Bullet Train: David Leitch’s action-comedy is an under-appreciated masterpiece

Bullet Train was arguably one of David Leitch’s most ambitious projects. Assembling the film’s star-studded ensemble led by Brad Pitt is a monumental achievement. But several films over the years have shown why having A-listers alone wouldn’t be enough to turn a film into a compelling one. The producers of Bullet Train would have been thrilled about the prospect of David Leitch helming the project. However, despite the film’s slick action sequences, dark humour, gripping storyline, and memorable characters, it failed to break even during its theatrical run. To compound matters for those involved with the film, critics tore the film down for its apparent lack of ‘substance’. However, after just over a year since its release, Bullet Train has earned a cult following, with more people beginning to appreciate its quality.

The most noticeable highlight of the film is its incredibly talented cast. Brad Pitt, who plays the role of an assassin who goes by Ladybug, is at times dismissed as someone who is an A-lister for his looks rather than for his range as an actor. His performances in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Inglorious Bastards, Snatch, Seven, Fight Club, Fury, Moneyball, Fury, and Babylon are testaments to his range as an actor. In fact, Pitt won an Academy Award for his turn as Cliff Booth in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in America.

In Bullet Train, Pitt slips into the role of a usual assassin – one who doesn't like guns and suffers from certain anxieties about his misfortunes. Such character traits are well-defined in almost all the characters in the film. Similarly, Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s Tangerine is an archetype of a Guy Ritchie character, while his brother Lemon, played by Brian Tyree Henry, views the world through characters from the popular children’s cartoon Thomas the Tank Engine. Together, both Tangerine and Lemon, are a deadly pair of assassins, who could even rival John Wick. Whereas Hiroyuki Sanada as The Elder is akin to the quintessential Samurai character. Sanada’s performances further reiterate why fans have been crying out for a feudal Japan-era samurai saga starring the Japanese veteran. But the film’s best character is arguably the Prince, played by Joey King. King essays one of the best performances of her career as she depicts the manipulative and psychotic teenager who is out for revenge against her father. The Prince’s father is the one character that truly stands out – a Russian man who is the most powerful Yakuza boss in Japan, who goes by The White Death and is essayed by Michael Shannon.

The aforementioned characters along with a few others such as Zazie Beetz as the cold and sinister assassin The Hornet and Bad Bunny’s depiction of the Wolf help establish an intricate storyline with several subplots, leading to a riveting third act. One of the film’s greatest strengths is in how it uses what one might consider throwaway dark humour as essential plot devices that have exciting pay-offs towards the climactic scenes. The film has also leaned on inspirations for its action sequences from samurai films such as Akira Kurosawa’s iconic action dramas. Leitch has sprinkled his own brand of style and flamboyance into the narrative to add a unique flair to the film. The similarities to John Wick cannot be denied, and considering Leitch is an uncredited co-director of John Wick, both films sharing the same brand of stylistic action sequences are inevitable.

Bullet Train is by no means a mobster crime drama in the same mould of a Scorsese film. Instead, it is an unapologetically thrilling action comedy set inside a bullet train, in which mobsters and assassins play pivotal roles. While there are similarities in aesthetics to the John Wick films, the dark humour and vibrant characters offer a fresh take on familiar tropes. The film may have disappointed both critically and commercially at the time of its release, but the film has found its second wind on streaming platforms and has amassed a cult following, with Aaron Taylor-Johnosn’s Tangerine becoming a fan-favourite. Bullet Train will likely tread on the same path as unique films that were ahead of their time in terms of their storytelling and depiction of characters.

You can watch Bullet Train here .