My coworkers and I have been huge fans of Bullet Train ever since we saw the first trailer a few months ago. Since then, we must’ve seen at least 15 others, as well as an AMC-sponsored giveaway and a sunglass shop that had a television playing the trailer 24/7. At that point, it was clear this movie spent an insane amount of money on marketing, so we decided to see the movie out of pure pity for the millions spent. We expected a hilariously bad movie we could all get a laugh out of. We were very surprised to find ourselves genuinely laughing out loud and enjoying ourselves through the entire two hour film that is Bullet Train.
The first thing I thought after the credits started rolling was, “This felt like an Agatha Christie story.” In case you’re not aware, Christie is a mystery author best known for overly complex murder novels including Murder on the Orient Express and And Then There Were None. Although I’m usually not a fan of her (in my opinion) overly dramatized style, I feel like this movie had just the right mix of insane twists and stark humor to make it work. It very clearly knew what kind of movie it was and stayed very self-aware throughout its many whacky sequences. Even the gore seemed comical, such as Brad Pitt sarcastically asking a woman painfully dying of snake venom if she wanted to hold his hand or needed a glass of water. There were so many scenes that in different contexts would’ve been extremely dark and disturbing, but Bullet Train’s style made it seem almost cartoon — in a good way.
The other characteristic I really enjoyed about the film was the style. Nearly every scene was colorful and vibrant, harkening to the bright lights of Tokyo. In contrast, the scenes where they toned down the saturation really stood out and brought a more serious tone into the film. I feel like this was balanced really well and helped define when the story needed to get more down-to-earth. In addition, every time a new character was introduced, they showed a title card. This helped the audience keep track of the large cast of characters with increasingly strange names including my personal favorites, Lemon and Tangerine.
Overall, is Bullet Train a groundbreaking film? No. Is it going to win an Oscar? Probably not. Did it need the insane amount of promotion? I don’t think so. But was it fun to watch? Absolutely. If you’re looking for a fun, fast-paced, and engaging film, this is a pretty perfect choice. It has quite a few unexpected twists and turns and kept me wondering what was going to happen next. If nothing else, I promise you’ll gain a new perspective on Thomas the Tank Engine.
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