Bullet Train

Releasing this weekend, Bullet Train zoomed into theaters as the newest Brad Pitt vehicle. Bullet Train follows Ladybug (Brad Pitt) on a simple snatch and grab mission on a high-speed train. However, as he encounters other assassins on the train he learns that his mission may not be as simple as he first hoped.

This was a really fun movie. The tone was goofy and fun, the action was great and all the characters were interesting. This movie takes a relatively straightforward premise and has a lot of fun with it. There are a lot of jokes throughout the story that keep the film light but not too often that they undercut the tension. I found myself laughing out loud multiple times. The action is very good as well. It takes a lighthearted approach to the action where the characters don't seem to be taking anything seriously but that is what makes it so fun but still has the violence and gore one would expect from an R-rated movie. The characters themselves are also really fun, particularly the Lemon character and the way he explains his understanding of people stealing every scene he is in. All the characters have something unique about them that makes them stand out. Brad Pitt also does a good job in his role and has a lot of funny moments. Finally, Joey King did a surprisingly good job in her role and was able to put a lot of the right energy into her character. The final positive about this movie is that there are a couple of unexpected cameos that just make you laugh.

Where this film excels in characters, action, and humor, it lacks in the cohesiveness of its plot. The main issue with this film is that the plot is way too convoluted. There is way too much going on and it makes the movie way more complicated than it should be. One of the reasons for this is that there were way too many characters and each one had to have its own backstory and subplot. When a movie has this many characters competing for screen time, it can really bog down the film. Just some of the placement of some characters doesn't make sense with an example being a character who is just randomly thrown into the final act of the film after not having much of a significant role up to that point. Finally, I felt that the film was about 30 minutes too long. Right before the 3rd act of the film, I felt it could've been tightened up a bit and been so much better.

Overall, this movie was a lot of fun and super entertaining but had a way too convoluted and complicated plot that kept the film from being really good.

Score: 7/10 Grade: B Recommendation: Go see it

MPAA Rating Disclaimer: This movie is rated R for violence and language. If either of those things bother you, you might want to sit this one out.