Bullet Train Explosion (2025)
A train will explode if it dips below 100kph.
Partial remake/tribute/soft sequel of the 1975 original, helmed by Shinji Higuchi. He’s good at handling the frantic bureaucracy/government machine scenes, like he did in Shin Godzilla, and the action/tension parts are done well, but some of the characters are poorly drawn. The motives of the antagonist are thoroughly explained, but don’t really ring true, and the escalation of emotions amongst some of the passengers is jarring.
Visual effects are a mixed bag - some are very good, others not so. There’s some lovely sweeping shots of the train travelling. The main character is played well, but there’s a lack of connect with the general setup that will really, really put some people off. I enjoyed it, because I like this type of stuff, but I can appreciate how the slower moments will bore the chod out of some people.
I put up with ten minutes of the dub before switching over to Japanese with subs, and it did make a difference to the sincerity of the film.
7/10.