#(obviously compared to the book. a lot of details and intricacies regarding Kimura's character gets lost)

[sasorikigai]

*I’m solely going to focus on Andrew Koji (Yuichi Kimura) and Hiroyuki Sanada (the Elder, Kimura’s father) because I solely went to see Bullet Train to watch my two favorites. 

I feel like the first half of the movie could have focused more on Kimura’s flashback; in the book, there are so many intricate and emotional interactions between Kimura and the Prince (one of the antagonists, who pushed Kimura’s son off the roof), instead of giving the viewers absolute minimum exposition required to give Kimura character. Obviously for the movie adaptation’s sake, a lot of precious material was abridged and even entirely cut off from the film, but since the film wields a flashback-heavy structure, it would have smoothed out the narrative so much better. 

Indeed, Bullet Train is first and foremost, a cacophony of an action movie filled with chaos and mayhem, and too often fast-paced without coherence at times, thus it took away from having such unique, eccentric characters. Kimura is a Japanese grieving father seeking vengeance after his son was pushed off a roof and the Elder is the boy’s royally angry grandfather who is really out for blood. They really do play their characters with verve and excellence, portraying Kimura’s alcoholic angst and the Elder’s stoic, sagacious, and yet viciously protective character. 

The actions scenes, while sometimes thrilling and unique, I really think the director could have utilized and optimized Koji and Sanada’s remarkable talent. Not that I am against giving them katana, for they are remarkable with it and obviously they are experienced martial artists who can properly wield and use such weapon, but for being such a high-octane film with so many colorful and vibrant action sequences, I have to admit, I was disappointed by how little there was of them two engaged in action scenes. 

Even after reading the book (and knowing the source material, aka the sequences of events, characters’ backstories, etc.), the pacing from the present to the flashback was making harder for me to follow. It became more exhausting, than exhilarating, and I still could not get away with the fact that the profit potential of a Hollywood blockbuster, however silly, should eases the pain of whitewashing, considering those two are the only ‘Japanese’ characters out of so many assassins on Shinkansen.

While this movie has a multilayered narrative with many characters that can sometimes get in the way of the action, I wish there was more of a balance between the drama and the action. However, despite being an overachieving story with issues with pacing, the film never got really boring. Maybe because I knew where those two would pop up and share the screen and grace me with such remarkable acting prowess, screen presence, and chemistry. At least all the action sequences I’ve seen were dealt with clarity and impact, creating a beautifully nonsensical thrill ride that could have been a complete trainwreck, but I did really wish there were much more of them, especially Kimura, since he indeed IS the heart of the novel.