Life in the fast lane!
Life for 1970s movie characters was dangerous. The water wasn’t safe (The Poseidon Adventure, Jaws), buildings weren’t safe (The Towering Inferno), and the sky wasn’t safe (Airport). In Japan, the railways became a thing of danger when a down on his luck businessman decided the government and economic society had left too many people behind and planted a bomb on The Bullet Train.Passengers board Hikari 109 only concerned with their own lives and problems. After the train begins its journey, the railway receives a call stating that a bomb has been planted on the train. If its speed dips to 80km per hour, the bomb will detonate killing the 1500 passengers on board. The RR company, police department and government quickly assemble a task force to identify the bomber and determine the best course of action.
The 1994 American film Speed was based on The Bullet Train. Aside from the speed and ransom elements, the two films diverge significantly. In TBT, the chief bomber, Okita Tetsuo, is the focal point. His schemes and unfortunate background dominated the story. Takakura Ken was more than up to the challenging role even imbuing his character with empathy. While Sonny Chiba is listed as a main, his part as the train operator was fairly small. The Street Fighter was in a constant sweat fighting panic every moment. There was no loose cannon cop who didn’t play by the rules. Though there were plenty of officers trying to do their job and failing spectacularly on several occasions. Utsui Ken as the level headed and compassionate Kuramochi was the star on the side of good. He struggled to find a way to save the passengers and showed why learning how to do story problems in math saves lives. Seventy-year-old Shimura Takashi had a small role as the railroad president. The hysterical, self-centered passengers had me wishing for a good old zombie apocalypse in a mirror image Train from Tokyo instead of Busan. The crew had no idea how to handle desperate salarymen more concerned about their deals than their lives. I suspect in the film’s world they had a post disaster meeting to install locks on the car doors and cabin.
My biggest complaint would be the music which was dreadful even by 1970’s “bow-chicka-bow” style tunes. Also with a large cast, it took quite a bit of time for me to nail down who was in charge of what. The police continually waffled between wanting to surveil, arrest, or kill the suspects which put the passengers’ lives at risk.
At 2 ½ hours, the film ran long though most of the time was put to good use with few scenes dragging down the action. The economic divide drove the bombing team who were looking to kick the government in the side. It was hard to be too sympathetic with Okita as he did threaten innocent, if annoying, people’s lives. Perhaps these passengers who could afford the expensive bullet train tickets appeared complicit with the struggles so many people in Japan were facing. As the world’s first high speed train, it made for a shiny target of revenge. The people in charge callously weighed the passengers’ lives against their reputations, with Kuramochi caught in the middle only caring about the 1500’s safety.
For a 1975 disaster film, The Bullet Train acquitted itself well. The ending was a small emotional letdown, but also what made it distinctly Japanese. The primary antagonist and protagonist weren’t in a life-or-death guns drawn brawl, but rather in an existential and ethical battle that held people’s lives in the balance.
8 August 2025
7.75 rounded up to an 8.0
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It's not just an action movie, it's human nature.
I'm finding it quite hard to review the movie 'because...wow...just wow...pretty much says it all.It's truly a rare great one that needs to have more recognition.
If you're put off by the fact it's from 1975, forget about that, it's better than majority of movies made nowadays, be it story, acting or directing and will remain an amazing piece of work even 100 years from now.
Started watching it with the thought that it'll be a fun(more or less) action movie.
It was not fun.
It did have great action & suspense 'thou.
But more than anything - it's a heavy one.
2.5 hours and not a moment of it did my attention stray away from the screen. It had me the whole time.
The story, the acting, the directing, music...it really is shown in a way that makes you stop and think.
Don't want to give away any spoilers, but just know while it does have great action/suspense, it also showcases human nature at it's best & worst. Mostly the worst from all points of view one could imagine - how being down on luck can accumulate and lead to tough decisions, how panic makes the masses foolish, how government is willing to sacrifice, how something planned to go without any bloodshed can go so very wrong.
Story definitely is a 10.
Acting/cast also deserves a 10.
Music got 8 because while overall it did fit and add to the scenes, nothing memorable, moreover, the last one at the very end was like...wth. I understand why they did it, but still...kind of agree with the choice while also disagree.
Actually...conflicted is a pretty good way to describe the movie, it leaves me kind of conflicted inside.
Re-watch value...7, but not because it's not worth a re-watch, it is...but bear in mind, it's a heavy one, so not an easy re-watch. I'll need some fluffy/fun drama/movie now that I've finished watching The Bullet Train to cheer me up and shake off this heaviness.
Overall - a solid 10.
Go watch it.
It's worth it.
Most definitely.
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