Bullet Train Does Have Unanswered Questions-Leave Them Alone

credit: Bullet Train

Plenty of movies out there cause people to ask questions for a large number of reasons since it could be that moviegoers don’t pay close enough attention or they don’t fully understand the stories that they’re watching. Bullet Train is one of those movies that manages to move at such a fast clip in several scenes that it becomes difficult to understand and even remember what’s going on and why. It doesn’t help that there are so many great actors in the movie and their individual characters have stories that circle around each other but also go off in other directions at what appear to be random moments. But if one is really paying attention to this feature, they’ll come to the understanding that each character is linked to this particular story for a good reason, and there’s not nearly as much mystery as one might think when it comes to the main idea of the movie. Several assassins are drawn to a bullet train for a singular purpose that is orchestrated by a villain that is thrust into the spotlight more than once but isn’t fully revealed until it’s necessary to give the needed exposition that will tie the thing up with a bow. But, like always, a lot of people feel the need to inject more meaning into the overall story instead of allowing it to expand naturally without their need to know every little detail. 

credit: Bullet Train

There are assassins, they’re all doing their own thing, and they begin to collide. How hard is that to understand? 

To be realistic, almost every character shows at least some semblance of a backstory, meaning that they come with their own exposition. Ladybug doesn’t have a history that’s shown save through flashbacks that are quick and concise, but it’s easy to get the message that he’s a guy that’s looking to change his life. Unfortunately, his skill set still defines him and still puts him in high demand, which is tragic but kind of easy to understand. As for the other assassins, their own stories are revealed just enough to make it known that they are disturbed and deadly individuals that are being given their own tasks for a good reason. Trying to go beyond this for the sake of the movie and a greater explanation doesn’t feel like it would do much of anything other than muddy the waters leading into this movie. Seriously, people didn’t need to know enough about each character to warrant a prequel or a sequel. 

The White Death is an important figure in the story; that much is made kind of obvious. 

The idea of a foreigner making his way to Japan and earning their way into the trust of a person that grants them power and prestige isn’t exactly a new tale, but for the purposes of this movie, it does set the stage for a frightening new character that takes control and sets things in motion. Of course, once that individual finds their way to the top, they find that others are bound to plan and plot to take him down, which incites a story that shows just how ruthless the individual is. The White Death is the kind of guy that makes sense when he’s kept as a legend that people speak of, even if he’s not seen that often. But once Michael Shannon comes on the scene, it becomes a bit silly since he loses that enigmatic air and takes on the look of an aging white man who is highly skilled and powerful but is still becoming ineffectual in his old age as he sees shadows in every corner that need to be defended against. The character is ruthless, without a doubt, but his motivations aren’t that tough to figure out. 

credit: Bullet Train

It feels as though too many people haven’t seen enough mystery thrillers in their lives. 

It’s easy to think that a lot of people haven’t watched that many action thrillers either if they have that many questions about this movie since it’s true, there are a lot of openings in the various stories that are compiled into this feature that could be explored. But why? It’s easy to understand why people are inquisitive, they want to know what’s being kept from them and what other information might be revealed if they dig a little deeper. But there is a point at which the story unravels if people keep picking at it, and way too many people feel the need to keep pulling the threads until the entire tapestry is nothing but a jumbled mess. 

The movie is a lot of fun, but thinking too hard about the details might be why some folks didn’t enjoy it. 

Details in a movie are important; that much is true. But obsessing over the details is more than just annoying when people continue to do so in an obsessive manner. Sometimes it’s best to let the movie run as it is and not worry too much about the details that are kept hidden by necessity. Logic isn’t always the friend of cinema.