Bullet Train

Directed by David Leitch is this adaptation of Kotaro Isaka’s book is Bullet Train. Brad Pitt is a grab and snatch man, codenamed Lady Bug, who is in Tokyo at the behest of his handler, Maria (Sandra Bullock). His latest mission is the grab of a brief case that is on a Bullet Train travelling to Kiyoto in the care of Tangerine (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Lemon (Brian Tyree Henry), who themselves are on their own job to return the case to the mysterious White Death (Michael Shannon). But as Ladybug discovers they are not the only people on the train doing a job, it’s full of people with their own missions either for money or revenge, including Prince (Joey King), The Hornet (Zazie Beetz) and Wolf (Bad Bunny) amongst others, all which leads to a less than comfortable journey!

There are things to like about Bullet Train. Enjoyable performances from Pitt , Henry and Taylor-Johnson particularly, but not exclusively. There are laughs and a Kill Bill feel (which is always a good thing) to the story telling and some entertaining action set pieces that have the visceral quality that Leitch used to good effect in Deadpool 2. It also comes with a toe tappingly entertaining soundtrack.

But there are also problems, it’s too long at 126 minutes and is not as smart and funny as it thinks it is to fill the running time. At times it’s slow and convoluted as it tries to weave an intricate plot which actually rather than intricate becomes bloated and at times tests your patience. At other times it becomes downright silly, sometimes the silliness works, sometimes not so much.

I should have liked Bullet Train more than I did. All the component parts are there and Brad Pitt delivers in the central role. But overall it felt a bit of a mess, was overly long and not as smart as it thought it was. A Train journey that went one stop too far.