MOVIE REVIEW: BULLET TRAIN

 

Ladybug is an unlucky assassin who's determined to do his job peacefully after one too many gigs has gone off the rails.

Director: David Leitch

Cast: Brad Pitt, Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Andrew Koji, Hiroyuki Sanada, Michael Shannon, Benito A Martínez Ocasio, Sandra Bullock

Release Date: August 5, 2022

Genre: Action, Thriller

Rated R for strong and bloody violence, pervasive language, and brief sexuality.

Runtime: 2h 6m

Review:

Bullet Train doesn't deliver much in terms of story or characterization, instead it relies on spurts of hyper stylized violence and its cast endless charisma.   David Leitch's film is choppier than his last two film, Deadpool 2 and Atomic Blonde, making the lulls in between the action set pieces much more noticeable and jarring.  When those action set pieces kick in though they do offer some colorful and gleefully violent choreography that gives the film a boost of adrenaline.  The biggest issue being that the remainder of the film's story and character backgrounds are told via flashy slow motion flashbacks with nearly every single character in the large ensemble getting a vignette.  The majority of the character's themselves are incredibly thin with a handful popping up and off the screen with little more than a few lines of dialogue.  The saving grace of it all is the cast who are clearly having a ball hamming it throughout the film's runtime.  Brad Pitt leads the group giving a light, but fun turn as an operative who's looking for deeper meaning in his overly lethal life.  Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Brian Tyree Henry prove to be standouts together with each of them bouncing dialogue off each other with incredible ease.  They provide the most consistent and energetic characters making their time on screen some of the film's highpoints.  Joey King looks the part but doesn't really add much to her character outside of what's written onscreen even though we're lead to believe she's smarter than nearly everyone.  Hiroyuki Sanada and Michael Shannon have small supporting roles with both punching well under their class but providing the film some credibility even though Shannon is sporting a ridiculously impressive wig and accent.  Bullet Train is the type of film that would have been more effective in a smaller package since it never earns it's two hour runtime and starts to sag noticeably in its final act.  It's still a fairly fun throwback of sorts to those late 90's early 2000 Pulp Fiction knock offs like 2 Days In The Valley, Go or Smoking Aces with a dash of John Woo for good measure.     

C+

MOVIE REVIEW: KICK ASS 2

His heroic antics having inspired a citywide wave of masked vigilantes, Kick-Ass (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) joins their ranks to help clean up the streets, only to face a formidable challenge when the vengeful Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) transforms himself into the world's first super villain in this sequel written and directed by Jeff Wadlow (Never Back Down). John Leguizamo, Donald Faison, Morris Chestnut, and Robert Emms co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director: Jeff Wadlow

Cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloë Grace Moretz, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jim Carrey, John Leguizamo, Donald Faison

Release Date: Aug 16, 2013

Rated R for strong violence, pervasive language, crude and sexual content, and brief nudity

Runtime: 1 hr. 47 min.

Genres: Superhero, Action/Adventure, Comedy

Review:

The first Kick Ass film was always going to be a tough act to follow. That’s not to say that there isn’t plenty to like in this serviceable sequel. Actually there’s a lot to like actually, especially for fans but watching the sequel you jhave a sense that there’s something missing. It provides the over the top violence and witty dialogue from the first but lacks some of the punch. It has a strange over the top but neutered softer feel throughout. There are big tonal shifts throughout which exasperates the issue. Another issue is that Hit Girl is sidelined for big chucks of the film. Chloë Grace Moretz is mostly relegated to dealing with mean girl instead of kicking ass. When she’s in costume, Moretz brings the same kind of spark and energy she did in the original, something this sequel sorely needed. That being said, Moretz’s subplot achieves a rather poignant moment of vulnerability in the third act, really showing off her range. Aaron Taylor-Johnson isn’t as impressive but he’s solid throughout. He brings the same goofy aloof earnestness to the titular character. Johnson is adequately wide eye throughout but it’s a tougher to believe that he’s an actual high school senior this time around. The remaining supporting cast is fun but most are underused and underdeveloped. Jim Carrey in particular is underused even though he shines in his limited scenes. He brings the wacky energy that Nic Cage did in the original and I wish there was more of him. Donald Faison has a small role as an overly caffeinated hero; it’s a fun little role which also could have done with a tad more screen time. The rest of the heroes are kind of background noise even Kick Ass’s new love interest played by the lovely Lindy Booth. Christopher Mintz-Plasse is a bit of a mixed bag as the villain. He’s never menacing enough to be taken seriously. The script doesn’t do him any favors with some clunky dialogue. To Mintz-Plasse’s credit he does provide some funny moments. So is this a worthy sequel to Kick Ass? It works more than it doesn’t but it never reaches the heights of original. Fans of the original, like myself, will find plenty to like here. Just don’t expect to be blown away.

B-

[Trailer] Kick Ass 2

Red Band trailer for the sequel to one of my favorite movies from the last few years is out and it look like it’ll more than live up to the original!

The only thing that makes me a bit worries is the new director’s previous films which don’t inspire a ton of confidence. Either way, I’ll be checking it out for sure.