Movie Review: Bullet Train
Rating: 3 Stars
Bullet Train asks an important question of a modern-day Hollywood action blockbuster, “Can you make a Tarantino film without Tarantino?”
The answer will always be no but the results of this experiment are fun nevertheless. Bullet Train was directed by the co-director of John Wick, David Leitch. You may know Leitch’s work from that one Apple commercial where a snowball fight was shot like a World War II scene. Leitch’s other post-Wick efforts include a trio of mediocre titles: Deadpool 2, Atomic Blonde, and Hobbs and Shaw.
All that expensive practice paid off though because Bullet Train has all the action set-piece bells and whistles to be worthy of your time.
Bullet Train intelligently centralizes itself around the aura of its star Brad Pitt who continues his run of slightly idiosyncratic roles. Pitt was nothing short of captivating in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Ad Astra which both released in 2019. Pitt reappeared in a supporting role in a comedy nobody watched, The Lost City. Before anybody had time to realize, Pitt was starring in Bullet Train.
Bullet Train is based on a Japanese novel of the same name released in 2010 by Kotaro Isaka. The premise is that a group of assassins board the same train and engage in a winding interconnected plot with plenty of hijinks and superfluous dialogue. The screenplay was written by Zak Olkewicz, whose only other credit is Fear Street 2.
Pitt does carry the brunt of the film, but Atlanta star Brian Tyree Henry is more than a scene-stealer. Henry and Aaron Taylor-Johnson take the film up a level. Without their onscreen chemistry, this film easily could’ve resulted in diminishing returns. Henry specifically has a star power about him that is undeniable.
Henry’s experience as a leading man in Atlanta and his tour de force performance in Bullet Train are obvious signs that he’s more than ready to star in a film on his own merit.
Bullet Train is insistent on checking off several of the Tarantino boxes. A mix and dash of old-timey popular music choices followed by deeper and deeper cuts. CHECK. The film hits you in the face with the Bee Gees “Stayin Alive” with the iconic Saturday Night Fever walking shot. Later on you get a taste of a Japanese cover of Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out for a Hero”. You know the vibes.
There are overly dramatic cinematically backlit shots. The assassins are introduced with lively animated text graphics in English and Japanese.
Bullet Train does skimp somewhat on the gory violence prevalent in Tarantino films. Bullet Train is definitely a violent film but certain angles are employed to save the audience from closeups of the sword-slicing blood splatter.
The dialogue does step over the line of cartoonishly silly on several occasions. It’s the sort of writing one would expect in an 80s or 90s action summer B-movie. There’s one bit where Pitt fights in the confines of a seating booth that happens to be the ‘quiet car’. The oofs and aghs are shushed by an elderly woman. I struggled to find this spat of situational comedy worth a laugh, but it does properly fall in line with the film’s tone.
Bullet Train also has an ensemble cast quality too it with nice performances by Joey King as a cunning femme fatale. Zazie Beetz and Bad Bunny have brief cameos. I didn’t recognize Bad Bunny who gets a startling entrance and just has the look of a guy who’s been famous his whole life.
Japanese actors Hiroyuki Sanada and Andrew Koji have nice performances in their supporting roles. Sandra Bullock’s voice does some heavy lifting carrying Jiminy Cricket meets Dr. Phil energy. Michael Shannon plays the baddie for those interested in that sort of thing.
Bullet Train is an enjoyable ride where the performances and action sequences are daft but remain full of spectacle and whimsy. There’s an art to having fun without blinking twice and blowing the facade. The film's direction and characters are all committed to the cause.
