Brad Pitt's Bullet Train is gearing up to be a fun ride, but had it not changed its original plan the movie might have been just another action film.
Bullet Train has the potential to be one of 2022's best summer blockbusters - but if it had stuck to its original plan, it could have easily been lost in the mix. Brad Pitt is headlining the movie, and his co-star Aaron Taylor-Johnson has said that Bullet Train started out quite differently from what the eventual film ended up as. That change though may well have added a key element to the movie that elevates it above similar fare.
Bullet Train is a high-concept action-comedy that centers on Brad Pitt's aging assassin, "Ladybug." Though he's keen to leave the life of a trained killer behind him, he's pulled back in to collect a briefcase on a bullet train heading from Tokyo to Morioka. Onboard, he finds that competing assassins are also on the train, with connected objectives. Bullet Train is directed by John Wick co-director David Leitch (Deadpool 2, Hobbs & Shaw), and the movie has an impressive cast. Alongside Pitt and Taylor-Johnson, Sandra Bullock, Joey King, Brian Tyree Henry, Andrew Koji, and Zazie Beetz also star.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson has said that Bullet Train started out life as a "dark, R-rated, vicious action piece," but that through the fun atmosphere on set the movie changed during the course of filming to more of a comedy. Making Bullet Train an action-comedy was a great move on the part of the cast and crew, as keeping to the original plan of a straight-up action movie would have been worse. John Wick currently has a monopoly on the R-rated action genre. Many movies in recent years have tried to emulate Keanu Reeves' gun-fu and fighting style in the John Wick series, with mixed results at best. Bullet Train has an original concept (albeit an adaptation of the Japanese novel Maria Beetle), but if it has presented itself as just as an action movie then it could have easily looked like yet another John Wick knock-off.
While the trailer for Bullet Train does showcase a similar style of action associated with the John Wick franchise, the comedic beats add an extra ingredient that makes it feel more exciting and original than it otherwise would have been. From Pitt and Henry trying to fight without making noise in the quiet carriage to Brad Pitt stopping mid-fight with Taylor-Johnson to order sparkling water, the comedy imbues Bullet Train with a palpable sense of fun. David Leitch has shown with Deadpool 2 and Hobbs and Shaw that he can balance action and comedy without one overwhelming the other. If Bullet Train can also find that balance, then it has the potential to stand out as an original blockbuster in a summer filled with the usual sequels and superheroes.
The cast of Bullet Train has all ably displayed their comedic talents previously, validating the movie’s change from the original plan. It should also be another quality role for Brad Pitt after his success in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. It's been three years since his Oscar-winning turn in Quentin Tarantino's comedy-drama, as well as his last starring role, in Ad Astra. If Bullet Train and The Lost City (in which he has a supporting role) can aim for the quality of his 2019 efforts, then 2022 is gearing up to be another great year for Brad Pitt.
