Kotaro Isaka is a bestselling and multi-award-winning Japanese writer whose books have sold millions of copies around the world. He has won the Shincho Mystery Club Award, Mystery Writers of Japan Award, Japan Booksellers’ Award and the Yamamoto Shugoro Prize. His book “Bullet Train” is a dark, satirical thriller that follows the perilous train ride of five highly motivated assassins. It was adapted into a major film from Sony starring Brad Pitt, Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Andrew Koji, Hiroyuki Sanada, Michael Shannon, Benito A Martínez Ocasio, and more. (Amazon, 2022)

“Bullet Train” – Satoshi—The Prince—looks like an innocent schoolboy but he is really a stylish and devious assassin. Risk fuels him, as does a good philosophical debate, such as questioning: Is killing really wrong? Kimura’s young son is in a coma thanks to The Prince, and Kimura has tracked him onto a bullet train heading from Tokyo to Morioka to exact his revenge. But Kimura soon discovers that they are not the only dangerous passengers on board. Nanao, also nicknamed Ladybug, the self-proclaimed “unluckiest assassin in the world,” is put on the bullet train by his boss, a mysterious young woman called Maria, to steal a suitcase full of money and get off at the first stop. The lethal duo of Tangerine and Lemon are also traveling to Morioka, and the suitcase leads others to show their hands. Why are they all on the same train, and who will make it off alive? A bestseller in Japan, “Bullet Train” is an original and propulsive thriller that fizzes with incredible energy as its complex net of double-crosses and twists unwinds up to the last station.

This past weekend I got the chance to watch Bullet Train and I was surprised to learn that it is based on a book. I have not read the book but from reading up on it, there are some obvious differences. Considering that the source is a Japanese novel, The Prince is a boy in the book but a white girl in the movie and Nanao, one of the assassins, is also white and portrayed by Brad Pitt. This does not bother me in the least and I prefer to focus on the story. It is an action comedy movie that reminds me of Deadpool and Quentin Tarantino movies like Kill Bill because of the dark humor and the insane amount of killing and blood involved but without going overboard. The plot twists and surprises keep it interesting and the fact that it takes place on a bullet train foreshadows the momentum of the action. Overall, it is a fun movie, plenty of action and comedy and not too long with a run time of a little over two hours.