Steve Long 
Steve buys a ticket and checks out Sony Pictures’ wild rollercoaster ride Bullet Train!
It’s time to board the Bullet Train. But can Sony Pictures’ latest offering deliver a fun rollercoaster ride?
As I have been watching movies in the theaters this year (and there have been quite a few) the trailer for this film has popped up in nearly every one. It seems that Sony was really pushing this film. The first few times that I saw the trailer, I had no desire to see this movie. It just seemed like another Brad Pitt vehicle to me. As the trailers continued, I started thinking it might be a fun popcorn movie. A few weeks ago, I went to the movies with my wife and she mentioned that she would want to see it. So, opening weekend, we went and watched it and I gotta say that this movie was much better than I had expected.
INSPIRATION
The movie was based on a Japanese novel titled Maria Bettle that was written by Kotaro Isaka. Like the book, the movie focuses on several different criminals aboard a Japanese bullet train that all wind up being interconnected. The cast was incredible. The main character, Ladybug, played by the aforementioned Pitt, is a veteran thief. One that has a long string of bad luck which continues on his ride from Tokyo to Kyoto while on assignment for a “simple” snack and grab job. Also included in the cast were Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Hiroyuki Sanada, Michael Shannon, and many others. There are also some interesting cameos including one at the end that I won’t ruin the movie by mentioning here.
CRITICAL CRITICS?
So far, critics have not been kind to this film (unlike us). As of this writing, it has a 54% score on Rotten Tomatoes. And many critics are calling it a Tarantino knock off. While I see that it has similar directional choices to a Quentin Tarantino film, director David Leitch told this story in a compelling way. The action sequences were well spaced out and never at any time did I feel like the movie was too slow or that it was rushed.
If you haven’t seen this movie because you aren’t sure whether or not it is worth your time, I say that you really need to give it a chance. I am glad that I did.
Bullet Train is released by Sony Pictures and is playing in theatres everywhere now.
Steve is a fan of Star Wars, punk rock, comic books, and cats. In addition to writing for Future of the Force, he also sings for punk band Get Fired and hosts the podcast Rebel Rock Radio!
