Bullet Train Explosion review: Shinji Higuchi critiques Japan’s priorities

There are four films with the name Bullet Train in the title, which can be confusing when searching for one in particular. There’s Bullet Train (2022, with Brad Pitt), The Bullet Train (1975), Bullet Train Down (2022), and the focus of this review: Bullet Train Explosion, a Japanese film that was released in 2025. It was directed by Shinji Higuchi, who also co-directed 2016’s reboot Shin Godzilla with Hideaki Anno. Similarly, Bullet Train Explosion is a reboot of The Bullet Train.

Higuchi uses an ensemble cast to dismantle popular perspectives of Japan through the strong themes of this reboot. He calls for a more compassionate government, a restructuring of infrastructure, and sincerity over popularity. All of this is facilitated in an exciting, well-paced action plot.

Train conductor of the bullet train, or shinkansen, Kazuya Takaichi (Tsuyoshi Kusanagi) is informed of a bomb on the train that will detonate if their speed drops below 100 km/hour. Destined for Tokyo, the train carries hundreds of passengers, including a scandalous politician (Machiko Ono), a mega influencer (Jun Kaname), and a schoolgirl (Hana Toyoshima) with her class.

Takaichi receives instructions from the railway command center run by Yuichi Kasagi (Takumi Saitoh); who works closely with the lead investigator (Kenji Iwaya) and the aide to the prime minister (Kentaro Tamura). The film shows the culmination of effort from the government, working people, and emergency services to save everyone on board while mitigating the potentially disastrous cost of lives and infrastructure.

It's not a film concerned with story or character development. It hooks you with the awesome action scenes, but the first two-thirds feel like meandering musings on ‘what-would-you-do?’ scenarios in between set pieces. Do you tell the passengers their lives are in danger? Does a disgraced helicopter pilot culpable for manslaughter deserve to be saved from an angry mob? Do you sacrifice several lives to try and save tenfold more?

There are lots of potentially interesting characters, but none of them feel like they exist outside of this film. Each character plays their one, or maybe two notes with little change. Only one character gets to sing a small ditty by the end of the film, and by then, you’ll have checked out or just be disappointed it took this long to get there. Each of them embodies some variation of ‘people are basically good,’ with some who challenge that notion.

The film forces us to insert ourselves into the situation as none of the characters feel strong enough to anchor our viewpoint to. Higuchi asks us to reflect on how we might respond to these moral dilemmas and mortal dangers, giving secondary priority to the story. The angle to encompass all of these interesting ethical questions is revealed in the final third of the movie. This makes for a more interesting rewatch than an initial viewing.

The use of CGI is blended well with live-action elements. Production studio Episcope received special permission to film actual shinkansen trains from East Japan Railway Company for 3D modeling and live action filming, including building miniatures for some explosive scenes. Some shots are more noticeable than others, but you won’t be too concerned about that during the last act. This is where the story starts to make some relevant ground and feels more cohesive.

The pace builds well over the course of the film’s two and a quarter hour runtime. It feels grounded and realistic in how people might respond to the stress. A politician might use the situation to her advantage to curry favor with voters. A mega influencer might try to make money off of it and gain relevance. People are susceptible to change, especially in high-stress situations. They might change for the better and realize that people are what matter and not numbers. They might also lose themselves to anger and guilt in the chaos.

This is the kind of film that makes it interesting to watch capable people perform their jobs in high-stress situations. You feel the stress that the train conductor feels as he tries to calm his nervous passengers. You feel the frustration of the command center as they search for solutions while navigating bureaucracy. How do you get hundreds of passengers safely off a high-speed train that can’t stop? How do you fix national infrastructure without losing the productivity and confidence of the public?

Higuchi calls into question the true effectiveness of Japan’s infrastructure to care for the intangible needs of its citizens. He asks citizens to reassess their priorities and if they’re giving their attention and praise to the right people. Why do we praise a mega influencer as a noble celebrity? Why should we re-elect a politician who only cares about getting re-elected? Why do we prioritize popularity over sincerity?

The film shows a lot of praise for working people who take pride in their jobs. It feels like a big admiration of regular people in lower ranks who don’t get the recognition they deserve for keeping people’s safety at the top of their minds. In portraying the Japanese government, Higuchi comes off as more critical, as he depicts their callousness and inexperience.

This is an exciting film worth watching for the tense action sequences but won’t stay with you. It’s great for a rainy day or as a time-killer. It could make for a fun double feature with Speed, which is purported to have gained inspiration from Bullet Train Explosion’s predecessor, The Bullet Train (1975). Triple feature?

Bullet Train Explosion is just trying to do too much and in doing so, doesn’t do enough. It wants to be a morally philosophical action film that incites fundamental change in the mindset of the Japanese government and people. That’s quite the task. It reaches far but falls short of just about every category. It either needed to be two hours longer or adjusted the focus.

Bullet Train Explosion is now streaming on Netflix.

More from FlickSided