There's something to be said about the uniqueness of Bullet Train in the current theatrical landscape: it's a big, loud, violent, R-rated action movie based on a Japanese novel and anchored by one of Hollywood's most prominent A-listers. Still, all of the things that make the movie stand out also contribute to many of its issues. Bullet Train may not be the worst action movie of the year, but it's far from the best.

Directed by Deadpool 2's David Leitch and featuring an all-star cast, Bullet Train follows the exploits of Ladybug, Brad Pitt's otherwise unnamed smash-and-grab man, as he is tasked with retrieving a briefcase from a high-speed train heading from Tokyo to Kyoto. The only problem is that the job is complicated by a host of other assassins, a young girl with a master plan, two different men out for revenge, and the machinations of a powerful crime boss known only as the White Death.

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Two of these assassins are Lemon and Tangerine (Brian Tyree Henry and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, respectively), two "brothers" who are more collections of quirks than actually fleshed-out characters. While their banter is playful and they have solid comedic chemistry, Lemon and Tangerine never seem to develop in any meaningful ways. Lemon's main trait is that he is apparently an expert on all things Thomas the Tank Engine, assigning people the characters they most resemble. Tangerine, on the other hand, is more business-like and serious. Brian Tyree Henry fares better in that department, if only thanks to Lemon's more subdued nature making it less of a sticking point.

Brad Pitt in Bullet Train trailer

Joey King, who also pulled a British accent in The Princess, is tasked with doing so again as (coincidentally) The Prince, a girl who has designs on taking down the White Death herself. Her plan involves having pushed a young boy off a roof in order to get his father on the train, though it's not always clear as to why this was necessary. Other than the Prince, Lemon, and Tangerine, there aren't really any other assassins on this train, save for two who feature prominently in the movie's marketing but amount to little more than cameos in the final product. These two serve more as plot devices than actual characters, even if one of them is given a too-lengthy backstory montage.

The only coherent character is Pitt's Ladybug, though it's never quite clear what his profession actually is. He has a handler, and he is shown in flashback pulling a job that involves political blackmail, but he doesn't like killing and prefers not to use guns. His two most prominent traits are that he has chronic bad luck and that he is working on himself. Ladybug's preference to solve his conflicts using what he's learned through therapy makes for some funny moments, and Pitt sells himself well as a man who is in over his head, but Bullet Train often leaves Ladybug for long stretches to focus on what else is going on.

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And therein lies the true problem with Bullet Train: the movie is far too overstuffed to run efficiently. Rather than maintaining a streamlined, fast-paced story that moves from point A to point B with economical storytelling, Bullet Train instead opts for frantic cutaways and sometimes incomprehensible editing choices. These breaks from the main story ruin any sort of narrative momentum and do little to serve the overall plot. Setting the story exclusively on a train (and briefly at the stations whenever the train makes any stops) makes for some creative staging and storytelling, but ultimately Bullet Train's biggest problem is that it tries to pack in way too much for the storyline to click along coherently, even with its overlong runtime.

If anything, Bullet Train brings to mind another movie featuring a wide cast of criminal underworld characters caught up in each other's separate storylines, one that also happened to star Brad Pitt: Snatch. However, where Guy Ritchie's British dark comedy managed to find interesting and logical ways to tie all of its threads together into one seamless narrative, Bullet Train struggles to justify any of its diversions.

Bullet Train's story and character issues might have been saved by some well-choreographed action, but even with seasoned stuntman Leitch in the director's chair (Leitch actually used to serve as Pitt's stuntman in the past), the fight scenes never really rise to the level of something like John Wick or even Atomic Blonde. They often feel like fun ideas that are never fully fleshed out, such as a fight between Lemon and Ladybug on the train's quiet car, or a close-quarters quarrel in the snack cart supply area. These could have been opportunities for some really fun and exciting setpieces, but instead, Bullet Train opts to take the easy way out with generic shootouts and a big, unconvincing CGI finale.

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There are some redeeming qualities in Bullet Train. There are plenty of jokes that actually land pretty well, and while the action isn't always top tier, there are some fun moments of physical comedy that help to balance everything out. Additionally, while the movie sometimes loses narrative focus, it stays on track thematically, focusing on the ideas of fate and luck, particularly how they each tie into each other.

Bullet Train is not a complete mess, but it could have benefited greatly from some trimming down. Its worst tendencies are often elevated to passable by a game cast who all seem to be having a ball with what they are given. As far as big, R-rated action movies go, Bullet Train isn't quite the worst, but it's a far cry from the best. It's a movie that does its best to balance its disparate elements and doesn't always succeed, but at least delivers some fun moments. It's up to audiences to decide if that's worth the cost of a ticket to take the ride.

Bullet Train opens in theaters on August 5.

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