Subbed into an asset retrieval mission at the last minute, Ladybug (Brad Pitt) boards a bullet train on its way to Kyoto in search of a briefcase full of cash.  He is not the only operative on the train, however, as Lemon (Brian Tyree Henry) and Tangerine (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) are riding with their hostage (Logan Lerman).  The Prince (Joey King) is also aboard and she has her own chaos fueled motives to meet with The White Death (Michael Shannon).  Allegiances and rivalries are forged just as quickly as they are dismantled as the train speeds down the tracks, and soon no one knows who they can trust. 

Bullet Train is a popping action thriller directed by David Leitch from a script by Zak Olkewicz based off of the book by Kôtarô Isaka.  Released by Columbia Pictures, the 126-minute film is bursting with highly stylized action set pieces, all aboard the confined, yet never truly claustrophobic setting, of the titular bullet train.  Kirk A. Jenkins serves as the fight coordinator for the film, and utilizes the train setting to his advantage having to come up with creative uses of the confined space while still allowing for Jonathan Sela‘s ever-moving camera to capture it all in a coherent manner.  The team behind the film works with incredible unity to establish a clear visual identity for Bullet Train and the script, which continues to open up as the various interconnected relationships of the assassins on board all come to light, make for a very enjoyable ride. 

One of the most pertinent style choices in the film is its reliance on Japanese culture.  It makes sense given the source novel is from Japan, but the casting decisions – in an effort to more globalize the film – still retain, what Sony Pictures, who helped to finance the film, refers to as the “Japanese soul” of the source text.  The film replaces many of the prominent roles within the story with non-Japanese actors while letting actors with Japanese heritage fill out the supporting cast.  In that sense, Bullet Train reduces them to part of the mise en scene so that they can add some texture to the film in the same way the anime characters, train snacks, and the very concept of a competent public rail system does for the Hollywood audience.   

This idea is not new, and Hollywood has had a troubled past with how it represents Asian characters, and it calls into question why and how a film that feels instantly comparable to Bullet Train fits into our collective modern conscience.  The film in question is Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill (2003, 2004) in which a “silly Caucasian girl likes to play with samurai swords.”  The Bride (Uma Thurman) is a skilled assassin whose weapon of choice is a Hattori Hanzo Sword, and on her bloody trail of vengeance, she faces off with a wide range of enemies, including O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu).  Born in New York City, the daughter of Chinese immigrants, Tarantino, to his credit, reworked the O-Ren role so that she would also be Asian American instead of shoehorning the actress into a role that did not match her heritage.  The far side of this argument is that only “X” actors can play “X” roles, and that is not necessarily true or helpful, but what should happen is that there needs to be a working ground so that talent is not being hired exclusively because – or, worse, denied the job – because they do not meet certain attributes.  In a creative field such as filmmaking, the team behind Bullet Train could and should have done better to make sure that their Japanese cast members and elements of Japanese culture were not reduced to simple set dressing in the latest Brad Pitt Blockbuster.    

At the head of the film, mostly, is Pitt, a recent anger-therapy convert who is back on the job after a hiatus presumably filled with meditation and self-reflection.  The newly enlightened will often times try to disarm the situation with his musings about inner peace.  Landing well at first when he is discussing it with mission control, using it in the field against the other assassins yields diminishing returns, not because it feels out of place seeing as Lemon is a trove of knowledge on Thomas the Tank Engine lore, but because it is a lazy joke drawn on for way too long.  The film will also go long stretches where it leaves Ladybug behind to go focus on the other characters.  It is a welcome relief because Pitt seems bored in the role despite all the noise, but it feels like an odd choice as the film is clearly centered on his character.  

One of the hardest things to grapple with in Bullet Train is its reliance on cameo appearances as the punchline of the joke.  Channing Tatum, Sandra Bullock, and an absolutely cringe inducing showing of Ryan Reynolds who, with Leitch at the helm of the latest Deadpool instalment has only helped to popularize this winking style of comedy, all lend their time to this film so that their likeness can be used for a few cheap laughs at best.  It is exhausting and makes the film’s identity even harder to pin down.  To reflect back on the Kill Bill comparison, Tarantino is renowned for including references in his films, but they play out as homages to the formative films which helped to inspire his own work.  The influences can be traced whereas the cameos in Bullet Train are wholly topical and when Tatum, Bullock, and Reynolds fade from the public’s eye, their inclusion in this film will be unimpressive and serve as little more than bedding plane when tracking the history of popular culture.  

These guest appearances are not all played for cheap thrills as there is a subplot between The Wolf (Bad Bunny) and The Hornet (Zazie Beetz) that is incredibly engaging and exciting.  Oddly enough, it also features a wedding day massacre, but Bad Bunny, even in his truncated role, brings a jolt of life into the otherwise paint by numbers action romp.  Maybe it is because it is one of the few scenes that exist outside of the train that makes it memorable, but there is a style and a passion in these flashback scenes that is unmatched by what the main ensemble is bringing to the table.  It is, unfortunately, just a brief moment in the film that plays out to a conclusion pretty early on, and as with Bad Bunny, Beetz’s role in the film is miniscule even though she can bring a lot of excitement to the role and her scenes, she is severely underutilized. 

Bullet Train is a messy film that has just enough in its favor to be enjoyable, but it is unlikely to be a memorable film.  With an almost And Then There Were None format, the tables are constantly turning which does keep up a level of intrigue that helps audience cross the finish line, but it is a film with little staying power.  The set pieces and fight choreography are all engaging in the moment and the script does create a nice mystery, but the brand of humor which is overemployed here leaves much to be desired and quickly becomes grating.  The style feels very manufactured and workshopped, and while playing to an audience is not necessarily a bad thing, Bullet Train seems more interested in creating interest in itself by the cameos instead of focusing on making sure the narrative is tip-top.  It serves its purpose, and it is far from the most insulting efforts put forth by modern action directors, but it is a misguided effort that trades in all of its true potential for a few empty chuckles when today’s top stars show up for a day of work to poke fun at themselves.