directed by David Leitch
written by Zak Olkewicz (based on Maria Beetle by Kotaro Isaka)
Ever since John Wick launched a new subgenre of action film nearly ten years ago, namely hyper-violent action flicks which are way too violent for children but which are too over-the-top to be taken seriously by adults, there have been quite a few of them which have tried to recapture the John Wick "magic," many of which have conspicuously failed, because they tried to repeat the formula with very little variation: a nearly superhuman killer comes out of retirement/hiding for one reason or another to kick some serious ass.
Bullet Train, which came out in the middle of last year and hit Netflix last December, is a notable exception which I thought to finally review after watching Nobody last night, another hyper-violent movie that only just came out on Netflix (and which I'm reviewing next). Bullet Train, directed by David Leitch, who actually co-directed the first John Wick movie, combines two genres, the hyper-violent action movie and the caper film, to surprisingly good effect.
In this film, hired killer Ladybug (Brad Pitt) has a very simple assignment from his boss Maria Beetle (Sandra Bullock), hop on board the famous shinkansen or the bullet train (hence the title) grab a certain briefcase and get off again. Unfortunately, his actual mission is nowhere near as simple as he hopes it will be as a wide assortment of killers with different agendas, many of which conflict with his own, all happen to be on the same train at the same time he is, such as brothers Lemon and Tangerine (Brian Tyree Henry and Aaron Tayloy-Johnson), the Wolf (Bad Bunny), the Hornet (Zazie Beetz) the Prince (Joey King), and the worst of them all: the White Death (Michael Shannon).
It's been written that this film is evocative of the Guy Ritchie caper films of the late 90s and early 00s, and to be honest I quite agree. More than just the quippy humor, which pervades throughout the film, mostly courtesy of the banter between Lemon and Tangerine, this film is set apart by its interweaving narratives, with just about all of the characters' fates intertwined. Sure there's plenty of violence along the way, but the fact that there's an underlying story and that the characters have motivations other than just laying waste to legions of cardboard cutout henchmen keeps the narrative properly engaging. As unlikely as this sounds, it was fun to listen to some of the dialogue of this movie.
Also, the fact that Brad Pitt's highly-skilled killer isn't on a mission to kill everyone but on a simple snatch-and-grab errand that goes horribly awry makes him more sympathetic as a character. They couldn't well kill his dog at the beginning of the movie so at least this movie makes him quite distinct from the OTHER guy kicking ass well into his 50s. It's also really funny to watch how almost everyone else's plans in the movie unravel as the titular bullet train hurtles on.
It's not high art, of course. It's sometimes a little too silly for its own good, and there are some tropes here and there. The storytelling isn't transcendent like it is in, say, Everything, Everywhere All at Once, which actually managed to deliver a discourse on existentialism wrapped up in a martial arts movie, but Leitch and crew deserve credit for trying something a little different.
7.5/10
