Film Review: Bullet Train Explosion

Very Average Joe
May 5
3 min read

English Title: Bullet Train Explosion

Japanese Title: 新幹線大爆破 [lit. Shinkansen big explosion]

Director(s): Higuchi Shinji

Screenwriter(s): Nakagawa Kazuhiro & Oba Norichika

Studio: Episcope

Released: 2025

Runtime: 2h 15m

Starring: Kusanagi Tsuyoshi, Saitoh Takumi, Ono Machiko, Non, Toyoshima Hana, Ohgo Suzuka

A sequel to the 1975 film of the same Japanese title, this is to a Western audience Speed (1994) on the Shinkansen instead of a bus.

The opening introduces conductor Takaichi (Kusanagi Tsuyoshi) in Aomori prefecture where he gives a tour to high school students before boarding the 5060B departing at 15:17 and heading for Tokyo.

The scene runs through some departing procedures involving Takaichi, driver Matsumoto (Non) and the Tokyo control room commanded by Kasagi (Saitoh Takumi). Just as Top Gun (1986) is an advertisement for the US Navy, this is an advertisement for JR East, showing off their procedures and discipline. It’s not unrealistic but it’s to make them look good, which it does.

Then it is promptly revealed by an anonymous phone call to JR East that there is a bomb on the 5060B that will explode if the train slows to under 100km/h. The call also demands a massive sum. Matsumoto is then instructed to reduce to and remain at 120km/h as those at Tokyo attempt a solution.

There are brief introductions to a variety of minor cardboard characters, from passengers such as politician Kagami (Ono Machiko) to high school students led by their teacher, Ichikawa (Ohgo Suzuka), and police liaison at Tokyo. These characters are featured throughout in a way that is convenient for plot progression and/or to shift the focus to avoid staying with one character for too long. It is not done in a way in which one can emotionally invest in the character, which is mostly fine given the genre.

Indeed, as is common in Japanese films, it deliberately takes an impersonal approach without going as far as a pseudo-documentary. Takaichi and Kasagi are the main characters and probably the only ones that the viewer connects with and perhaps also Matsumoto who is stuck in the pilot’s seat. Non has that pleasant look that sells the pathos. On balance, the performances are solid given the little the cast has to work with.

The narrative builds quickly enough with sufficient tension. It is not highly intense but enough to keep one watching. One cannot keep this intensity, at least not for the same problem, for the entire film so there needs to be another problem.

This does happen after the rescue attempt, the focus shifting to the person(s) behind the bomb. Whilst this is necessary and generally appropriate for storytelling, some of the specifics are a stretch. It does reference the “109” case of the 1975 original film but the connections being about fifty years is a stretch. In any case, the suspense is not as well maintained at this point.

The set pieces are well done. The visual effects can be better but it is what one expects and whatever its flaws it is not jarring. The cinematography makes good use of the handheld or steady-cam as well as tight shots of details in action sequences. The editing is seamless. At a runtime of over two hours, the film could use at least one more set piece.

As is common in Japanese films, there is the theme of duty, discipline and efficiency of the “workers” whilst slamming Japan’s infamous bureaucracy and insensitive “leaders”. It may be dramatized but there is enough truth.

However one looks at it, it does show that when lives depend on it—whether it is an aircraft carrier deck or high-speed railway—things are done half-properly unlike a “normal” office filled with lazy idiots most of us are exposed to. You wouldn’t trust those tools to run a toy train.

On balance, it is a straightforward action thriller that works well enough. Being on a train, there are obvious limitations that in turn make the plot more predictable. For example, both the track and the train’s control system provide stability even though one can run out of track. This is why Speed works better in terms of suspense. A bus has more freedom to move but one also has to manually maintain speed and stability whilst navigating traffic.

Ultimately, even as a cheesy action film, it arguably can better utilize some of the minor characters. But, more relevant to the genre, it needs at least one more set piece. It needs a few more innovative “tricks” and whilst one does not expect, nor is it true to the character, for Takaichi to take the initiative like Keanu Reeves, a bit more MacGuyvering from others would better complete the film.