Bullet Train Starring Brad Pitt: The Shinkansen Action Movie We've All Been Waiting For!
2022 has so far brought more Covid-19 and a devastating war…
But on a positive note, this year will also bring the most anticipated train-themed movie in years (if not decades):
Bullet Train follows Brad Pitt’s character named Lady Bug, a semi-retired professional criminal with a new outlook on life. However, a supposedly simple job, steal a briefcase on a bullet train, turns into a mess when half the passengers turn out to have the same objective. What comes next is a whole lot of action in a very tight space, and every bit of it looks great.
Along with Brad Pitt, Bullet Train also brings in a whole roster of stars including Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Tenet), Zazie Beetz (Joker), Joey King (The Conjuring), Michael Shannon (Knives Out), Brian Tyree Henry (Widows), Hiroyuki Sanada (The Twilight Samurai), Andrew Koji (Warrior), Masi Oka (Heroes), Logan Lerman (Fury), and even the rapper Bad Bunny.
Japanese fans are already raving about the movie, and even though the release date is set on July 15, 2022, it is already looking to be a smash-hit here!
You see, anything Brad Pitt stars in turns to gold in Japan, where the actor is known by the shortened nickname “Burapi“.
Bullet Train is based on the 2010 novel Maria Beetle by Japanese author Kotaro Isaka. The original story is set in Japan, taking place on a Shinkansen bullet train traveling north from Tokyo to Morioka, in Iwate Prefecture.
However, the trailer reveals that the train in the movie is headed in the other direction to the one in the novel, going from Tokyo through to Osaka instead.
How do we know that? Well, for starters, the trailer opens with a scene of the bullet train hurtling past Mt Fuji, which is south of Tokyo, not north, and then there’s the fact that it says “Osaka” on the digital display on the outside of the train.
This does not necessarily change the story from to book substantially, as the distance is similar and most of the action takes place inside the train anyways.
Even more interestingly, the bullet train in the movie is based on an soon-to-be-released trainset from Japan Railways called the NSL (which is based on the Tohoku Shinkansen Line).
Below is the commercial for the trainset, starring Brad Bitt:
Bullet Train seems to capture all the stereotypes foreigners have about Japan in a glamourous way!
Demon masks? Check.
Polite trolley cart lady on the bullet train? Check.
A walk though Akihabara at night? Check.
Sakura petals falling upon yakuza with samurai swords? Check.
Brad Pitt punching a cute Japanese mascot? Check.
I think its safe to say that Bullet Train is the movie all train enthusiasts have been waiting for, so make sure to clear your schedule for July 15, 2022 to be a part of this amazing journey!