STACK #217 November 2022

MOVIE FEATURE

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ACTION MAN Check out more from David Leitch

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Words Gill Pringle B ased on Kotaro Isaka’s 2010 as a reluctant assassin whose latest mission puts him onboard the titular vehicle in Japan, which is packed with fellow baddies variously portrayed by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Michael Shannon, Bad Bunny, Joey King, Zazie Beetz, Brian Tyree Henry, and Andrew Koji. Produced by Leitch’s 87North ultra-violent action-thrillers, directing Charlize Theron in Atomic Blonde and also producing John Wick , Nobody , and upcoming festive thriller Violent Night . As Pitt’s former stuntman, there’s very little Leitch doesn’t know about his leading man’s capabilities. “Brad is an incredibly physically talented actor and he can pull off a lot of stuff. He’s the first one to jump in there and really deliver as good as it gets in an action sequence. And the only time I ever really had to do anything for Brad, in all of those years as a stunt performer, was if it was really going to hurt – and then I had to do it!” he laughs. Wearing a nerdy bucket hat, Pitt stars as Ladybug, an unlucky assassin determined to do his job peacefully after one too many gigs have gone off the rails. Fate, however, has other plans, as Ladybug's latest mission puts him on a collision course with lethal adversaries from around the globe – all with connected, novel Maria Beetle , the action thriller Bullet Train stars Brad Pitt Productions, the director has spearheaded the current rise in

assassin and “twin” brother to Tyree Henry’s Lemon. “We all went to work and decided that we were just lucky to be there and doing this thing. And that was the mentality, with Brad cracking jokes. Bad Bunny came on and was a big sport, so brilliant when you see him, and I think this was his first movie. So big kudos to Bad Bunny, because he really came on and brought the sauce for sure, man,” he says of the Puerto Rican rapper whose real name is Benito A. Martinez Ocasio. “Sometimes I’d turn up and there were some secret cameos going on that we would find out on the day, and then you'd be opposite some great actors that have come on for just the day. And that's because David Leitch has a list of actors he's worked with, and so has Brad, and it's those kinds of friendships that were brilliant. “So it was kind of exciting, being an actor getting to play with all these other great actors who were just hanging around in Hollywood in a lockdown and had nothing else to do but step on and have a good time,” he adds. For Leitch, Bullet Train provided the opportunity to direct a movie that was unlike any other. “I was attracted to how bold and original it is, and that’s the kind of movie I like to make,” he says. “It has a tone of relentless fun and snappy dialogue. But the most important thing to me was that it had well-defined characters that gave the actors a lot to chew on. It’s a fun action-thriller with crazy, bombastic characters – and it’s a meditation on fate."

yet conflicting, objectives – on the world's fastest train. “Ladybug is going through an existential crisis,” says Pitt. “Too many of his recent jobs have gone sideways and he’s starting to think that the one thing all of those jobs have had in common is him. He thinks he’s brought bad luck to every aspect of his life – it’s affected his work, and he’s trying

• Bullet Train is out on 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD on Nov 9

to find a way to turn it around through peaceful resolution.” All of the actors found an instant rapport, charmed by Zak Olkewicz’s fast paced and witty script. “Every day you just never really knew what you were gonna get, but you knew you're gonna have a laugh,” says Taylor-Johnson, who portrays Tangerine, an experienced British

10 NOVEMBER 2022

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