“Snatch” On A Train It should not be a coincidence that Bullet Train and the movie Snatch both feature Brad Pitt. This kind of offbeat storytelling appeals to Pitt. I get a flashback of Pitt in “Twelve Monkeys”, embracing the lunacy. One might also see Tarantino in the storytelling as well. Most of the critics get it right though, the execution is a little flat. What works however are the montages of the other assassins and their backstory. The entire production, and I mean every single shot, feels like it is from a graphic novel. Careful attention to glowing backlights from buttons or tv screens or fancy lighting in general makes this bristle with Japanese cityscape. In fact every shot of the Bullet train that goes from Tokyo to Kyoto (which I have taken myself) shows it as (CGI) cityscape. So the slick feel is done by using cutaway shots of the bullet train never leaving the city (believe it our not in reality the train does go through some countryside) as a punch point as some stunning event happens with the plot. So this is a thriller, and it tries to throw in some whodunnit of who killed who. It also adds tension as our protagonist does not know he is in possible danger while the audience has been clued in. I like the attempt to go against stereotypes with our main characters. That includes the rich adolescent daughter. Dressed innocently, she actually has a cold heart. As for Brad Pitt, he is a little too “this all for fun”, and becomes a little too relaxed in a movie star going through the motions kind of way. Which I guarantee is not what Pitt is actually doing. I think he takes any role seriously and is acting out his character to the fullest. It's just that his character feels a but thin here. I felt the movie started off on the wrong foot with the banter between Pitt and his handler. As an editor, I would trusted the audience to let Pitt enter the story without the on the nose exposition. I also think that a slightly more serious tone would not make the gratuitous violence feel so comic book. Therein lies the reason this movie exists in the first place, John Wick. Audiences are expecting creative action sequences, and there are many set pieces that take advantage of being stuck on a train. Two other main characters are a lower class set of English assassins, straight from “Snatch”. That movie depicted a good number of lower class criminals in England speaking goofy dialogue and taking part in some Three Stooges style of mishaps. The duo here spend the entire movie bickering, finding their personal problems more interesting than our caper. I felt their schtick was pushed (their names are Tangerine and Lemon), and the expected humour didn't really connect with the audience. Which is too bad, because they are essentially the main characters, probably getting more screen time than Pitt. The Japan setting worked very well, although I expect that none of the film was actually shot in Japan, except maybe one of the early establishing shots. The stylish production design necessitated lots of embellishments to the slick backgrounds that the real world can't match. That's OK, I appreciated how cool the movie looked as this convoluted world of Japanese but not Japanese criminals go after the Macguffin. That is, although this a Japanese crime movie, many of the key characters are not Japanese. As for the action scenes, they are serviceable with a mix of weapons and hand to hand fighting. However there is an annoying habit of victims dying and not dying. Those type of one twist too many issues prevent this movie from being a James Bond kind of generic thriller that delivers the goods. I just recently saw “Gray Man”, and took note that although the story had nothing original to say, it stayed to it's core action tenets and didn't try to confuse the audience with any real twists. So even though both of these films are losers for the critics, there still is a level of roller coaster ride mentality that makes a well made action yarn enjoyable. So I enjoyed this more than those recent lazy Fast and Furious films, but found the story too convoluted, even more than “Gray Man”. 6 out of 10.

I first got an extended look at “Bullet Train” during Cinemacon when a reel of the film was shown during the Sony showcase to an enthusiastic crowd. The footage mixed action and humor with quirky and dysfunctional characters and became a must-see film for me based on the teased footage. The film is based on a book by Kotaro Isaka and stars Brad Pitt as an operative named Ladybug. He is called at the last minute as a replacement and given instructions to board a Bullet Train and snatch a case in one of the passenger areas before exiting at the next station. Having gone through a recent crisis, Ladybug is awash in various philosophical and new age ideas as he attempts to find his inner peace and a new path in life, as such he does not take a gun with him when he boards despite being instructed to do so by his handler. The train is filled with various killers and dangerous people who are there to accomplish various goals and most of whom fail frequently in violent and hysterical manners which further complicate their agendas as well as that of the others and often puts them into conflict with one another as the story unfolds. It would be difficult to go into further detail on the various characters without spoiling some of the reveals and twists along the way but suffice it to say that Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Brian Tyree Henry as Tangerine and Lemon are great and their banter, as well as capers, is a frequent highlight. There are some surprise cameos in the film which add to the fun and Joey King is as great as perhaps one of the more complicated characters in the film. Pitt is clearly the star but the film allows him as well as his supporting cast plenty of moments to shine and the humor flies fast and frequent as does the action which creates a very engaging and stylistic hybrid of western and Asian cinema. The film does drag slightly late before leading to the finale but thanks to the great cast and action it comes through in the end. Director David Leitch has worked on films such as “Deadpool 2”, “Atomic Blonde”, and “John Wick: and you can see that he has a knack for directing action and comedy as this is a very fun and engaging film that has some great action and humor and one that you will not want to miss. 4 stars out of 5.

Brad Pitt is "Ladybug" - a now zen-like, semi-retired, hitman brought out of retirement to appropriate a suitcase from a train. Easy enough task, you might think - especially as he obtains it relatively easily. It then transpires, though, that there is much more afoot. Also on the train are the two guys who own the suitcase - "Lemon" (Brian Tyree Henry) and his twin "Tangerine" (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) who have been tasked with rescuing the recently kidnapped son of the legendary "White Death" crime lord and his ransom (in the suitcase). When the pair discover that their loot has gone missing and that their charge has developed a rather nasty habit of bleeding from the eyes, they have to keep their suspicious employer at bay and find their luggage whilst this high-speed train hurtles from Tokyo to Kyoto. Add to the mix the slightly enigmatic "Prince" (Joey King) - outwardly a charming, butter-wouldn't-melt, schoolgirl type, but really a gal who is also up to something with the rather hapless "Kimura" (Andrew Kohi) whose son she had recently pushed from a roof and, well... Yes, the plot is pretty convoluted at the start but with a monologue style narrative well delivered by an on-form Pitt, and an engaging repartee between the 'Thomas the Tank Engine" obsessed "Lemon" and his spiritual brother, this actually makes for quite a decent action adventure. It is way too long - it could comfortably shave twenty minutes from the character establishment phase, but the script is quickly paced and sometimes quite clever and there are plenty of action scenes that are fun to watch and don't take too long. It has shades of "Pulp Fiction" (1994) I thought - multiple characters with entertaining storylines that gradually involve and synergise all the characters. The ending isn't the best, and perhaps one might wonder about the complete lack of security not just on the train but at just about every station between the two cities. Carnage ensues pretty readily but no sign of a blue light. It's fun, throwaway, entertainment that follows on from "The Lost City" in which Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum allow Pitt the supporting role that he allows to both of them - and a tiny but of Ryan Reynolds too, if you are eagle-eyed, here. It's factory fodder, and you won't remember it by Christmas - but it's still nice to see some folks having fun on a big screen with no pretence whatsoever.