“Right on schedule.”
Prince
Bullet Train is a Tarantino-esque crime story that unfolds within the confines of a single train, populated by an ensemble cast of colourful assasins in the vein of John Wick. The ensemble cast excels in bringing these thinly sketched assassins to life, undermined only by some very dubious accents. Central to this is Brad Pitt’s charmingly hapless hitman-in-therapy, though Bryan Tyree Henry and Joey King are likely to be the most memorable. David Leitch’s action credentials are beyond reproach, having spent several decades as a stunt performer and coordinator (including as Pitt’s stunt double) before turning to direction with John Wick. He was apparently reluctant to direct this project because of the constraints in choreographing action confined in a train, but those restrictions can also breed creativity as we have seen previously in Snowpiercer and Train to Busan — such is the case with Bullet Train, and there is little sense of repetition in the kinetic hyperviolence until very late in the proceedings. The neon visuals of Leitch’s spy thriller Atomic Blonde also fit more naturally into the Japanese setting. The final element to holding the audience’s attention is the twisting story that gradually links the backstories of these assassins as they hurtle toward an ominous final stop in Kyoto. Along with Everything Everywhere All At Once, 2022 seems to be a welcome return for franchise-free action films and, in a quiet summer less dominated by superhero movies, hopefully Bullet Train will find the audience it deserves.
8/10
Loosely based on Homer’s Illiad, the intended appeal of Peterson’s film is clear from the cast of tanned, toned male leads. Resplendent with armies of impressive proportions and a decently (as in good, certainly not modest!) designed classical costumes and armour, visually Troy is certainly satisfying. However, as yet another film that openly attempts to earn the title of “epic”, it often struggles to reach the status it believes it holds.
Peterson importantly does not take sides in his portrayal of each side. Whilst individual characters are often rather one-dimensional, the armies as a whole are given depth. Menelaus is a clear war-monger (with an interestingly Bush-esque rant at one point) while Achilles is here not for the fight but rather seeking glory in a materialistic sense. Meanwhile the Trojan side is split between Paris’ selfishness and his brother’s clear nobility. The only truly noble characters would be Hector and his father, King Priam of Troy [Peter O’Toole].
There are some great performances here, notably Bana as the noble but troubled Hector and O’Toole’s grave Priam. Sean Bean makes a delightful appearance as the likably roguish Odysseus, and Pitt does display much of Achilles angsty arrogance in his hunt for eternal glory. Unfortunately his role is marred by a camera that attempts to capture far more of his body than talent. The writers’ attempt to “humanise” him through a newly added romance with Brisies is largely unconvincing. Further problems rise with Bloom who really has yet to turn in a solid dramatic performance, and here he seems rather too much of a whinging coward for us to understand why Helen would leave with him in the first place (put simply, his performance lacks the balance breadth of the others). Kruger adds little to Helen, but one supposes her role is essentially just to look pretty which she does well enough, if not in any striking way.