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Review: ‘Bullet Train’ is a straight-shooting thrill ride

Transportation can be one of the most boring parts of everyday life. In films, however, being confined to one vehicle for the duration of a movie can take on a whole new meaning in the face of whatever is along for the ride.

Previous examples of this premise include “Snakes on a Plane,” “Speed” and “Con Air,” all fast-paced action films that build their stakes directly on their single vehicular settings. The start of August saw an addition to this list in “Bullet Train,” an action comedy directed by David Leitch (“Deadpool 2”) that manages to keep up with the pace of this film and deliver a satisfying ride. It does not reinvent the wheel, but its speedy pace is fitting to its title.

The movie centers around Ladybug, an assassin played by Brad Pitt, who boards a bullet train and finds himself in the company of other hitmen and agents, played by an ensemble cast including Joey King, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Michael Shannon and Puerto Rican musician Bad Bunny. Along the way, he discovers that all of their missions are connected.

In this type of movie, the bloodthirsty crew of characters have to carry the bulk of the film’s interest. Otherwise, it doesn’t matter what turns the plot takes, leaving amoral murderers behind.

The film manages to instill enough empathy upon these characters to color their eccentricities in charming ways. The duo of “twins” played by Aaron Taylor Johnson and Brian Tyree Henry played a major role for an extended period of time and were the highlight of the film’s character writing. 

Johnson’s performance was especially memorable with how he played off of Henry to create memorable humorous exchanges and emotional beats. Such exchanges felt aped from a Quentin Tarantino film, but didn’t feel so derivative or laced with homage that they detracted from the film.

However, one event that has to do with a death puts some strain on the plot. This event kind of pushes the believability of a scenario where an assassin wouldn’t check to see if a body was still alive.

Furthermore, Brad Pitt’s scenes and banter set the tone for what the movie is actually like, but the side plot centered around the family and history of Andrew Koji, who plays a character involved with the Japanese yakuza nicknamed “The Father,”  could have benefited from and used the same substance and excitement that it revealed at the end of the movie.

Other minor plot holes occur here and there within the movie, but none are so glaring that the story falls apart. The mysteries and backstories of the characters are great in how they intertwine and culminate in an ending that delivers for the most part.

Two themes of the film that jumps out are luck and fate, which does cohesively fit into the story and helps to explain some conveniences that the plot skirts past. That being said, I could not help but notice how that theme masked some of those conveniences but gets carried by the rest of the film.

Despite these minor complaints, the film left me with an appreciation for filmmakers who still manage to put together a modest and enjoyable experience.

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