Bullet Train - Snatch on the Orient Express

I'll say straight off the bat that I enjoyed 'Bullet Train.' I must have because I continued to watch it past the halfway mark, even though I had little clue as to what was going on.  A lot of people have compared it to 'Snatch' (probably because of Brad Pitt's involvement), but I though its style of story was more in keeping with 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,' due to the way it had multiple characters all with their own weaving storylines which eventually put them all on a collision course with each other.

However, where as 'Lock Stock' was set all over London, 'Bullet Train' is kept primarily to a single location of a train as it hurtles through Japan one night.  Aboard are a multitude of hitmen and general henchmen from the criminal underworld, all with their own motives.  Like I said, the narrative is quite convoluted and I have to confess getting kind of lost most of the way through.  Luckily, the film pulls itself together and nicely ties up the various tales to a satisfying ending.

Brad Pitt is always good value for money, but it's the two assassins 'Lemon' and 'Tangerine' who steal every scene they're in and could almost be the central characters to a spin-off of their own (and I will never think of 'Thomas the Tank Engine' the same way ever again!).

About my main gripe was that the film does feel like it drags a bit near the end.  It seems that it's wrapping up and coming to a conclusion, only to keep on going for a further half an hour.  I'm pretty sure they could have edited it down by about fifteen minutes here or there to keep it a little tighter.

I never saw the trailer before I watched this, but I understand it's cut like some sort of 'Matrix' action film with loads of fight scenes.  I would warn anyone that there isn't that much of this and if you're thinking you're in for a wall to wall action epic then you're going to be a bit disappointed.

Overall, if you like films with multiple (crime?) story threads that weave and twist, before finally coming together, then you should enjoy this one.

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that