Bullet Train (2022)

Film and Plot Synopsis

In Bullet Train, Brad Pitt stars as Ladybug, an unlucky assassin determined to do his job peacefully after one too many gigs gone off the rails. Fate, however, may have other plans, as Ladybug’s latest mission puts him on a collision course with lethal adversaries from around the globe – all with connected, yet conflicting, objectives – on the world’s fastest train…and he’s got to figure out how to get off. From the director of Deadpool 2, David Leitch, the end of the line is only the beginning in a wild, non-stop thrill ride through modern-day Japan. (Courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment)

‘Bullet Train’ Movie Summary

The film begins with Yuichi Kimura (Andrew Koji) boarding a bullet train in Tokyo. Kimura, also known as the Father, is a Yakuza gang member whose son, Wataru (Kevin Akiyoshi Ching), was pushed off a building by a rival assassin known as the Prince (Joey King), a young female assassin. Meanwhile, unlucky assassin Ladybug (Brad Pitt) is receiving his next assignment from his handler Maria Beetle (Sandra Bullock). Ladybug has been tasked with retrieving a briefcase full of cash from the very same bullet train. Ladybug is a last-minute replacement for another assassin named Carver (Ryan Reynolds), who fell ill. Ladybug has been reluctant to take on a new assignment due to his previous jobs resulting in a string of accidental deaths.

Also on the bullet train are two British assassin brothers named Lemon (Brian Tyree Henry) and Tangerine (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). Lemon and Tangerine have recently rescued a man, known as the Son (Logan Lerman) from a group of kidnappers. They are taking the Son and the ransom money in a briefcase to the Son’s father, a Russian-born Yakuza crime lord called the White Death (Michael Shannon).

During the trip to Tokyo, the Son is killed by poisoning which puts Lemon and Tangerine in a very awkward position. To make matters worse, Ladybug discreetly steals their briefcase; but before Ladybug can get off the train, he is attacked by another assassin named the Wolf (Benito A Martínez Ocasio). The Wolf recognizes Ladybug from the Wolf’s wedding where his bride was killed. The Wolf mistakenly believes that Ladybug is somehow responsible for her death. Ladybug fights the Wolf in an empty refreshment car. The Wolf accidentally kills himself when a deflected knife throw ends up hitting him.

At the same time, the Father finds the Prince on the train. The Prince acknowledges attempting to kill the Father’s son but also informs the Yakuza member that it was all a part of plan to lure the Father onto the train so that he can kill his own boss, the White Death. If the Father fails to kill the White Death, then the Prince has henchmen holding the still living Wataru hostage in his hospital room. At the same time, Ladybug recognizes Lemon from a previous job that went wrong and offers to return the case to him in exchange for Ladybug being allowed to leave. A suspicious Lemon mistakenly believes that Ladybug is the one responsible for the Son’s death and engages Ladybug in a fight. During the fight, Lemon is knocked unconscious, and Ladybug spikes his water with sleeping powder.

Yeah. Have you tried these smart toilets? They’re a pleasure to the senses. If I had one in the chamber, I would rock this bad boy right now. Ladybug (Brad Pitt)

Not long after, Tangerine revives Lemon. The brothers decide to split up and find Ladybug. Their underlying goal is to frame him for the Son’s murder and divert the White Death’s anger away from themselves. At the same time, the Prince finds the briefcase and rigs it with explosives. She also modifies the Father’s gun to explode if it is fired. Tangerine locates Ladybug, and the two men fight while trying to avoid the White Death’s men who are now onboard the train. Ladybug is able to kick Tangerine off the train as the train departs a station. However, Tangerine manages to climb back onboard from the outside.

Meanwhile, Lemon encounters the Father and the Prince in a mostly empty car. Lemon shoots the Father and tries to shoot the Prince, but he collapses after drinking the water that Ladybug spiked with sleeping powder. The Prince shoots Lemon and hides the Father and Lemon’s bodies in a bathroom. Simultaneously, Ladybug encounters yet another assassin on the train called the Hornet (Zazie Beetz). The Hornet is responsible for poisoning both the Son and Wolf’s bride with boomslang snake venom. The Hornet and Ladybug fight and both are exposed to the venom. Ladybug acquires and takes the Hornet’s antivenom before she can and survives, while the Hornet dies.

At the same time, Tangerine finds Lemon’s body in the bathroom and grieves for his brother. He begins searching the train and encounters the Prince. Tangerine notices one of Lemon’s train stickers on her and realizes that the Prince is the one who shot his brother. Tangerine prepares to kill the Prince when he is suddenly interrupted by Ladybug. The distraction causes Tangerine to be killed. At the next stop, the Father’s father boards the train. The man, known as the Elder (Hiroyuki Sanada), recognizes the Prince’s voice and informs the assassin that his grandson is safe as he has arranged for the deaths of all the Prince’s henchmen at the hospital.

Fearing her death, the Prince flees. The Elder informs Ladybug that he will remain on the train to seek his revenge against the White Death, the man who killed the Elder’s wife when he took over the Yakuza. The Elder and Ladybug find the Father and Lemon still alive. The four men decide to work together to prepare to face the White Death at the next stop. At the Kyoto stop, Ladybug turns over the briefcase to the White Death. The Prince reappears and tries to goad the White Death into shooting her with the Father’s rigged gun. It is revealed that the Prince is the daughter of the White Death. The White Death does not shoot his daughter with the gun but does reveal that everyone on the train was linked to the death of his wife. The gangster reveals he hired everyone in the hopes that they would kill each other. Carver, the man that Ladybug replaced, was the man directly responsible for the death of the White Death’s wife. At that moment, the White Death’s henchmen open the rigged briefcase, which explodes. The explosion knocks Ladybug and the White Death back onto the train.

The Yakuza leader’s remaining henchmen board the train and battle the united assassins. The Elder and the White Death fight each other. The accelerating train crashes into downtown Kyoto. Ladybug emerges from the crash alive. The White Death, who is impaled by the Elder’s katana, tries to kill Ladybug with the rigged gun which explodes in the Yakuza leader’s face. The Prince emerges alive and threatens to kill Ladybug, the Father, and the Elder with a machine gun but she is run over by a tangerine truck driven by Lemon. Ladybug’s handler, Maria, arrives to retrieve Ladybug while the Japanese authorities being to ascertain the wreckage at the scene.