Directed by David Leitch (John Wick; Deadpool 2; Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw; Atomic Blonde) and starring Brad Pitt (Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood; 12 Years a Slave; Moneyball; The Big Short), Joey King (The Kissing Booth; Slender Man; Independence Day: Resurgence), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick-Ass; Nowhere Boy; The King's Man) and Brian Tyree Henry (The Woman in the Window; Joker; Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse).
Action comedy; 126 mins; 16+
A wildly entertaining, outrageous and stylish co-production from the USA and Japan; an action comedy that takes outlandish gore and mayhem from Quentin Tarantino and pieces it together with slapstick from Deadpool. A non-stop thrill-ride based on the Japanese novel by Kôtarô Isaka featuring a number of assassins aboard a fast moving bullet train travelling from Tokyo to Kyoto who find out their missions have something in common.
Ladybug (Brad Pitt) is an unlucky point-man, sometimes assassin, whose mission is to retrieve a briefcase from one of a number of compartments on a bullet train. On the same train are "brothers" Tangerine (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Lemon (Brian Tyree Henry) and a apparently innocent young girl named Prince (Joey King). Ladybug loses his ticket but finds the briefcase; he tries to get off the train at the next stop, but his plans are thwarted. He comes up against a series of goofy predicaments and adversaries who have conflicting objectives.
The characters all have their own personas and traits, with Lemon particularly fond of Thomas the Tank Engine and Ladybug blessed / cursed with luck in equal measure. While they all appear on the scene (on board the bullet train) without much backstory, the audience does learn about them though flashbacks throughout which all add up to the scenario that presents itself as the train nears its destination.
But where did all the passengers go?
And watch out for the celebrity cameos...
Interestingly, the director and lead actor have worked together before on a number of projects: David Leitch worked as Pitt's stunt double in Fight Club (1999), Ocean's Eleven (2001), Troy (2004) and Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005).
Currently screening at Kinepolis in Luxembourg.
