Bullet Train Explosion

BULLET TRAIN EXPLOSION 🚆  新幹線大爆破

A few months away from its fiftieth anniversary, the 1975 Japanese film The Bullet Train has been remade into a modern-day action thriller that is now streaming globally on Netflix as BULLET TRAIN EXPLOSION.

The story follows a train conductor, a politician, an online celebrity, a schoolgirl, a fresh-out-of-jail murderer, and many of Japan’s regular transit users who are all on board the Shinkansen train service departing for Tokyo. In the middle of their train ride, they get word that a bomb is strapped to the train, and the only way out of the situation is for them to pay the ransom of ¥100 billion. The catch is the train can’t go below 100 km/h, and the payment must be made by the citizens of Japan.

If you’re able to turn your brain off and watch this without trying to rationalize everything that is going on, you’ll have an absolute blast!

Purely from a summer popcorn flick standpoint, this was an effortlessly entertaining watch, with great stereotyped characters that were perfect fill-ins for the type of people we have running rampant across society these days. Even though it’s at its best when highlighting how chaotic humans can become when their lives are on the line, there’s also a redeeming quality to how they portray the goodness in people that inspires hope in ways that will leave you feeling warm inside.

It’s also a reminder not to judge a book by its cover.

Yes, this is a run-of-the-mill plot that you will figure out within twenty minutes, but the “maybe Thanos was right…” approach to the story will at least have you second-guessing your own beliefs. The villain despises the false normality that’s been created in society where people lie and continue to be hypocrites, and that thought plaguing their mind is the sickness they want to plague the rest of Japan with.

None of the above works without Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, who becomes a steadying force that makes this movie work in ways it probably wouldn’t have otherwise.

Of course we’ve seen movies like this before with films like Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock’s 1994 classic Speed, but the way BULLET TRAIN EXPLOSION plays with the world outside of the train is what will really grip you. As someone who has worked on the backend of public transportation before, I found myself fully engaged in trying to strategize alongside the chaotic control room filled with government officials and the subject matter experts who continue to face the adversity head on.

Regardless of how ridiculous the motivation behind what’s going on was, I still wholeheartedly believe that we need more movies like this.

There’s an inspired hopefulness to this story, exemplified by its lead character, that makes you root for the good in others in ways the world is currently lacking, so don’t take it too seriously and just sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride. 

Enjoy!

7.3/10 🍿 🎥

Runtime: 2hrs14mins

Where: Streaming on Netflix April 23

Bullet Train Explosion Review (2025) The Richmond Reviewer - April 22nd, 2025.

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