A mercenary nicknamed Ladybug (Brad Pitt) gets what seems like an easy assignment at first glance: board a high-speed train traveling from Tokyo to Kyoto, intercept a briefcase, and exit at the nearest stop. Two other big shots with British accents, Tangerine and Lemon (Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Brian Tyree Henry), must deliver this very briefcase and a hapless teenager to the head of the Japanese mafia – a Russian (yes, Russian) assassin nicknamed the White Death. Prince (Joey King), a young, seemingly confused student and part-time cold-blooded killer, seeks to settle scores with the White Death. She holds the son of the White Death’s sworn enemy hostage, using him to carry out her plan to eliminate the mob boss. None of these characters know each other, but after the mysterious death of the teenager, their paths will cross, and not everyone will make it off the train alive.
Brad Pitt as Ladybug in a still from “Bullet Train”
And no, this isn’t another case for Poirot: the plot is based on the bestseller “Bullet Train” by Japanese writer Kotaro Isaka, who also participated in the screenplay adaptation. Although the novel itself underwent a harsh Americanization, Leitch retained the main thing – karmic reflections on the phenomenon of luck and respect for the depiction of Japanese culture on screen. The main character is nicknamed Ladybug in an ironic way – he is catastrophically unlucky in life: due to a series of ridiculous coincidences, the simplest task presents a mortal danger. Prince is completely different: fate itself seems to protect the girl, bringing the heroine’s bloody plan closer to inevitable fulfillment. Karmically, everything should be the other way around, because Ladybug refused to use weapons in the name of pacifism, while Prince does not hesitate to cripple small children if they stand in the way of her goal. Throughout the story, Isaka reflects on whether there is such a thing as “bad” luck and whether a series of misfortunes can still lead to something good.
Action and Humor on a High-Speed Train
Brian Tyree Henry as Lemon in a still from “Bullet Train”
While the screenwriter ponders and we await an answer to the question posed, the characters break arms and legs, get hit on the head, and gush blood – this is, after all, a ruthless action movie from the master of ruthless action, David Leitch. Ideally, “Bullet Train” should be used in a campaign to introduce an “Oscar” nomination for stuntmen: the choreography of adrenaline-fueled fight scenes is sometimes more complex than the pirouettes in “Swan Lake.” But don’t drop your jaw from the beauty of the fights just yet, you’ll need it for uncontrollable fits of laughter, because our heroes are quite the idiots, which can make the fights funnier than the witty dialogues. And if the main plot resembles a Japanese Agatha Christie on “accelerators,” then Tangerine and Lemon add Guy Ritchie’s signature hooliganism to the picture, speaking in pure Cockney (although Brian Tyree Henry is not British, his accent may make you doubt it) and strutting around in three-piece suits, elegantly splattered with the blood of enemies.
Cultural Clash and Star Power
Bad Bunny as Wolf in a still from “Bullet Train”
In the high-speed train rushing through Japan to meet with the Yakuza and the Russian boss, a Mexican thug (Bad Bunny) will also join the unlucky American, two Britons, and a local hostage to circumstances. A mix of cultures in all its glory, as well as the intertwining of five different stories in a non-linear narrative, can, of course, overheat your head due to the intensity of what is happening. Perhaps this is the main complaint of critics who chipped in with negative reviews to spoil the film’s rating (at the time of writing, “Bullet Train” has only 56% on “Tomatoes”). In order not to lose the thread of what is happening, you will have to direct all your efforts to concentrating attention, destroyed by TikTok and TV series, but this does not detract from “Bullet Train’s” status as an ideal theatrical attraction. In the age of slideshow films like “Red Notice” and “The Gray Man,” blockbusters are gradually losing the public’s trust, turning out to be empty shells in a beautiful package of a large budget and recognizable faces. Leitch’s new brainchild cannot be attributed to such generics; it is a truly complex-simple and, most importantly, spectacular film, with Buddhist reflections on karma, shattered skulls, and many truly unexpected cameos.
The star-studded cast is mind-blowing, even more so than a shot to the forehead. Brad Pitt seems to have broken free: armed with a bum’s suit and recalling the combat tricks from the time of “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” the actor delivered his best performance in a decade. The person who decided that Aaron Taylor-Johnson needed a mustache to go with his three-piece suit deserves a Nobel Prize, hold on tight to your sexuality, friends. In addition, Hollywood must finally understand that Brian Tyree Henry, known for his role as Paperboy from “Atlanta,” needs to be given more primary roles, because the actor’s dramatic and comedic potential breaks through walls. When the White Death takes off his mask and the viewer sees the actor who played the role, some particularly nimble moviegoers may have a heart attack. And if you decided to read the review to find out how the musician Bad Bunny performed, we tell you: too good to be true.
A Summer Blockbuster That Delivers
The formula “big budget + star cast” does not always work, but when a talented supplier of jaw-dropping action films is at the helm of the project, you don’t have to worry about the quality of the time spent. Since “John Wick,” David Leitch has made it clear that he can easily take the bread away from Michael Bay and the Russo brothers, simply because he is able to make better quality action films with a much smaller budget, and having reached impressive funding, he completely eliminates competition. “Bullet Train” perfectly copes with its goal – to become the main blockbuster of the summer and stir up the heads of viewers melted from the heat, sending them on a frenzied trip around Japan with a one-way ticket. Maybe this trip will bring good luck.