_{By: Amanda Guarragi}

When action films become adrenaline-fuelled mysteries like Bullet Train it makes for a really fun movie. David Leitch returns to the big screen with a really fun cast, some witty banter, and great action scenes. Ladybug (Brad Pitt) is an unlucky assassin who’s determined to do his job peacefully after one too many gigs have gone off the rails. Fate, however, may have other plans as his latest mission puts him on a collision course with lethal adversaries from around the globe — all with connected yet conflicting objectives — on the world’s fastest train. The story does get lost a little bit because there are too many characters in play, but it still does the job.

The characters made the movie go by incredibly fast to the point where you don’t feel the runtime until the very end of the movie. There were many side stories and backstories with each additional character that added to the mystery of the White Death, but it did lean towards a messier narrative. The concentration on the story slowly fades into the background once Lemon (Brian Tyree Henry) and Tangerine (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) come onto the train. Their chemistry is what held everything together for the majority of it. It almost felt like they’ve worked together for years and should continue to do so after this movie. The brotherly bond between the two of them and their batty accents made for the most entertaining duo of the year.

Each entrance got more elaborate than the last with the graphic violence displayed in their backstories. The choppy editing made those scenes intense and Leitch did not shy away during those action scenes. It will make you get into the movie because of much of the visuals you feel. The fight choreography on the train was executed well and there were some unique moments as well. The banter between Tangerine and Ladybug while fighting was a lot of fun, and made those scenes worthwhile. Brad Pitt’s character of Ladybug was fine at the beginning, but the constant use of “bad luck” being the reason why he gets himself out of situations got old fast. Even though the movie is centred on him, he was my least favourite character in the movie. 

Bullet Train is a fun action movie to get lost in for two hours. It has a really fun cast, and if you’re anything like me, you’ll connect with these characters instantly. Leitch does a great job grounding Lemon and Tangerine as assassins, and you feel for them in the end. There are three great cameos, one that pleasantly surprised me, one that made me smile, and one that didn’t make any sense. It was also unfortunate that Bad Bunny didn’t get that much screen time as The Wolf because he was one of the more interesting characters on the train. It is a fun time at the theatre because of how funny the characters were when interacting with each other.