Bullet Train (2022) Movie Review: A Chaotic Ride Full of Assassins, Twists, and Dark Humor

Bullet Train takes the idea of a simple train journey and turns it into a stylish, violent, and surprisingly funny action movie.

Directed by David Leitch, the film follows Ladybug, an unlucky assassin who boards a high-speed train in Japan for what should be a straightforward assignment. He only needs to steal a briefcase and get off at the next opportunity.

Unfortunately for him, several other assassins are already on the train.

And almost all of them have their own reasons for being there.

What follows is a chain reaction of betrayals, revenge, mistaken identities, bad luck, and increasingly ridiculous deaths.

Warning: Major spoilers ahead.

The Story

Ladybug is an experienced assassin who has recently developed a strange belief that he is extremely unlucky.

After several missions go wrong, he decides that he should stop worrying about everything and simply let things happen.

His latest assignment seems easy.

He needs to board a bullet train traveling from Tokyo to Kyoto and steal a briefcase.

The briefcase belongs to two British assassins known as Lemon and Tangerine.

The pair are brothers who have just completed another job for a powerful criminal known as the White Death.

They are supposed to deliver the White Death's son and a suitcase full of money.

But several other people on the train have their own plans.

Ladybug soon discovers that almost everyone around him is connected to the same criminal organization.

The simple job quickly becomes a fight for survival.

Ladybug

Brad Pitt plays Ladybug, the movie's central character.

Unlike many action heroes, Ladybug doesn't want to be involved in violence.

He constantly tries to avoid unnecessary fights and believes that his bad luck is responsible for almost everything going wrong.

Ironically, his attempts to avoid trouble often lead him directly into it.

Ladybug is also surprisingly capable.

Even when he appears confused or unlucky, he can handle himself when a fight becomes unavoidable.

His personality creates much of the movie's humor.

He can be surrounded by assassins and still worry about whether he is making the wrong decision.

The character also provides the movie with one of its main themes: luck versus fate.

Lemon and Tangerine

Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Brian Tyree Henry play Lemon and Tangerine, two assassin brothers who have an unusual relationship.

Tangerine is more serious and professional.

Lemon is obsessed with the children's television show Thomas the Tank Engine and uses the characters to explain people's personalities.

This strange obsession becomes one of the movie's funniest recurring jokes.

Lemon believes that everyone can be classified as a particular type of Thomas character.

He also takes these comparisons extremely seriously.

The brothers constantly argue, but their loyalty toward each other is genuine.

Their relationship becomes one of the emotional parts of the movie.

The Prince

Joey King plays the Prince, a seemingly innocent young woman who turns out to be far more dangerous than she appears.

She manipulates others throughout the train and uses their weaknesses against them.

Her appearance is deliberately misleading.

She looks harmless, but she is one of the most calculating people on the train.

The Prince is connected to the White Death and has her own plan for gaining power.

She understands that the other assassins are dangerous, so instead of fighting them directly, she manipulates them into fighting each other.

The Elder and the Wolf

The train is filled with characters whose stories gradually connect.

The Elder, played by Hiroyuki Sanada, is an experienced assassin with a personal connection to the White Death.

He becomes important to the movie's revenge storyline and eventually confronts the consequences of his past.

There is also the Wolf, another assassin who boards the train with his own reason for hunting Ladybug.

His storyline initially appears unrelated to the others.

But Bullet Train constantly reveals that seemingly separate events are connected.

The White Death

The White Death is the criminal figure behind much of the chaos.

He is one of the most feared criminals in the world and has gathered many of the people on the train together, whether they realize it or not.

His son is being transported on the train, and his money is inside the briefcase.

But the deeper the movie goes, the clearer it becomes that the passengers aren't simply there by coincidence.

The White Death has a personal history with many of them.

Eventually, the train becomes a place where old grudges and revenge finally collide.

Why Are So Many Assassins on One Train?

This is one of the movie's biggest ideas.

At first, Ladybug believes he's simply unlucky.

But the movie gradually reveals that the different characters have been brought together because of their connections to the White Death.

Many of them are chasing revenge.

Others want money.

Some are simply trying to survive.

The important part is that their stories keep crossing.

A character who appears unimportant early in the movie may become extremely important later.

The film uses these connections to create a chain reaction where one person's decision affects everyone else.

The Action

The action is one of the movie's biggest strengths.

Instead of relying entirely on massive explosions and large-scale battles, Bullet Train uses the limited space of the train to create creative fights.

Ladybug's fight scenes often become comedic because he is trying to survive while also complaining about his terrible luck.

The fight between Ladybug and Lemon is particularly entertaining because neither character behaves like a typical action hero.

The choreography combines martial arts, firearms, improvised weapons, and the environment around them.

Seats, doors, luggage, and narrow corridors all become part of the action.

The train itself becomes a weapon.

The Comedy

Despite the amount of violence, Bullet Train is surprisingly funny.

Much of the humor comes from the characters.

Lemon's obsession with Thomas the Tank Engine is one of the most obvious examples.

Ladybug's constant complaints about bad luck provide another.

The movie also uses awkward conversations and sudden changes in tone.

A character might be discussing something extremely serious one moment and then make an absurd observation seconds later.

That contrast gives the movie its personality.

The Twists

Bullet Train constantly reveals new information about its characters.

Someone who appears to be a victim may have a hidden connection to the main plot.

A character who seems harmless may be extremely dangerous.

And events that initially appear to be random can eventually be connected.

This makes the movie feel like a puzzle.

The different stories gradually come together until the train becomes a single battlefield.

The film also repeatedly plays with the idea of coincidence.

Ladybug believes that he is unlucky.

But by the end, viewers can interpret many of the events as fate rather than simple bad luck.

The Theme of Luck and Fate

Ladybug's belief that he is unlucky is more than just a joke.

He spends the movie trying to understand why everything keeps going wrong.

But his situation also raises another possibility.

Maybe the things he considers bad luck are actually putting him exactly where he needs to be.

Every character on the train is connected.

Every decision creates another consequence.

A seemingly random event can save one character and destroy another.

By the end, Ladybug begins to realize that perhaps he isn't as unlucky as he thought.

Maybe everything was leading toward the same destination.

What Works Best

The biggest strength of Bullet Train is its ensemble cast.

Brad Pitt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Joey King, Hiroyuki Sanada, and the rest of the cast all bring different personalities to the story.

The movie also has a strong visual identity.

The bright colors, stylized violence, fast editing, and Japanese setting give it a distinctive look.

The action is entertaining, while the humor keeps the movie from becoming too serious.

The structure also works well because different character stories eventually collide.

What Doesn't Work as Well

The biggest weakness is that the movie can become complicated.

There are many characters, relationships, and backstories to keep track of.

Some viewers may also feel that the movie's constant jokes and stylized presentation make it difficult to take the emotional moments completely seriously.

The film is also quite long for what is essentially a single-location action story.

However, the fast pace and constant character interactions keep it moving.

Is Bullet Train Worth Watching?

Yes.

If you enjoy stylish action movies with dark comedy and unpredictable characters, Bullet Train is an entertaining choice.

It isn't trying to be a realistic assassin thriller.

Instead, it takes the basic idea of criminals trapped together in one location and turns it into a colorful, exaggerated action-comedy.

The movie works best when you simply go along for the ride.

Don't worry too much about how every coincidence could happen.

Just watch the different characters collide and see how their stories connect.

Final Thoughts

Bullet Train turns a simple train journey into a chaotic battle involving assassins, criminals, revenge, and an extraordinary amount of bad luck.

Ladybug boards the train expecting a simple mission.

Instead, he finds himself surrounded by people connected through a much larger conspiracy.

Lemon and Tangerine bring comedy and personality.

The Prince adds manipulation and danger.

The Elder brings the revenge story.

And the White Death ties many of the characters together.

The movie's biggest strength is that it never takes itself too seriously.

It can be violent one second and completely ridiculous the next.

Underneath all the action and comedy, the story also explores whether life is controlled by luck, fate, or the choices we make.

By the time Ladybug reaches the end of the journey, it becomes clear that his so-called bad luck may have been the very thing that kept him alive.

Final Verdict – Bullet Train is a stylish, violent, funny, and surprisingly clever action-comedy. With a colorful cast, creative fight scenes, memorable characters, and plenty of twists, it's an entertaining ride that knows exactly how ridiculous it wants to be.

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