The Bullet Train: this thriller, by SATOO Jun’ya, looks at the events from multiple vantage points after a bomb is placed on a Shinkansen train and the author calls the train company. The film jumps from the perpetrators to the train company and police to the train passengers, creating a rich panel and a thrilling procedural. As is usually the case with such films, there’s not much space for character exploration beyond plot advancement. The two protagonists, for all practical purposes, are the chiefs of both groups: TAKAKURA Ken plays the bomb mastermind, and UTSUI Ken plays the chief operator from the railway company; both performances are solid and serious. Sonny Chiba plays the train’s conductor. Editor TANAKA Osamu balances the many threads and episodes well, in a solid, exciting work. The cinematography team (IIMURA Masahiko, SHIMIZU Masao, YAMAZAWA Yoshikazu) goes for very dynamic camerawork, filled with close-ups and Dutch angles to create visual variety. The musical score, by AOYAMA Hachiroo, is varied and interesting.