‘Bullet Train’ came to theatres in August and features a cast of many accomplished actors including Brad Pitt, Michael Shannon and Ryan Reynolds.
It takes place on a bullet train, one of several engineering marvels that shoot across railways in Japan, routinely traveling up to 224 miles per hour.
‘Bullet Train’ tells the story of a hapless assassin named Ladybug (Pitt) who has a rendezvous with a series of unfortunate events.
While his skills are that of James Bond, he is met with bad luck as other assassins travel on the same bullet train with their own stories and objectives.
This coalescence of plots and characters creates a story that is difficult to wrap your head around at first, but as the plot progresses, the film does a great job bringing all story elements together.
A bullet train is a unique setting for any film, and while most of the action takes place on the train itself, there are several flashbacks that give a backstory to the prominent characters throughout the film.
At first, these flashbacks can be overwhelming, since they tell a plethora of stories about the different characters.. This is what makes Bullet Train one of those films that requires more than one viewing to truly appreciate the story, the characters, and their motivations.
The story takes its time to develop the backstories of the film’s characters. Each character gets a prominent place in the film.
While the story is comedic in nature, there is no shortage of violence and graphic content. This is an action-packed film with blood and gore, so it is not for any squeamish audiences.
Still, the story is balanced between action, humor and serious elements, which gives the story a unique mood and overall atmosphere.
Two characters referred to as “The Twins” had an obsession with Thomas The Tank Engine and labeled their enemies as “Diesel”, a more antagonistic character from the popular British children’s show.
The Twins, who go by Lemon (Brian Tyree Henery) and Tangerine (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), are two of the more humorous characters who provide much of the film’s comedic relief.
Above all, it was the music that stood out to me in this film. Classic hits spanned the entire movie.
Several of the songs that play during the film fit the setting of the story: Japan.
The film kicks off with a Japanese rendition of the hit song ‘Stayin’ Alive’.
Later in the film, ‘Sukiyaki’ was played. Released in Japan in 1961, the song became an international hit and rocked the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 by 1963.
Finally, ‘Five Hundred Miles’ is a solemn song sung near the end, which was appropriate for the film.
Overall, this film was nothing like I expected, and at first, I was confused and overwhelmed by the number of stories being told all at once.
However, this served as a way to get the audience interested in the characters, and as the plot progressed, the story sealed itself with a satisfying resolution, and I left the theatre wanting to watch it all over again.
- Review: look-back at 4 years as an SVSU cardinal - 17 Apr 2023
- Online classes should also have snow days - 29 Jan 2023
- This is the ugliest January Michigan has seen so far - 22 Jan 2023
Categories: Uncategorized
