Welcome to Commentary Commentary, where we sit and listen to filmmakers talk about their work, then share the most interesting parts. In this edition, Rob Hunter revisits the successful but much maligned Bullet Train with a commentary from its director.
David Leitch and Chad Stahelski are the two big names behind 87 Eleven Action Design, the professional stunt team that rose to prominence with the release of 2014’s John Wick. While Stahelski directed that film and its three sequels, Leitch branched out for his own solo efforts including Atomic Blonde (2017), Deadpool 2 (2018), Hobbs & Shaw (2019), and 2022’s Bullet Train. All four were box-office hits, and the first three earned a “fresh” rating via Rotten Tomatoes. Bullet Train, though, continues to be lambasted by critics and #FilmTwitter on a regular basis.
The film is a bit overstuffed, and it’s trying way too hard to make you like it, but that aside it’s a perfectly fun popcorn flick. Fun cast, some laughs, and a good supply of entertaining action beats — Bullet Train is fine, people.
Leitch’s latest feature, The Fall Guy, hits theaters today, and while it’s too early to tell if it’ll win over audiences and/or critics, it’s a movie I’m looking forward to seeing. Between the new film and the ongoing hate for Leitch’s last effort, it felt like the right time to revisit Bullet Train — via Leitch’s commentary. So keep reading to see what I heard on the commentary track for…
Commentators: David Leitch (director), Kelly McCormick (producer), Zak Olkewicz (writer)
1. He obviously loves the 87 North opening logo, adding that they want their movies to have a fun sensibility outside of the expected great action.
2. The film originally opened with Ladybug (Brad Pitt) post-crash, surveying the scene and the chaos, before then jumping back to the start. They instead returned to the current opening featuring Kimura (Andrew Koji) and The Elder (Hiroyuki Sanada) by a hospital bed as “the stakes were much stronger.”
3. Leitch made a point of peppering the film with talismans and other symbols to help guide viewers through the film’s narrative “because it is really complex.”
4. The on-screen title begins as an animated roll of words, and it’s an idea Leitch had as a way of identifying........