Bullet Train (2022) Dir: David Leitch
Instagram post:
I've been trying to watch this David Leitch directed action comedy, near enough, since it came out, but for whatever reason it just never happened. Finally, though, I was able to watch it. My expectations going in were pretty high - most of my peers in the film community have had so much praise for it.
The soundtrack was so good. It combined throwback music with contemporary, as well as integrating Japanese covers of popular Western songs, which worked pretty well. It gave the film a fun backing, that added some extra energy to the chaos taking place on-screen.
The visuals were a mixed bag. A lot of the visual effects were pretty good, but some of the green screen work in particular was terrible. On the bright side, I loved the use of colour throughout the film, particularly in the more colourful carriage, which helped produce some very enjoyable images.
Some of the writing was really strong, but there was some pretty mediocre stuff in there too, which was a bit disappointing to see. I did enjoy that the story had strings of fate that bound it all together, though there were a number of moments that didn't quite work for me. That said, I liked the majority of what I saw.
Brad Pitt led an immensely talented ensemble cast, though, if I'm honest, I wasn't actually all that fussed about his performance. That's not to say it was bad, or that I didn't enjoy his acting, just that, of the cast, he gave one of the weaker performances, in my opinion. It was a very samey Pitt performance, I guess.
I had mixed feelings as it pertained to Joey King's acting. On the one hand, she had some fun little scenes with her co-stars, which certainly added entertainment value, but, on the other hand, I found her character a little annoying, and somewhat one-note.
The twosome of Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Brian Tyree Henry honestly carried the film, for me. They were brilliant, both with and without the other. They were the funniest, the most compelling and the best performers of the whole cast, and it wasn't even close.
So many good actors had small but entertaining roles in the film, and all deserve at least a name-drop; Andrew Koji, Hiroyuki Sanada, Michael Shannon, musician Bad Bunny, Sandra Bullock, Zazie Beetz, Logan Lerman, Masi Oka, Channing Tatum and Karen Fukuhara.
Overall, while I have been quite critical of the film, in a number of its aspects, I do want to stress that I did enjoy the film. It had some great action, some fun comedy and a classic film soundtrack. It's possibly a little bit overrated, but that may just be from my perspective.
Comentários