“Bullet Train” is an Example of a Good Shit Show
David Leitch’s Bullet Train is actually worth watching. Putting aside the fact that this film is a money grab for Sony with its big-name cast, it was fun to watch and worth seeing on the big screen.
It’s one of those good action movies that just keeps you entertained the whole time. The fast-paced editing, vibrant Japanese-Esque title cards for each character, and backstories give this film one of those classic action film vibes that’s just fun to watch. Leitch did a pretty good job with this film, really emphasizing the idea of luck and fate to the audience. The cinematographer, Jonathan Sela, also had a lot of shots in the movie that kept the visuals of the movie interesting (close-ups where the actor actually looks at the camera and two shots where the actors are in the background and foreground but both are in focus). Bullet Train is just a cool movie that doesn’t go too deep, and I think it’s worth watching.
Each actor, from Brad Pitt to fucking Joey King (who, I can’t explain it but, has a very punchable face — not that I don’t like her or anything), had great performances, and this movie is just flooded with well-known names, which honestly is probably more for the money and promotion of this movie, but even the little cameo of Channing Tatum being a closeted bystander in the train and checking out Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s character, was funny to see. It was a little weird, though, to see Bad Bunny — yes, that rapper — pop up and have a somewhat important role, but he seemed to actually fit the role. Also, King’s British accent and Russian didn’t seem too bad, but how would I know?
“When we are so quick to anger, we are so slow to understand.” — Brad Pitt
Different from his usual dramatic and charming roles, Pitt acts like a dunce whose vocabulary consists of “dude,” “bro,” and “what the fuck.” His performance was actually fun to see, especially with his character being the epitome of “wrong place, wrong time” and his constant bad luck (which actually turns out to be good luck most of the time), just adds to the overarching theme of the film: your actions and decisions aren’t products of your luck, but of your fate — nothing is by coincidence (or some shit). Also, his little tidbits that made him sound like a peace-loving hippie surfer bro with a protect-the-whales vibe were like seeing a little ladybug in the middle of a shit storm of blood and swords.
“Everything I’ve learned about people, I’ve learned from Thomas.” — Brian Tyree Henry
Brian Tyree Henry, who plays Lemon, was also just so great to see. His obsession with Thomas the train and using that to assess someone’s character was actually funny to hear, which ended up helping to be a large help for finding out who the real bad guy is in this whole shit show of a plot — I mean shit show in a good way here. His part in the comedic duo that is him and his “twin” Tangerine (Taylor-Johnson) was great to see, and their overall dynamic was both fun and heartwarming.
Get Doris Cho’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
Some other random things I just want to note for the sake of just talking about them because it kinda mindfucked me a little:
- Something about seeing Logan Lerman as a Russian Post-Malone wannabe makes me see face tattoos in a different light. Also, the fact that his character doesn’t even have a name just shows how insignificant and a waste of space he is (the character, that is)
- King’s British accent and punchable face (again, not an insult, just an observation)
- The details of the story — wow. It adds to the theme and the little details of the film that you think aren’t significant just show that nothing really is by accident.
Anyways, it was interesting to see how most of the characters saw the coincidences happening throughout the film as just pure luck until it took “the Elder” (Hiroyuki Sanada) giving his whole spiel and tragic backstory for Pitt’s character to see that all the things that happened weren’t coincidences but all a part of everyone’s destiny. The Elder’s 40-something-year-old plot to get revenge on the White Death (Michael Shannon) was a slow burn but the crazy ass events that took place on the train led to his success, just emphasizing the idea that everything that happens is a part of fate even more.
Overall, I just had fun watching this, and I didn’t feel exhausted by the fast-paced editing (unlike Elvis). There wasn’t really some deep message that I had to really think about too hard, making me analyze the film more than just enjoy it, so it was nice just to sit back and watch a movie.
I also got another takeaway from this film: don’t be a fucking Diesel.
