All Aboard the “Bullet Train”: Brad Pitt, Bad Bunny and More.
On his trip to Japan, all Brad Pitt wanted was to visit a Zen garden, but he got more than he bargained for. Even though it was an exhausting experience for the actor, “Bullet Train” is filled with humor, action and guest actors that left audiences craving more.
In early August 2022, “Bullet Train” debuted No. 1 at box offices, making nearly $30 million at theaters in the United States.
The film stars Brad Pitt as an amiable assassin named Ladybug, who has the effortless job of grabbing a silver briefcase from a high-speed train. Within the first 20 minutes of the movie, he finds the target briefcase prepares to leave the train and step onto the platform. The movie would have been over, and everyone would have been on their way. Easy enough job. The only catch? He’s not the only assassin working a job on the same train. Other assassins that stand in Ladybug’s way include characters played by Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brain Tyree Henry, Hiroyuki Sanada, Bad Bunny, and more. So, spoiler: Ladybug does not get off at that first train stop and instead fights head-to-head for another hour and a half.
The Future of Fighting
“Bullet Train” has all of the standard features you would predict from typical assassin-action films: poison, hand-to-hand combat, and guns (except for Ladybug refuses to use firearms because they promote violence). This film is unique in the sense that nearly all the fights takes place within the walls of a train.
While most of the filming took place in Los Angeles, California, the setting is based aboard a Japanese High-Speed Shinkansen. The Shinkansen, colloquially known in English as the “bullet train,” is a network of high-speed railway lines throughout Japan. For the last five decades, the Shinkansen has been the fastest and safest way to travel for passengers… until now.
To give the impression that the actors were aboard a real Shinkansen, different cars were uniquely designed to represent multiple compartments in the train. There are economy seats, a bar car and even an entire car dedicated to the fictional anime character, Momonga. The overall design of the set is dramatic and cartoonish to keep audience members at the edge of their seats.
Since the entire film takes place within a train, the fight scenes have to be engaging enough where people don’t get bored. Regardless of if you are a fan of the film or not, it would be hard to find anyone who describes this kind of train fighting as boring.
In order to retrieve the briefcase, Ladybug must fight person after person for a seemingly simple task. Each fight scene fits its designated car, with a few humorous lines from bystanders.
Surprise Guest Appearances From… Thomas the Tank Engine?
Don’t get too excited; there are no talking trains in the film. But Sandra Bullock is not the only household name to make a surprise appearance in “Bullet Train.” Throughout the film, skilled British assassin, Lemon, played by Brian Tyree Henry, quotes characters from the “Thomas the Tank Engine.” He explains the children’s show was instrumental in teaching him how to read people. At times, Lemon would give stickers of the Thomas characters to different people on the train to characterize them. The stickers create enough light in the darkness of all the fighting to make audiences laugh.
Good news however, there are more star-casted characters than a talking train created for children.
Many fans were thrilled to see musician, Bad Bunny, in action. The Puerto Rican native plays Wolf, a Mexican assassin. The audience was happy to se Bunny’s character fighting in a suave, white suit jacket. Even though Bad Bunny was thrilled with the opportunity to act in “Bullet Train,” many fans criticize the amount of screen-time the Spanish rapper got (we won’t tell you why).
Other A-list cameos include Channing Tatum, Sandra Bullock, and Ryan Reynolds.
Stuntman Turned Director
“Bullet Train” is based on the 2010 novel, “Maria Beetle,” by Japanese author Kōtarō Isaka. Screenwriter Zak Olkewicz adapted the thriller novel about multiple assassins trapped on a high-speed train into a blockbuster hit.
But it would be remiss to not mention a major player in the film—director David Leitch. Leitch made a name for himself in Hollywood as an actor, writer, producer and director of multiple films including “Atomic Blonde (2017)” and “Deadpool 2 (2018).” In addition to his long list of achievements, Leitch is also known for his background as a stuntman. In 1999, Leitch served as Pitt’s stuntman in “Fight Club,” directed by David Fincher.
In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter. Leitch claims that he wants to make films that blend together three things: he wants the audience to laugh, be shocked and have feels.
Simply said, “Bullet Train” leaves audiences laughing, shocked, and all the feels, which leaves us all wanting more train fights.
