DVD Review: Bullet Train

Bullet Train
(DVD Bullet)

This 2022 action/comedy film is based on a 2010 novel by Japanese author Kotaro Isaka, previously untranslated but subsequently translated into English based on the success of the film.

 

Brad Pitt headlines an eclectic cast of oddballs and misfits. He plays an assassin, codenamed Ladybug, who just wants to be left alone because he feels like he's been beset by bad luck on all of his recent assignments. He reluctantly agrees to a quick job -- board a Japanese bullet train, steal a briefcase, and leave at the next stop. Unfortunately, his mission forces him to cross paths with a series of other assassins on the train, whose stories all criss-cross and become enmeshed.

 

Everyone in the cast does a tremendous job, particularly Pitt as Ladybug, Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Tangerine and Brian Tyree Henry as Lemon (two bickering British brothers, one of whom constantly quotes lines from the TV series Thomas the Tank Engine), Joey King as "Prince", and many more. The humor is quirky, the dialog is snappy (though frequently laced with profanity) and the action is close to non-stop! The setting aboard a high-speed Japanese bullet train is unique and challenging for all the stunt work.

 

As long as you have a tolerance for foul language and extreme bloodshed, I strongly recommend this one. I didn't know anything about it before seeing it and ended up quite impressed. The DVD available from the libraries has a couple of special features, including a "making of" documentary.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try the action films of Quentin Tarantino, like Kill Bill.)

 

(Also available in traditional print format.)

 

( Internet Movie Database entry for this film )

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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