The Bullet Train

Now here's a brief little plot description I'm sure will sound familiar to most people! Terrorists plant a bomb somewhere on a crowded public transportation vehicle. The device activates itself once the vehicle reaches a certain speed and will explode if the vehicle lowers its speed beneath this mark. The authorities as well as the driver are aware of the danger, but a ransom needs to be paid before the terrorists gives the exact location of the bomb. Now where have I heard that before? Hey wait a minute, it's that movie "Speed" with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock! Well sure, 99% of the world will be able to guess that, but sadly only a miserable 1% (or even less) know that "Speed" is, in fact, some sort of remake of this modestly produced but hugely exhilarating Japanese 70's disaster flick. Here in this case, the public transportation vehicle is an elite high-speed express train instead of a bus, so there are even more possibilities to hide the explosives. There are two versions of "Bullet Train" available, albeit both of them are quite obscure, but they're a world of difference. The international version is barely 90 minutes long and pretty much cuts all the background and intrigues surrounding the act of terrorism. The Japanese version runs slightly over 150 minutes and is the complete opposite! In this extended version you get to know literally everything about the terrorists, including how they got acquainted and even what they prefer to have for lunch. I'm usually quite allergic to long (2+ hours) movies, but I read that the heavily cut version comes across as incoherent and clumsy, and also that it doesn't feature the social criticism and melodrama. This may very well be true, but the 150 minutes slightly exaggerates with illustrating background stories and dramatic subplots. At numerous times during the film, it even felts like the booby trapped train was merely an unimportant sub plot while the real movie revolved on the life story of main terrorist Tetsuo Okita. Still, it's a compelling and at times adrenalin-rushing adventure with a solid script and terrific performances. Ken Takakura excels as the embittered terrorist and martial arts legend Sonny Chiba is very impressive in the for him very unusual role of ordinary machinist. One thing about "Bullet Train" I will surely NEVER forget for as long as I live is how this movie features the single most worst case of bad luck ever! After he received the ransom, the terrorists reveals that he left a bag in a restaurant. In the bag there's a map with a detailed drawing of where exactly in the train the bomb is located. The authorities rush to the restaurant, but notice upon arrival that the place just burned to the ground due to a short circuit! What are the odds of that happening?

This movie was special in having an extremely interesting plot and fast paced action. The cast is excellent with then major Japanese star Sony Chiba playing a minor role. The mastermind, played by Ken Takakura, is cool, calculating, and very human as opposed to the plain evil vilains typical in those days. The action is excellent and credible in a time when special effects were not computer-generated. I'm convinced that the plot for the movie "Speed" was lifted from this movie. It's worth seeing. I'm currently looking for a copy on VHS or DVD but to no avail. "Help!"

I watch this movie in DVD. This movie was produced before I am born, I was very exciting this movie. Because this movie music is good. It cannot believe that it is the old movie. Ken Takakura who is performed to this movie is the actor whom I like most. Because He is the greatest actor in Japan. His performance is very groovy. I knew him with the "Black rain" Because as for the reason where I looked at this movie, he was performed.

This movie is very good. It allows you to feel as if you are riding on one of Japan's bullet trains. (In Bulgaria, we call them 'arrow trains'). The movie plot follows in a very logical sequence, as the viewer is lead through the events from planting of the bomb to the eventual happy end. The characters of the terrorist are well played, as the motivations for their actions are explained. And their very human emotions of strife and hesitation are shown as we gradually learn who they are and what they want. Conversely, the train authorities are portrayed as brave people, who are taking prompt actions to eliminate the bomb. All in all, it is a movie that is pleasant to watch and will immerse you in a somewhat different world. The music, at times, becomes very gentle and dreamy (I wonder who composed the music and whether a soundtrack CD can be obtained from somewhere?) Watch this movie, it will be a memorable one for you!

I don't believe this Japanese thriller has anything to do with the new Brad Pitt movie (besides the two having almost identical titles). I still don't know whether I'll see 2022's Bullet Train, but its release reminded me to watch 1975's The Bullet Train, and it ended up being a pretty good watch.

I always thought Speed had an original plot, but it takes the basic premise of this movie and puts the action on a bus, rather than a train. Because in The Bullet Train, there's a bomb on a train, and the train will explode if it drops below a certain speed, with the bombers wanting ransom money before they'll agree to disarm the bomb.

It does play out more like a large scale Hollywood disaster movie than a small-scale action-thriller. The scope is actually pretty wide, and I felt like most of the scenes didn't actually take place on the train - a big part of the movie is about finding the masterminds behind the bombing. The train scenes themselves are great, though. All really exciting, and I think it used real trains for the most part (or if there were miniatures used, I couldn't tell).

There are plenty of recognisable Japanese actors all doing solid work, and the film is mostly entertaining throughout, even if I didn't love it. I will say: I was a goose and didn't research properly before watching, so I watched an inferior version that was dubbed and about half an hour shorter than what I realise now is the original version. So for the stuff I didn't like, it might (well, probably would) be better in the original cut, so that's on me for jumping the gun and watching a re-edit like a doofus.