As far as action movie concepts go, they don’t get much better than Speed: if the vehicle you're in goes too slow, it explodes. Simple yet effective. A new Netflix movie transposes that idea onto a Japanese bullet train headed towards Tokyo, for a gripping thriller set aboard one of the public transport marvels of the world.
In the upcoming movie, a terrorist has left a bomb on the Hayabusa service running from Hokkaido to Tokyo. They hold everyone on board to ransom for 100 billion yen, threatening denotation if the locomotive slows down to under 100km/h. Panic and some extremely tense negotiations ensue.
Going by the first trailer, Bullet Train Explosion focuses on two parallel plotlines: the staff on-board trying to keep everyone safe and calm, and the government fallout. Official policy is not to negotiate with terrorists, a classic thriller trope, with footage teasing at least one passionate stand-off over the safety of the passengers and crew.
We recently saw another calamitous journey aboard these high-speed trains in Bullet Train, starring Brad Pitt, from 2022. The travel time and dazzling speeds make them perfect for tight-knit thrill-rides where it seems like it's all going to go off the rails at any given moment.
This is directed by Shinji Higuchi, who's best known for working on Shin Godzilla and Shin Ultraman with Hideaki Anno, as well as the Evangelion and Attack on Titan franchise. The film is a remake of The Bullet Train from 1975, and in contrast to the '70s version, this one uses real trains from the East Japan Railway Company in filming.
We can only presume no actual trains were harmed in the making of this movie. Bullet Train Explosion arrives on Netflix April 23, 2025. Have a look through our most underrated action movies list for more adrenaline-pumping films to check out.
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