Welcome to late-stage Brad
Fading assassins looking to complete the latest job. Low-level criminals looking for a clean exit from the life. Under-loved princesses looking to deal with daddy once and for all. Others looking for nothing more than cold, hard revenge. And in the middle of it all is bucket-hat Brad Pitt. In his latest, Bullet Train (or: Bucket-Hat Brad with a Bullet), Pitt romps, skips, hops, twirls, guffaws, and even sings his way through an overly-complicated, needlessly-sprawling, yet more than semi-entertaining roller coaster.
The set-up, by now as common as meet-cute, dysfunctional but loving family, or bright but naive up and comer, introduces us to Pitt as Ladybug, an “operative” back in the business after some recent soul-searching and immersion in new-age inspiration. Ladybug’s handler, mostly the disembodied voice of Sandra Bullock, funnels his actions and steadies his rambling thoughts as he boards the overnight bullet train to Kyoto for a basic snatch-and-grab robbery.
Offering various obstacles for Ladybug to overcome are a rogue’s gallery of slightly-tweaked stock characters. Killer duo Lemon (Atlanta’s Brian Tyree Henry), and Tangerine (Aaron Taylor-Johnson, of Kick-Ass 1,2 and Nocturnal Animals fame), Prince (Joey King), Father and son psycho drama Kimura (Andrew Koji) and The Elder (Hiroyuki Sanada). I’m not done: we also have The White Death, played by long-standing heavy Michael Shannon, Hornet (Zazie Beetz, outstanding in The Joker and Atlanta), and rounded out by none other than Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny, who plays a very, very vengeful Benito A Martínez Ocasio, a.k.a The Wolf.
Screenwriter Zak Olkewicz weaves everyone into a narrative quilt that sometimes keeps everyone warm, but often leaves others out in the cold. Around the quilt is his structure of choice, the twin narrative devices of a Macguffin of a suitcase full of cash, which itself is contained in a high-speed train, trying desperately to keep the plot moving forward. Bullet Train is in a way another tube film, in which a number of characters are put inside a confined space from which they cannot leave, and forced to deal with one another. Think Air Force One, Hunt For Red October, Con Air, The Taking of Pelham 123, Das Boot, or the more recent The Commuter, as well as many, many others. Olkewicz’s twist is that, of course, trains stop at stations, train doors open, and escape presents itself. He deals with these challenges in various and clever ways.
Director David Leitch continues to carve out an artistic brand centered on slightly off-center, highly-stylized, action-oriented films. His most notable effort to date is the still decently-watchable Charlize Theron vehicle Atomic Blonde, that, like Bullet Train, loves to present its violence as graphic novel-esque (the film is based on Kotaro Isaka’s graphic novel) set-pieces of balletic action and zinger-filled dialog. The formula is brilliant in that it can be tweaked this way or that, depending on how Leitch wants to highlight his star, his supporting cast, or his setting. As Pitt’s former stunt double in, among other films, Fight Club, Leitch brings an uncanny physicality to just about performance.
Which brings us to Mr. Pitt.
Whole books, hell, whole two-season series could barely fit all there is to say about Brad Pitt. He seems to be one of the last of a very, very old school list of Hollywood stars who can effortlessly carry everything from A River Runs Through It, Se7en, through Fight Club, to Snatch, all of the Oceans, Troy, Inglorious Basterds, Tree of Life, Moneyball, World War Z, Fury, Ad Astra, and finally, and most triumphantly, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Just look at the depth, breadth, the sheer comprehensiveness of that list. Hat’s off to Brad.
Now, about that hat.
I’m fascinated with why he chose to wear a bucket hat here. I really love what it does to his look, how it softens his already fairly soft face, how it tells us this character will be a bit lighter, quicker to joke, slower to anger, than others in the Brad oeuvre, and how it not-so-subtly signals the beginning of late-stage Brad.
Compare it to the Sony Pictures publicity shot, which highlights a sexy griminess, but which is drastically out of touch with the character of Ladybug. Consider also the trailer, in which the hat is prominently featured; consider, even, the actual Brad recently sporting the hat at sporting events. I think Brad wants to start getting us ready for late-stage Brad, for a Brad that doesn’t need to take things as seriously, for a Brad that’s just about ready to age gracefully.
Go see Bullet Train for glossy colors, lots of well-orchestrated fights, and, of course, for Brad. Don’t take it too seriously. Have your popcorn and Coke ready, and give a slight nod of thanks to all the years and all the great moments we’ve had in the presence of Brad.
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See Bullet Train in Bay Area theaters today (and don’t be a loser and wait ’til VOD).
