When I read Kötarö Isaka’s crime novel Bullet Train back in 2021, it had just been announced that the book was optioned by Columbia Pictures for a film treatment, and that with director David Leitch (of Deadpool 2 fame) on board, Brad Pitt was attached to star in the project. That was met with ambivalence on my part. I loved the novel; but it was filled with an all-Japanese cast of characters.
So while I conceded that having Pitt and Leitch involved in the project gave it an unbelievable global buzz, and I was happy for Isaka’s sale; there was also the trepidation of how these changes would affect the film adaptation. My general rule being that film adaptations often pale beside the original work.
The film/novel can best be described as a tale of five assassins on board the Tokyo to Morioka Shinkansen bullet train. Each has their own agenda, and other than the pairing of Orange and Lemonade, they’re all working as solitary contractors. What follows in the novel is an intricately plotted narrative of how these five assassins interconnect, and how deep repercussions from their respective pasts, have brought them together on this train.
There’s a briefcase filled with money, a poisonous snake, revenge and karma creating havoc in the storyline, and it was with a glee that you’d read and savor the overlay of dark comedy amidst all the action and vividly created characters.
So now we have this film that plays like a shaggy dog, gonzo, set-in-Tokyo adventure. To attract a global audience, several of the characters have been changed up from their original Japanese, and we get accents galore from the lot - besides Brad’s American, there’s an East-Ender, a Russian, a posh English accent, the Japanese-inflected English, and a Mexican, just to name a number. Smartly, the producers also fall back on kitschy Japanese versions of big pop hits - like Staying Alive, and Holding Out for a Hero. And yes, it all works to give this film a patina of hipness, and that proverbial wink at the audience.
Brad Pitt as Ladybug, the assassin cursed with bad luck is in fine form, his gift for comedy on full display.
One great surprise is Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Tangerine, a real hoot as he tries to maintain his ‘sangfroid’, while one screw-up after another turn their plans awry. This could be the role that heralds the return of Johnson to major film roles. Joey King as Prince is one of the changes that I found less than inspired, while Bad Bunny as the Wolf is a fun choice, and it’s obvious Bunny is turning this into a lark of a ride.
Hiroyuki Sanada as The Elder and Andrew Koji as Yuichi, the grieving father out for revenge, are the main characters who’ve retained their Japanese provenance. And they’re both great in playing the stoic Japanese, obsessed with completing their missions. They provide a sense of gravitas to the proceedings, so it’s not just all gunplay and hand-to-hand combat.
The good thing about this film is that it still stands as one of the more original action films of the year so far. While the bare bones of the novel are kept intact, do seek out the book if you want a deeper appreciation of the fine plotting, the texture of back stories, and how Isaka creates a cliffhanger element to each chapter ending. In the meantime, enjoy the ride on this Bullet Train, and get a kick from hearing the Bonnie Tyler hit being belted in Japanese. Bullet Train will open in theaters on Aug. 10.