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.

⭐️⭐️⭐️