Movie Review – Bullet Train
Principal Cast : Brad Pitt, Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Andrew Koji, Hiroyuki Sanada, Michael Shannon, Benito A Martinez Ocasio (aka Bad Bunny), Sandra Bullock, Zazie Beetz, Logan Lerman, Masi Oka, Karen Fukuhaga.
Synopsis: Five assassins aboard a swiftly-moving bullet train find out that their missions have something in common.
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Mixing a little bit of Ben Wheatley’s Free Fire, a smattering of Guy Ritchie’s Snatch and The Gentlemen, and a boatload of Kill Bill-era Tarantino-esque dialogue riffing, interconnected characters, and tangled timelines, David Leitch’s action-comedy-thriller Bullet Train is a slam-dunk great time in front of the screen. Based on Kotaro Isaka’s Japanese crime novel of the same name, Zac Olkewicz’s rat-a-tat screenplay bedazzles, befuddles, and enthrals as this hitman-centric ensemble piece weaves its magic through two hours of fast-paced hijinks, gloriously gory violence, and a surprisingly heartfelt emotional rollercoaster. I reference these other films to highlight just how stylised and zany Leitch’s movie truly is—an exhilarating blend of Japanese aesthetic, brazen Hollywood production values, and a largely non-Japanese cast embracing the comic-book aesthetics writ large on the screen.
Brad Pitt stars as Ladybug, an unlucky assassin tasked with retrieving a briefcase aboard a speeding Japanese bullet train. What seems like a simple mission quickly spirals into chaos as he encounters a host of deadly adversaries, including the vengeful Prince (Joey King), the formidable duo Tangerine (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Lemon (Brian Tyree Henry), and the ruthless Wolf (Bad Bunny), each with conflicting objectives. As the train hurtles towards its final destination, Ladybug must navigate a web of betrayals, explosive confrontations, and a larger conspiracy tied to the feared crime lord known as the White Death (Michael Shannon).
My gosh, I had fun with this film. Incredibly silly, a complete comic book masterpiece—no surprise from the director of Deadpool 2—that defies logic, physics, and common sense, Bullet Train is a two-hour blitzkrieg of violent reprisals and hilariously over-the-top carnage. The film doesn’t demand much from the audience; rather, it inflicts itself upon the watcher with a chemistry and sense of showmanship that’s impossible to deny. Brad Pitt leads the cast, but he’s often the least important part of it, ambling through with his avuncular, lazy-eyed performative style. The film’s MVPs, however, are Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Brian Tyree Henry, whose turn as adoptive British “brothers” and sociopathic hitmen is on-point hilarious—honestly, my sides hurt from laughing so hard. Joey King continues to explore life beyond The Kissing Booth in more adult-oriented fare. While I’ve found some of her recent lead roles to be so-so, here she’s genuinely beguiling. Her turn as the Prince (don’t ask, just watch) suits her acting style and diminutive frame, though the repeated references to her as a “tweenage girl” barely past puberty never quite ring true.
Bit parts and sidebar characters, played vicariously by Zazie Beetz, Logan Lerman, and Bad Bunny, along with Japanese actors Andrew Koji and Hiroyuki Sanada, add legitimate heft to the emotional undercurrents of the narrative. All their arcs are interwoven by the film’s central MacGuffin, the aptly named “White Death,” who appears in the climax as a delightfully droll Michael Shannon—one of the film’s many surprise cameos or extended appearances. Sandra Bullock’s constant rock-the-cradle voice work over the phone to Pitt’s Ladybug is also an absolute delight, perhaps more due to the writing than Bullock herself. And a word of warning—if you’re afraid of snakes, this might not be the film for you. A highly venomous reptile slithers its way into the story, adding a delicious layer of tension.
Leitch doesn’t do subtlety, layering Bullet Train with cartoonish misdirects and obvious foreshadowing at every opportunity. Normally, you’d think this would be the result of poor storytelling, but here, it’s the opposite—Bullet Train revels in teasing disaster before delivering plot twists and surprise endings that had me bellowing at the screen. The fun of a film like this is watching how the director balances craziness with dramatic weight in what is, at its core, a bleak family fable. While the controversial “whitewashing” of some characters has been a talking point (for a deeper dive, The New York Times analyses it better than I ever could), Leitch finds the right tone almost every time, crafting a thrilling action flick that constantly tries to outdo itself.
Films that rely on this kind of jokey, silly cartoon violence often risk becoming exhausting, with ever-escalating stakes eventually numbing the viewer. Bullet Train, however, justifies itself through a collision of neon effects and dynamic camerawork, reinforcing that former stuntmen and choreographers can make for fantastic action film directors. Leitch, who co-directed the original John Wick and helmed Atomic Blonde and The Fall Guy, has a knack for making violent acts feel more visceral than many of his contemporaries. Bullet Train takes the widescreen dynamism of Japanese action cinema and cranks it up several notches. The train itself rockets between Tokyo and Kyoto, stopping for just a minute at each station—a “ticking clock” mechanism that punctuates the film’s rapid-fire narrative. Jonathan Sela’s equally frenzied cinematography never lets up, ensuring the film maintains its propulsive energy.
Bullet Train is equal parts hilarious, violent, and thrilling. It’s entertaining, packed with a fun central mystery, and features a playful roster of eccentric, violent ne’er-do-wells all trying to outmanoeuvre each other aboard the titular railway. The cast is solid, the direction is tight, and the production value is off the charts—despite a bonkers CGI-laden climax and some absurd physics. Sure, the film could have been trimmed by fifteen or twenty minutes to make it leaner, but it’s so enjoyable, so frothy with blood and dry wit, that you hardly notice the time passing. Unquestionably a delight, Bullet Train deserves… a shot.
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