Bullet Train

Brad Pitt on a poster is basically a green light for me. Throw the ticket on the counter, I'm there. Turns out that instinct paid off big time on this one.

The action barely lets you breathe. It's almost non-stop, and somehow the story underneath it all stays easy to follow. That's harder than it sounds. A lot of movies try to juggle a bunch of characters with their own agendas and end up tripping over themselves. This one keeps the plot moving and actually makes it interesting while bodies are flying around.

Some of the violence is so over the top it loops back around to being awesome.

Brad is Brad. He's the engine. But Aaron and Brian are right there with him doing the heavy lifting, and the three of them are what makes this thing work. You take any of them out and I don't know if the movie holds together the same way.

Joey King is the kind of villain that sneaks up on you. Sweet on the outside, rotten underneath, and she nails it. Then there's Andrew, who keeps stacking performances that move him up my personal list. I'm paying attention to whatever he does next.

And then the stunts. Some of the violence is so over the top it loops back around to being awesome. Ridiculous in the best possible way. The kind of stuff where you laugh out loud because you can't believe they actually did it.

Did it stick with me? Yeah. Days later I was still thinking about specific moments. Would I watch it again? Already planning on it. Would I tell everybody on Earth to go see it? Not exactly. This one's for specific people. You know who you are. If unhinged action with a cast having a blast sounds like your thing, you're in.

I went in expecting a fun Brad Pitt joint. I got something better than that. Hop on.