David Leitch has become a fascinating director over the last decade or so. He really made his debut in directing with the first John Wick movie back in 2014, but lest we forget, it was really Chad Stahelski who got main credit for directing. Leitch served more as a co-director, stunt coordinator and one of the film’s main producers. At the same time, the same color palette used John Wick is the same palette used in his future films, such as Deadpool 2, Atomic Blonde and Hobbs & Shaw. Whatever the case is, David Leitch is a very skilled and professional action director that can really display spectacular stunt work on a large or smaller scale. Where John Wick wasn’t his true directorial debut, then most people would point to Atomic Blonde as that starting point. Out of the four main films Leitch has directed, Atomic Blonde is his weakest entry. Not at bad movie by any means, but too much 80s flash and not enough things to care about, other than the solid action and Theron’s performance. As a follow up film, Leitch got a chance to play with the big boys and take a swing with Deadpool 2, a worthy successor to an already great film. The very next summer, he got another swing at another beloved franchise with Hobbs & Shaw, being his biggest film yet when you consider the stars and series of films he was working on.
Leitch works in the confinement of action movies and even his “worst movie” in Atomic Blonde can deliver provide a great level of action and a unique style to it. He will more than likely continue to work in this field and there’s really no reason for him to change what’s already working for him. He’s yet to make his movie that puts him in the pantheon of one of the great action directors, but he’s certainly climbing his way up there. There will always be excitement for action movie made by one of the guys who worked on John Wick, and clearly, studios like working with David Leitch. With him tackling an unknown quantity and putting together the budgets ensemble he’s worked with yet, Bullet Train is another win for the brilliant action work from Mr. David Leitch. Bullet Train might be the best action movie of the year so far. Full of glorious and brutal fight sequences, gorgeous visuals, terrific performances from the entire ensemble, the movie ensures David Leitch’s directing with his incredible stunt work and cleverness in comedy.
Based on a Japanese novel titled Maria Beetle by Kōtarō Isaka, Bullet Train focuses on a bunch of assassins who are on board a bullet train who discover they’re all after the same thing, based on their current objective.
First thing that will always be a positive aspect for any David Leitch movie is the action. In the past, his action scenes have dealt with FBI agents, superheroes and hitman. In Bullet Train, he’s dealing with assassins and even a small dose of samurais, creating some glorious and very visceral action set pieces that are all in one primal location. The action in Bullet Train is choreographed tremendously and is beautiful to look at as a piece of entertainment an art. The style of Leitch’s action has progressively become more artsy looking and more alluring from a visual perspective. He continues to make bolder choices with his style and he’s becoming an action director where the action should serve the character and the action in Bullet Train proves that point of his in a terrific way. It’s also incredibly violent, which makes the action even more enjoyable.
The cast is also quite great and the utilization with each assassin is done quite well. We love Brad Pitt as a dramatic and charismatic performer. He’s legitimately one of the best actors working in the business and he’s never played these types of roles that require this level of dedication of stunt-work within the action. It’s said that Pitt pulled off 95% of the stunts in the movie and he does it spectacularly, but he’s also incredibly funny, witty and a unique bad ass. Brian Tyree Henry, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Andrew Koji, Joey King and even famous Japanese performer Hiroyuki Sanada were also some genuinely great highlights of the film. The characters in this movie felt like a mixture of characters from a Guy Ritchie movie and a slight dose of Tarantino. The quips, banter and overall dynamics had an irresistible nature to it. The one downside with the ensemble is that the one performer who wasn’t really given much to do was the addition of Michael Shannon. His character is built up with legend and myths, which is an enticing character decision but you cast someone like Michael Shannon you want to see more Michael Shannon and sadly his character is non existent until the very end of the movie.
We should continue to champion David Leitch for making action films because one of the most competent at doing them and he’s artistic approach with the action is becoming more impressive with each film. He has passion for action and he knows how to deliver on great popcorn entertainment. Whether it’s more stories in this world or what ever project he wants to tackle next, David Leitch is a gifted filmmaker for the art of action and we should always push forward with his career.
Final grade for Bullet Train: B+
Zane's take at the Cinema's 