the globe – all with connected, yet conflicting, objectives – on the world’s fastest train.
The end of the line is just the beginning in this non-stop thrill-ride through modern-day Japan from David Leitch, the director of Deadpool 2.
Bullet Train is in theaters August 5th.
