Why does David Leitch exclusively direct sub-par scripts (I haven't seen 'The Fall Guy (2024)' yet, which will hopefully be the exception)? It's clear that he's capable of crafting a specific style conveyed mostly through entertaining, if often tonally undercut, action. He's not the most visionary director, but he injects each of his movies with enough flair and reverence for practical stunt work that they all have elements which are genuinely successful. This only makes their narrative shortcomings all the more frustrating, though. One of the main problems with 'Bullet Train (2022)' is that it just doesn't have enough action in it. It also doesn't have enough Brad Pitt. Instead, both of these elements are often cruelly sidelined in favour of an annoying ensemble of quirky characters who spend more time talking about 'Thomas & Friends (1984-2021)' (because they're on a train, I guess) than kicking butt like the premise promises. With a messy, flashback-oriented structure and often grating dialogue, the picture is honestly a bit of a chore to get through at times. The cast all do what they can with the material (and accents) they're given, but even the most charming amongst them can't stop the film from being a bit boring whenever it isn't focused specifically on its set-pieces. It's not as funny - or clever - as it clearly thinks it is and, despite looking quite nice, a lot of it feels rather hollow. Having said all that, it does improve fairly significantly as it goes on. Whether it's because the thing has already worn you down by then or if it's because it's genuinely improving in pace and tone and energy with each new scene, the final act is surprisingly enjoyable despite its use of intangible digital effects for some of its biggest moments. There are a few enjoyable sequences prior to the finale (in fact, you sort of accept the affair's flaws after its opening movement and lower your expectations accordingly), but it's near the end where everything really clicks. It's unfortunate that it takes so long to get over its growing pains, but the film is ultimately fun enough for what it is. Although it's over two hours long (and doesn't need to be), it's light and fluffy and fairly fast paced. It's kinetic when it needs to be and features a few well-choreographed fight scenes that don't make the protagonist out to be an unstoppable machine, but rather a self-proclaimed bad luck magnet who's clearly out of his depth. This dynamic makes things more interesting than they otherwise would have been, all without robbing the experience of the exciting to-the-death bouts you expect. The occasional moment of pretty extreme gore is undercut by the generally playful atmosphere, but a couple of gags still provoke a wince and act as nice punctuations to the altercations they typically end. Ultimately, this is a fun but flawed experience that alternates between being annoying and being exciting in almost equal measure. You can see what the filmmakers are going for, but they never quite hit the sweet spot and, as a result, the piece is fairly inconsequential. Still, it's entertaining enough.
Review of Bullet Train
