Bullet Train Review

I have always been a Brad Pitt admirer. I’ll go watch everything he is in just because he’s in it. That’s why I stay away from reviews until I can go see the film and review it myself. I had literally been counting the days until “Bullet Train” came out. I was very excited to see it. Unfortunately, other than Brad’s humor and the movie soundtrack, the film lacked a strong story line. Writers Zak Olkewicz and Kotaro Isaka made a good attempt at the story but it was a bit cheesy. There was a lot of action, quite bloody so if you have a weak stomach you may not like this film. I found myself closing my eyes a few times because there was just so much blood. This film had a “Murder On The Orient Express” feel with a dash of a cartoonish background. Kudos to the special effects team, the effects were really good.

Brad Pitt climbs aboard a speeding Bullet Train ride where unbeknown to him, five other assassins embark on this same adventure. The only thing that is apparent for quite a while is that all of the assassins are after a brief case with a train sticker on it. They just assume it’s filled with money, as they are all hired by someone to retrieve the briefcase. Eventually it becomes apparent they all have the same person in common, (White Death) Michael Shannon’s character. At this point, the story starts to unfold and you find out why White Death becomes the center of everything. Pitt’s character (Lady Bug) , which means “luck”, is hired by a handler (Sandra Bullock) who you only hear over the telephone. Bullock does finally make an appearance on screen at one point in the film. She calls Pitt’s character (Lady Bug) as kind of a joke, since he often seems to have a lot of bad luck.

There are a lot of ingredients that went into this particular film. It’s a bit of a "Battle Royale" movie. Brad Pitt, being one of Hollywood’s favorite veterans, carries this film with his charm and wit. He engages in a lot of Jackie Chan(ish) choreographed fight scenes and has many quick quips to say during the battles. Brad’s character (Lady Bug) has been on hiatus, during which time he’s been in therapy. This is his first job since he started therapy. He hates guns but continues to be a hired assassin. He continually makes it clear that he’s looking for a more peaceful, zen life. You’ll see him beating people up and saying, “Hurt people, hurt people.” He definitely makes this film funny.

Director David Leitch did a good job directing this film, but it just didn’t come together as a strong story line. The action was good, the acting was pretty good but still something was lacking. Two other strong actors in the film were Bryan Tyree Henry who plays an assassin named Lemon and his on screen brother, Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Tangerine). They were both pretty funny too. This film doesn’t lack in laughs, which is odd because there is so much blood. In that sense, the director did a good job at infusing Brad Pitt’s humor at the most bizarre times. This film is packed with a lot of action. You’ll see fight scenes with everything from a water bottle to sword battles. Keep your eye out for a poisonous snake as well.

This film is worth seeing if you like continual, fast paced action and dry humor. Pitt does carry the film, so if you’re a Brad Pitt fan you will enjoy this. If not, you will probably want to see it on DVD or when it comes to television.

Written by: Sue McGaughey