Bullet Train 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Bullet Train 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman October 17, 2022

Bullet Train is a Guy Ritchie film minus Guy Ritchie. Rather, Director David Leitch's (Atomic Blonde) picture merely resembles the tone and flavor of Ritchie's hits like Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, cramming together all of the Ritchie hallmarks in what amounts to a reasonably good facsimile of the familiar fare. The film is based on the Japanese novel Maria Beetle by Kōtarō Isaka. Bullet Train offers an operatically violent mashup of characters within a relatively confined space, with plot tentacles extending from a central premise that leads to a number of rabbit trails that the film explores and doesn't always satisfactorily recover from, but the net effect should please fans looking for the next Ritchie-like cinema experience.

Official synopsis: In Bullet Train, Brad Pitt stars as Ladybug, an unlucky assassin determined to do his job peacefully after one too many gigs gone off the rails. Fate, however, may have other plans, as Ladybug's latest mission puts him on a collision course with lethal adversaries from around the globe – all with connected, yet conflicting, objectives – on the world's fastest train...and he's got to figure out how to get off. From the director of Deadpool 2, David Leitch, the end of the line is only the beginning in a wild, non-stop thrill ride through modern-day Japan.

There is no denying that Bullet Train is full of energy. It's bursting at the seams, fighting with every frame to build on the kinetic forward momentum that propels it. However, with all of that intensity comes a feeling that the movie is often flailing about, letting loose because it must and because it can, not because it necessarily should. The boundless excitement and need to empty the tank keep things lively and on-the-go, but sometimes at the expense of clarity or immersion. The film sometimes feels too boundless, too eager to push forward which means that it sometimes pushes through plot points and character moments rather than stop to build for something beyond the moment. That is not to say that the movie never has an eye on the end destination -- it does -- but there's sometimes a serious disconnect between the big picture propellants and the muscle in the moment. The result is a movie that is equal parts rewarding and frustrating. It's a visceral, fast-paced, breathless sort of film, but it is not without its moments of chaotic confusion.

Even if the pace and structure are sometimes too fast and too loose, respectively, for the film to really work for all it's worth, there is no mistaking that Bullet Train has all of its superficialities lined up with an eye to the most robust experience possible. The film is unabashedly concerned with celebrating violence. It's bloody and gleefully so, playing fast and loose with life and death and finding much of its humor in the bloodiest interactions between its characters. The fight scenes are certainly well choreographed with an eye towards making each scene something of a ballet of bloodshed where moves are precise and the blood is copious. The actors seem to have a good bit of fun with the material, too, reveling in the language and the physical dance alike. All of the key performances are defined by enthusiasm more so than character nuance and depth, which works just fine in a movie of this structure.

Bullet Train 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc.

Sony's 2160p/Dolby Vision UHD release of Bullet Train offers a remarkably vivid image that ranks as one of the clearest, sharpest, and most richly realized UHD discs on the market today, particularly considering new release, digitally shot films. The picture is just striking at the 2160p resolution. It's not a massive gain over the Blu-ray, which speaks to just how great the film looks at 1080p, but there are a number of clarity refinements and detail gains that amplify the picture to a level beyond what the 1080p disc can offer. Close-ups are particularly robust for extreme definition to the most intimate of skin lines, bumps, pores, and hairs, all of which reach a zenith for clarity and tangible definition. The picture could not be any more razor-sharp if it tried. It's so good, especially in any of the many static close-ups, that it's worth pausing the image to simply gaze upon it and soak up the splendor of what home theater can achieve in 2022.

The Dolby Vision grading reveals a healthy improvement over the Blu-ray as well. The UHD has a somewhat less warm look about it, featuring instead a more refined, natural look that leaves skin tones healthier and remarkably realistic for precise tonal definition across the film's spectrum of diverse looking characters. Bold colors just leap off the screen with newfound intensity and vivid output, whether clothes, colored lighting on the train, or even Prince's blue eyes (look at the 1:01:31 mark for an example of how her eyes just leap out of the screen). The Dolby Vision grading brings the usual slate of improvements at the ends for white brilliance and black depth and balance, too. On the UHD, noise is extremely fine and there are no other source or encode shortcomings of note.

Simply put, with either the UHD or BD disc, fans are going to be in for an absolute feast for the eyes.

Bullet Train 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Bullet Train zips onto the UHD format with a Dolby Atmos soundtrack. The presentation delivers a listen that is not worlds away superior to the Blu-ray's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 presentation, but it is a more refined and spatially capable listen that is the clear superior of the two. Broadly, the track shares the same characteristics as the 5.1 track: it's aggressively immersive with powerful bass and plenty of discrete effects. The difference here is the opportunity for more precise placement and a greater sense of dynamic immersion thanks to the surround back and overhead channels. While discrete effects in either location are not commonplace, there is no mistaking the greater soundstage command and precision integration of both boisterous action and music and subtle train atmospherics alike for a fuller, more positive listen. Musical clarity is terrific, action elements are replete with detail, and dialogue is clear and true from its natural front-center position.

Bullet Train 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This UHD release of Bullet Train includes several extras, including featurettes and a commentary track. All extras are on the bundled Blu-ray, but the UHD carries over the commentary and previews. A Movies Anywhere digital copy code are included with purchase.

• Mission Accomplished: Making of Bullet Train (1080p, 6:11): A look at Leitch's background in stunt work, the film's originality, its fight choreography, Leitch's direction, characters, crew, and more.
• All Aboard the Pain Train: Stunts (1080p, 5:13): As the title suggests, this piece looks at the film's fight and stunt work inside the limited available spacing. It also explores how the fights are tailored to each character.
• Outtakes & Bloopers (1080p, 3:00): Humorous moments from the shoot.
• Audio Commentary: Director David Leitch, Producer Kelly McCormick, and Screenwriter Zak Olkewicz chat up the film in detail.
• Trained Professionals: The Cast (1080p, 6:53): Praising the cast: camaraderie and performances alike.
• Catch What You Missed: Easter Eggs (1080p, 4:14): A fast paced look at some of the little winks and nods in the film, some of which are revealing, others of which are superficial and even veer into "making of" territory.
• Select Scene Stunt Previs (1080p, 3:57): Early conceptual video paired with the final film clips.
• Bullet Train Goes Off the Rails (1080p, 4:36): Lemon and Tangerine pitch the film in conjunction with the NBA.
• Previews (1080p): Additional Sony titles.

Bullet Train 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Bullet Train is keenly aware of its genre and artfully blends raw and rough violence with operatic choreography. The film celebrates the style to excess, sometimes losing track of whatever story focuses can be found at the center. It's well made and well performed, but it also rings hollow where it counts. Sony's UHD does look and sound amazing, and there are plenty of extras for fans to explore. Highly recommended for fans of this film and its genre.