Bullet Train

6 / 10

Shinkansen Continental

A straightforward action flick with a very stylish presentation in which a little more than half of the gags do land, but this feels like a Japanese-flavored rendition of The Commuter with a standard, Yakuza-induced revenge plot sitting on top of it. There are no increasing levels of intensity, as the agent Ladybug (Brad Pitt) moves from wagon to wagon while the content of a special suitcase attracts the attention of international assassins. Instead, David Leitch loads his visual effects weapon with Japanese culture and hectic character flashbacks and nearly empties his magazine during the first third of the film. A compliance to the etiquette inside the Shinkansen is similar to the Continental vibe from the John Wick franchise and provide some good comedic relief. The plot though starts to drag in the second third, while Leitch hoards the action and an almost unbearable festival of accidents unfolds which tarnishes the final payoff.

In terms of performances, Brad Pitt plays a solid agent Ladybug, but his violent clumsiness and disinterest block some of his charisma. Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Brian Tyree Henry have a fun chemistry and carry the plot for a good amount of time while the hilarious references to Thomas the Tank Engine keep up the tension. Joey King looks very stale and becomes obnoxious towards the end and the revenge-seeking Japanese assassin Andrew Koji gets treated like an afterthought which is not a good sign for a Japanese revenge plot. On the other hand, Bad Bunny makes an unsurprisingly fluent transition from WWE Tag Team Champion to the Mexican assassin The Wolf, but a bigger role would have been appreciated.

The Japanese interpretations of pop songs are a welcome surprise, but altogether, the conflicts in Bullet Train are resolved too smoothly and the slapstick comedy loses its punch during the runtime of two hours. There are also visible CGI issues at the end, especially a grey color fringe around Joey King’s body. At its worse, you have to ask why this ballet of assassins takes place in the Shinkansen and not the TGV for instance. It wouldn’t make that much of a difference in terms of the objective and a gang escalating the pleasant train ride during the afterhours. The action has shades of John Wick, but if this film is distributed by Netflix, everyone would complain about the fact that this is mere entertainment food in order to stabilize their number of subscribers.

Review published on 4th August 2022.