Bullet Train undoubtedly feels like watching a live-action anime. Aside from the obvious aspect of the story being set in Japan, it involves an ensemble of assassins for hire or killers from criminal organizations looking for revenge, and the film adheres heavily to a green-screened CGI visual aesthetic that would certainly feel at home in a comic book. Its plot is contrived at best, but everything else about the film is ridiculously fun that it’s best to just enjoy the ride. And it is wild.

The story takes place on a bullet train going to Kyoto, and centers around Ladybug (Brad Pitt), a former assassin hired to retrieve a silver briefcase from the train and immediately get off. It’s a simple snatch job he thinks, so he decides to leave his gun at the behest of his handler. Plus, he’s now a reformed man; he just got out of anger management and has totally abandoned killing. Others joining him on the ride are Tangerine (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Lemon (Brian Tyree Henry), hitmen brothers who are tasked to deliver said briefcase full of ransom money along with the deadbeat son (Logan Lerman) of a Russian crime lord known as the White Death. There’s also the Prince (Joey King), a clever manipulative agent of destruction in the guise of seemingly innocent schoolgirl. Troubled gangster Kimura (Andrew Koji) joins the fray to find out who pushed his son off the roof and put him in a coma. There are plenty more to mention who come into the picture later on, but you get the idea.

A majority of the characters are somehow connected to the White Death, and all of their paths eventually converge like a Quentin Tarantino movie. The film takes the time to present the motivations and backstories of these characters through elaborate flashbacks, and it does so constantly, jumping back and forth between past and present. Unlike Tarantino, however, the flashbacks end up being stylistic elements rather than narrative devices that add depth to the characters for a satisfying pay off in the end. And a lot of them are so jarring that it can take you out of the main story.

Bullet Train also takes elements from Guy Ritchie’s films, with characters doing banter as they go at each other with knives, guns, fists, or whatever they can get their hands on. The one that stuck to me is Ladybug and Lemon’s subdued fight on the quiet car, filled with gun-grabbing, hard punches and table slamming, all mixed with comedic arguing in the middle of it all. While most of the action sequences are not memorable, they are definitely well-crafted and easy to follow. The film is directed by David Leitch, a veteran stunt coordinator known for co-directing the first John Wick and went on to projects like Atomic Blonde and Deadpool 2. There’s no denying he’s one of the best suited to helm a production so centered on acrobatic chaos.

Needless to say, Bullet Train is more style than substance. Throughout the film, there’s a recurring message on fate that feels forced, especially as the plot keeps adding throwaway characters played by big names that are all somehow coincidentally connected, all of which contribute to its contrivance. Not to mention Brad Pitt’s character keeps rambling on about the subject that it starts to feel like the movie is blatantly telling the audience its theme. But when things are this fun, does it all really matter in the end?

Rating: ★★★☆☆