Bullet Train gives a thrill ride
Bullet Train is the third solo directorial outing by David Leitch and is bathed in flashy style that entertained me from beginning to end. It tells the story of all kinds of larger than life characters on their own missions that cross paths and ensue chaos on a bullet train in Japan.
This movie, released Aug. 5, is stacked to the rafters with star power that makes it pop. The cast includes Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Joey King, Michael Shannon, and Hiroyuki Sanada; as well as glorified cameos from Sandra Bullock, Zazie Beetz, Karen Fukuhara, and Channing Tatum. The major standout, however, was Brad Pitt as Ladybug, who is situationally funny in how he reacts to people and situations while on his own train mission.
To compliment the charismatic characters, the costume design highlights their personalities in sharp and simple ways that was a great visual collaborator with the cinematography. I also really appreciate the effort that went into the script–it’s beefy, distinct and ridiculous in a way that’s very unique to 2-hour action movies. Everyone’s backstories and how the script intertwined their missions kept my attention.
Leitch did a fantastic job directing this movie; visually, Japan’s cityscapes offer neon colors that keep me intrigued. The editing is smooth and seamless so it feels nonstop from start to finish. The movie feels and looks like a complete director’s vision and I appreciate an ambitious movie over a safe one.
I admit a few things did leave me a little dissatisfied. Although I praised the script for being unique for this kind of movie, it can be a little exhausting because by the end you have to keep track of so many backstories and recall established lore. I didn’t notice much of a musical score and there’s an excess of licensed songs throughout the movie. There’s some aspects to the characters where I see the attempt to add something quirky to them but it felt like they were trying a little too hard.
That being said, I really enjoyed this movie and I encourage those of age to see this action movie to check this out at a theatre nearby. I rate it a 7.5/10.
