Bullet Train

This is my most anticipated action film of the year. I really like David Leitch as an action director, Brad Pitt doing an action film had me interested and I just liked the idea of it taking place on a bullet train. I did however get very burned out on seeing the trailers over and over and over (and over...) again whenever I went to the cinema but now it's finally out.

So kicking off with the positives, the best thing about this film is the action. The fight choreography, the hand to hand combat style, using anything you can as a weapon, it is all so well handled and staged. You can see everything that's happening and it's not overly edited.

David Leitch really knows how to handle action and although I'd like to see him take on different genres sometime, if he handles the action genre the way he is now, then by all means carry on with it. I mean fans of action films will absolutely enjoy what they get. There are broken bones, guns firing, blood splattering etc.

The cast is pretty great as well. I absolutely loved Brad Pitt in this film. Ever since I saw him in that big brutal fight sequence in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, I've wanted him to finally star in a big action film and maybe even have an action resurgence like Liam Neeson and he does not disappoint. You've also got standouts like Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Joey King and some A List cameos that I will not spoil so overall a pretty great cast.

There's some very well executed humour as well which mixes well with the style of the film. I was laughing a lot, the cast are making funny quips at one another, there's good physical humour, there's a flashback sequence where it kind of breaks the 4th wall, there's even a very funny moment involving a snake. That's all I'm gonna say.

And finally, it may be a 2 hour long film but it's so energetic and fast paced, you don't feel the runtime. There's not a boring or dull moment in the film, you're never tempted to check your watch, it's just an endlessly good time at the cinema.

But its not without its flaws so we got to move onto the negatives and the first thing that comes to mind is the storytelling feels very muddled. What I mean by that is the film will play chronologically first then pause for a flashback then play that into the current timeline and it does that throughout the film to the point where it gets repetitive.

And despite what I said about the runtime, the flashbacks do feel a bit like filler at times. Some of, if not most of the flashbacks aren't actually needed in the film and because the film is trying to tie all the flashbacks to the current events, it leaves the film feeling extremely messy and muddled.

But my biggest issue is the entire third act of the film. Once the third act kicks in, it becomes so over the top, so cartoonish, so CGI heavy and green screen reliant, it does take you out of the experience when the first 80% of the film is all grounded and mostly set in one location and you have to suspend a lot of disbelief as well.

And my final negative which I confess is a nitpick but it did bug me a bit is Brian Tyree Henry needs to sack his dialect coach. His British accent went in so many places. First he's cockney, then he went northern then you could hear his natural American accent as well.

But overall I did have a good time with this film. This would have been a great action film if it wasn't for the third act and whilst I will say this is the best action film of the year, unfortunately its not a very high bar for action films this year.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Prey

As someone who is a fan of the original Predator, I wasn't sure what to make of this film. So much of it sounded good but I didn't like the idea of it being straight to streaming, that always seemed like an odd thing to do.

So starting off with the positives, the best thing about this film is its pretty much a back to basics Predator film and what I mean that is there's no overreliance on technology, there's no world ending stakes, there's no expanded convoluted mythology, its just a self contained easy to watch Predator film.

It also helps that that this is a really well paced film. It's only 1h and 40mins, there's never a dull moment, it gets straight to the point and there's plenty of moment's to keep you entertained.

I also really liked the time period for this film. First I just liked seeing the Predator with all this futuristic technology going against these 1700 Comanche tribe warriors but like I said before, setting it in the 1700s helps feel like it's going back to its roots.

Moving onto the characters, I really liked the lead character. She's someone who you can connect with, very likable and charismatic and she's the sort of character who uses her survivalist techniques to take on the Predator. It's an example of lead characters who don't need to be professional fighters, who don't need to be massively buffed up and just need to use their mind to take on the threat.

The Predator itself is utilised very well as well. It actually feels like a character in this film because we spend time with it, see it adapt to its new environment and you root for it at times when it's attacked by other wildlife threats. It also helps that it just has an intimidating presence that keeps its original design but also has a couple of updates which really work.

The action is pretty great in this film. The action is shot really well and brilliantly choreographed. Limbs are cut off, blood is splattered, spines are ripped out and it is glorious to watch. There's one sequence in particular with the Predator that had me in awe at how well it was staged.

And finally I just appreciate we have gotten a great mid budget action thriller film. Blockbusters nowadays are always like $100-$200 million projects that sometimes feels unnecessary to be that overblown and here, we just have a film that is less than $100 million, has great practical effects, filmed on location and I would love to see more of these films in the future. Not everything has to be overblown.

Moving onto the mixed aspects and this isn't really good or bad, these are things you should know going in. First it states that it's a prequel to the original Predator but I would say you can watch this film on your own terms though I do recommend watching the original Predator.

Second as much as I enjoyed Prey and how great I thought it was, I wish I got to see it in the cinema on the big screen. Releasing it to streaming just didn't feel right for this sort of film and I think it would have easily made back its budget if released in cinemas.

Lastly, there's a good use of practical effects and CGI throughout the film but some of the CGI is very noticeable and at times feels unnecessary. It's not bad CGI but for what you get, you could easily achieve what you want practically.

Now moving onto the negatives and I don't have many at all. First and this is an odd one but the use of dialogue felt very strange. First I don't think this film even needed dialogue and could have worked better as a non speaking film but most importantly it felt weird having this 18th century comanche tribe speaking English throughout the film especially when they start using modern dialogue.

And my final negative and without going too far into negatives, I would have liked a more darker and ambiguous ending. I think this film could have benefited very well from that.

But overall this was a very refreshing great film that I would love to see a follow up to and I like and can have fun with most of the other Predator films, this feels like a truly great follow up to the original Predator.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️