Bullet Train - An Entertaining Colorful Action Movie with Some Interesting Characters and Strong Dark Comedy

When this movie was released few days ago, I checked and found out that it was having Dolby Atmos sound effect. Hence I decided to see it in the weekend at a studio with such sound system. But our favorite cinema only had shows starting from 6 PM which we thought was too late for our taste. So we went and see it in a place little bit further but having 1 PM show. Anyway I'll just get right to it now.

Brief Story Line

In a Japanese bullet train aka Shinkansen, an assassin who just returned from hiatus with code name Ladybug (Brad Pitt - Ad Astra, Allied etc) was given a simple task of smash and grab. Unbeknownst to him though the thing he was supposed to get was from 2 deadly assassins called Lemon (Brian Tyree Henry - Eternals, Godzilla vs. Kong etc) and Tangerine (Aaron Taylor-Johnson - The Wall, Anna Karenina etc). They were doing an assignment for the infamous Russian gangster leader White Death (Michael Shannon - 12 Strong, Knives Out etc).

Meanwhile in the same train there were a mysterious young woman by the name of Prince (Joey King - The Kissing Booth trilogy, The Act etc) who had her own agenda and a Japanese man named Kimura (Andrew Koji - Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins etc) who was on a mission without the knowledge of his father referred as the Elderly (Hiroyuki Sanada - Army of the Dead, 47 Ronin etc). Things got further complicated for Ladybug when there was another Mexican hitman the Wolf (Benito Martinez Ocasio) also got on board the Bullet Train.

So how would the story conclude? Find them all in this movie.

End of Brief Story Line

Somehow I never saw the trailer to this movie, and hence I was not aware of what the premise was about. I only thought it was an action thriller movie and from the brief info I found from various sources, it sounded like fun. So I just got to know the real story after few minutes of the movie and felt it was pretty entertaining with strong dark comedy sense. It was apparent ever since the character Ladybug appeared where Brad Pitt seemed to suit this role nicely.

And the characters of Lemon and Tangerine were just fun to watch. Their brotherly love relationship was really nice and I felt it was truly genuine, especially towards the end. Meanwhile the other characters were also interesting and it truly intrigued me of how they all would intertwine in this bullet train. Btw, looking at the Shinkansen also brought the nostalgic feeling when my wife and I rode it during our trip to Japan few years ago, before the pandemic hit. Oh how we missed our travelling.

The movie itself did not only focused on the dark comedy that arouse from the situation everybody were in, but also on the action. And on this part it certainly did not disappoint. There were some really good hand to hand fight sequence that went on in the confined space of the train. The climax was the real highlight of it all as it was explosive and spectacular. I was really glad that I got to see this movie in theater with the Atmos sound effect as it really enhanced my experience.

Aside from the cast I mentioned above, there were also few other familiar faces in minor roles such as Masi Oka (The Meg etc) as the train conductor, Karen Fukuhara (The Boys TV series etc) as train concession girl, Zazie Beetz (Deadpool 2 etc) and a famous actress who we should have known from the sound of her voice. There were also surprising cameos of major stars in this film who were definitely in it for fun. The story telling itself might be a bit confusing for some with its quite frequent flashbacks, but for me it added the element of interest. I think the director David Leitch was quite good in making this movie especially with his past experience that included films like Fast and Furious: Hobbs & Shaw, Atomic Blonde and few others. Btw, this movie was based on a successful Japanese novel titled Maria Beetle (which was translated to Bullet Train in English) written by Kotaro Isaka.

Overall my wife and I had a fun experience seeing this movie in the cinema. The characters were all interesting and finding out how they somehow were connected was a joy to see, especially after the revelations throughout the film. The action were well executed, in particular the end (although I was a bit disappointed Andrew Koji did not get to show his capabilities, but the rest in general were satisfying). The visual effects were very good too and the dark comedy was definitely a plus (there was one scene during the climax that made us laugh out loud which was ridiculously funny as it happened in such an expected moment). The movie also has a pretty long duration of 126 minutes without any mid or post end credit scene, so just be ready for it. Oh before I forgot, this is not suitable for children with some ultra violent scenes. So if you are looking for a good time in a cinema with these kind of qualities, then you should be entertained by this movie.

Happy watching!

Mike's movie moments rating: 4 out of 5 stars