BULLET TRAIN EXPLOSIONS
(director: Shinji Higuchi; screenwriters; Kazuhiro Nakagawa, Norichika ôba; cinematographers: Yusuke Ichitubo, Keizo Suzuki; editor: Kaori Umewaki; music: Taisei Iwasaki, Yuma Yamaguchi; cast: Tsuyoshi Kusanagi (Kazuya Takaichi), Kanata Hosoda (Keiji fujii), Non (Chika Matsumoto), Jun Kaname (Mitsuru Todoroki), Machiko Ono (Yuko Kagami), Hana Toyoshima (Yuzuki Onodera), Suzuka Ohgo (Chikawa), Takumi Saitoh (Yuchi Kasagi); Runtime: 134; MPAA Rating: NR; producer: Kota Ishizuka; Netflix; 2025-Japan)
“Takes too long to reach its destination.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
Shinji Higuchi (“Shin Ultraman”/”The Floating Castle”) directs this over-the-top and overlong reboot of the classic Japanese disaster movie by Junya Sato “The Bullet Train” (1975). It’s co-written by Kazuhiro Nakagawa and Norichika ôba. It features a few exciting set-pieces, but takes too long to reach its destination.
A high-speed bullet train, the Hayabusa 60, is going from Shin-Aomori to Tokyo, with school children aboard. But a terrorist voice-message says there’s a bomb on the train and that it will explode if the train slows down to 100 mph. The terrorists are blackmailing the government to give into its demands.
The passengers include: Yuko Kagami (Machiko Ono), a politician; Mitsuru Todoroki (Jun Kaname), a wealthy influencer; Yuzuki Onodera (Hana Toyoshima), a student; and a mystery man with a face mask.
The train staff includes: Kazuya Takaichi (Tsuyoshi Kusanagi), the heroic, unflappable and kindly conductor; Chika Matsumoto (Non), the train engineer; and the excitable young ticket-taker, Keiji Fujii (Kanata Rosoda).
The company men at East Japan Railway Company HQs, who own the train, worry if their expensive high-speed train will be destroyed, while the government officials are dealing with the crisis by trying to calm the guilt-ridden passengers and showing them that they care enough about them to come up with a solution to save their lives.
The acting is so-so, the incredulous story lacks energy, only the visuals were impressive.
REVIEWED ON 5/1/2025 GRADE: C+
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