<Review by: Sailesh Ghelani>

Directed by David Leitch. Starring Brad Pitt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Joey King, Brian Tyree Henry, Andrew Koji

Bullet Train is one of those films that you’ll really like or really hate. It’s full of American attitude and slapstick dialogue. The only thing Japanese about it is the setting.

Brad Pitt is some sort of mercenary who performs assassinations and thefts. But since he’s trying to turn over a new leaf after his string of bad luck, he’s just doing a simple job on a bullet train where he has to grab a suitcase with a train sticker on its handle and exit the train at a particular stop. Unfortunately the train is full of assassins and hired guns each trying to fulfil their mission and kill each other in the process. So much for simple.

Brian Tyree Henry and Brad Pitt in Bullet Train

Alliances are formed with Lemon (Brian Tyree Henry) and Tangerine (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and then a father-son assassin duo (Hiroyuki Sanada and Andrew Koji). But not all of them are strong and people die (and then they don’t), things get smashed, venom gets injected, knives bounce off briefcases and hit Mexican assassins out for revenge in the heart. You realise this is all just a lot of high-octane, trying-to-be-cool action/comedy/Tarantino-esque fun. It doesn’t quite work to that level due to a poor script and some pacing issues as well as not-so-great CGI at the over-the-top end.

Brad Pitt is his usual suave self and does bring some sort of grounding to the ridiculousness with his little pearls of wisdom and references to his therapist. But Bullet Train is a have-fun-and-forget-it film.

Watch the trailer here: