It's certainly fair to say that Bullet Train, the new movie starring Brad Pitt and directed
by David Leitch, who also co-directed John Wick, has a somewhat convoluted premise.
The action movie follows five assassins as they attempt to carry out what appear to be
distinct tasks while on the titular Tokyo railway, but it quickly becomes apparent that
each of their objectives is closely related.
A few flashbacks interspersed with the action-packed plot fill us in on various backstories, and
the later appearance of a major antagonist perfectly ties everything together.
However, given how quickly the train goes and how many individuals enter and exit the
action, you'd be excused for becoming little confused by the time it arrives at its destination.
In light of this, read on for an explanation of the Bullet Train conclusion; spoilers follow.
It is crucial to first briefly describe the many characters involved, notably the five
assassins on board the train, in order to fully understand the events at the movie's
finale.
Prince (Joey King), a young lady with an English accent who is acting as a schoolgirl, and
Yuichi (Andrew Koji), a Japanese father she is keeping captive and extorting after she
threw his kid from a rooftop, are among those assassins.
We discover that Yuichi is a member of the criminal organization run by the enigmatic
White Death (Michael Shannon), the target of Prince's assassination attempt.
Lemon (Brian Tyree Henry) and Tangerine (Aaron Taylor Johnson), two cockneys with the codenames
Lemon and Tangerine, are also traveling on the train with the White Death's kid and a
bag holding a sizable sum of money.
The last character in the Bullet Train cast is Ladybug (Brad Pitt), a down-on-his-luck
agent finishing his first mission after a short break.
Her relatively simple objective is to seize the aforementioned briefcase and exit the
train as soon as possible.
But it's not quite that simple; although Pitt initially manages to get his hands on the
briefcase with relative ease, each effort of his to leave the train is thwarted by a
variety of unanticipated barriers as the numerous assassins start to clash and engage in combat.
The Wolf (played by Benito Martnez Ocasio, better known as the musician Bad Bunny), Hornet,
and a few more assassins are also introduced throughout this process but are swiftly eliminated
(played by Zazie Beetz).
Channing Tatum has an uncredited appearance, Thomas the Tank Engine receives multiple shout-outs,
and Yuichi's father, known simply as The Elder (Hiroyuki Sanada), shows up in the meanwhile.
The White Death's kid is also killed off with the assistance of a deadly snake.
In other words, there is an awful lot going on.
However, it isn't until Michael Shannon as The White Death makes an appearance that we
truly understand what is happening and why these assassins are all boarding the same
train at the same moment.
We learned earlier that the White Death has been grieving the loss of his wife for a very
long time.
She perished after becoming involved in an attempt on his life, and it turned out that
he was eager to make sure that everyone who could be held accountable for her death was
on the train because he believed they would engage in combat and kill each other.
He is especially angry at Ladybug because he mistakenly believes that she was the one
who carried out the murder, but in reality, Carver (a cameo appearance by Ryan Reynolds)
was the genuine assassin and had abruptly canceled his participation in the assignment.
In the meantime, we also discover that Prince, surprise, surprise, is actually a Russian
schoolgirl who also happens to be the daughter of the White Death, and she is very keen to
murder off her own father.
Anyway, the assassins who have so far survived the ordeal, such as Lemon, Ladybug, and Yuichi,
gradually come to understand that they are actually on the same side: they all want to
see the White Death dead and so work together to ensure that they succeed in their mission.
A fierce conflict then breaks out as Lemon desperately tries to control the speeding
bullet train.
The assassins are finally able to triumph despite some challenging times, like when
Lemon and the man he was fighting were flung from the train into some deep water.
The last blow was provided by a water bottle that had been unexpectedly involved throughout
(and which even gets its own montage).
The threat appears to have passed when the survivors reunite with Ladybug's handler Maria
Beetle (Sandra Bullock), but it soon becomes clear that Prince still intends to eliminate
the remaining assassins, which she very nearly pulls off.
But in the end, Lemon comes through to rescue the day.
We discover that when he fell into the water, he killed the adversary he had been fighting
and shortly after that, of all things, he came across a truck carrying oranges - a touching
homage to his deceased colleague who had passed away while still on the train.
He gets in the truck and starts driving, slamming into Prince and killing her just as she was
ready to shoot, rescuing Ladybug and the others and sort of assuring a happy ending.