Bullet Train

Template:Spoilers

***Bullet Train*** (not to be confused with 1975's *The Bullet Train*) is a 2022 American action comedy film starring Brad Pitt as an assassin who has to deal with enemies while riding a Japanese bullet train. The film is directed by David Leitch based on a screenplay by Zak Olkewicz that adapts the Japanese novel Maria Beetle by Kōtarō Isaka. In addition to Pitt, the film also stars Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Andrew Koji, Hiroyuki Sanada, Michael Shannon, Benito A. Martínez Ocasio, and Sandra Bullock.

Bullet Train premiered in Paris on July 18, 2022, and Sony Pictures Releasing released the film in theaters in the United States on August 5, 2022.

## プロット (Plot)

Five assassins who are tasked to retrieve a special briefcase learn that their missions are intertwined.

## なぜ生き続けるのか (Why It Stays Alive)

1. Great direction from David Leitch who also directed *Deadpool 2* and *John Wick* (although he was uncredited).
2. Excellent soundtrack. The film's and its trailer's use of "Stayin' Alive" from The Bee Gees fits the tone of the movie well.
3. Incredible acting from Brad Pitt, Joey King, Andrew Koji, Hiroyuki Sanada and more.
4. Good cinematography that makes you feel like you are in Japan even though the film was shot in Los Angeles.
5. The pacing is great.
6. The action scenes are well-done and kinetic.
7. The characters are likable from the unlucky Ladybug, *Thomas the Tank Engine* enthusiast Lemon, his brother Tangerine, and Kimura who must protect his son while under the influence of the secondary antagonist Prince.
8. Nice visual style like how each character is introduced.
9. Funny moments like when Tangerine and Ladybug are fighting only for a Japanese stewardess to awkwardly walk in on them while they stop fighting.
10. The movie stays faithful to the source material it was based on, despite changing the characters' races.
11. **The ending**. Although Tangerine dies, Lemon successfully avenges the latter's death by running Prince over before Ladybug, Kimura and The Elder parted ways and walked away from the crash site.

## 悪い性質 (Bad Qualities)

1. Although the story is great, it doesn't feel anything new as it revolves around a group of characters on a race to find the Macguffin (which in this film's case, a literal briefcase) before the villains can get their hands on it.
2. **False advertising:**
	* While the rapper Benito A. Martínez Ocasio (Bad Bunny) and the actress Zazie Beetz were featured in several posters and some trailers, their characters (The Wolf and The Hornet) each were given less than fifteen minutes of screen time as they got quickly killed during their failed attempts to kill Ladybug, Brad Pitt's character.
3. While the acting is great, the races for most of the characters were swapped, which garnered controversy. (although Kōtarō Isaka defended the film)
4. The Prince is very unlikable as she manipulates the assassins against each other until she receives her comeuppance at the end as she was ran over by Lemon who sought vengeance for the death of Tangerine whom the Prince indirectly killed.

## 受信 (Reception)

On Rotten Tomatoes, 54% of 254 critics gave the film a positive review with an average rating of 5.6/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Bullet Train's colorful cast and high-speed action are almost enough to keep things going after the story runs out of track." Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 49 out of 100, based on 59 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". On the other hand, audiences gave it positive reviews praising the cast and action sequences.