‘Bullet Train’ Ending, Explained: Why Are All the Assassins in The Bullet Train?
Bullet Train is a new action film directed by David Leitch and produced by 87North, the production company responsible for films such as Nobody, Atomic Blonde, and the John Wick series. These guys are masters of creating high-octane spectacles, and they are ready to do just that, all inside the Japanese bullet train. The film is full of twists and turns and also quite a good dose of humor, as we get immersed in the strange world of international assassins.
The film’s most impressive element is its cast. Bullet Train manages to bring together an immense cast of stars, led by the always gracious Brad Pitt, who shows a more goofy side to his performance this time around. Alongside Pitt, we can also find actors such as Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree-Henry, Joey King, Andrew Koji, Logan Lerman, and even the musician Bad Bunny. They are all here, and they all play a wonderful set of very crazy characters.
Bullet Train is one of those films that relies a lot on twists and turns to make its plot interesting. The following paragraphs contain spoilers, so read at your own risk.
What Is The Briefcase In Bullet Train?
The film starts by showing a father in a hospital looking after his young son. The kid was apparently thrown off a building, and he is now in critical condition. Kimura, the father, receives a note for a job, telling him that if he accepts, he might find the person behind his son’s accident. In anger, Kimura leaves. The directions guide him to the train that serves as the movie’s namesake.
The film then introduces us to the character of Ladybug, played by Brad Pitt. Ladybug is an assassin, but he has been away from the job for some time. Now that he is back, he has decided to take it a bit easier and only do jobs that are less stressful. Like a standard pick-up job. Maria, his handler, gives him the job, filling in for a sick assassin called Carver. Ladybug reaches the Bullet Train going from Tokyo to Kyoto. Ladybug’s mission is to get a briefcase and then leave the train. A nice and easy job.
However, inside the train, there seems to be more than one party interested in that same briefcase. At this point, we are introduced to Lemon, and Tangerine, a couple of brothers that also work as assassins. They are there to take the briefcase alongside a young man to his father. The father in question is a yakuza boss from Russia named “The White Death”. The twins find the son, and leave the briefcase with the luggage. When The White Death calls for a report, they discover the briefcase has been taken.
Of course, the briefcase was taken by Ladybug. Meanwhile, Kimura meets a young lady named The Prince. She is also an assassin, and she reveals herself to be the person who threw Kimura’s son from the roof. She has an assassin placed in the hospital, ready to kill Kimura’s son if he doesn’t obey. They manage to take the briefcase from Ladybug, and they open it, revealing a large quantity of money inside. The Prince places a bomb inside the briefcase and closes it. She plans to kill The White Death with the bomb when he opens the briefcase.
Meanwhile, Ladybug is attacked by another assassin, who tells him he killed his wife. Ladybug knows nothing about it and kills the assassin. The twins, on the other hand, discover that White Death’s son is dead, killed by poison. They are led by The Prince to look for Ladybug, and they fight, believing Ladybug killed the son. However, Ladybug suspects there is another assassin on board the train, one named The Hornet, known for killing using poison.
Why Are All The Assassins In The Bullet Train?
Ladybug and the twins join forces to recover the briefcase. They know that if they don’t get it by the time they arrive at Kyoto station, The White Death will kill all of them. While looking for the briefcase, Lemon crashes into The Prince and Kimura. Lemon shoots Kimura and the Prince tries to manipulate Lemon into thinking she is a victim of kidnapping. However, Lemon knows there is something off, but he was previously drugged by Ladybug and falls down. The Prince shoots him and escapes.
Ladybug manages to fight and kill The Hornet. Meanwhile, The Prince catches up with Tangerine and tries to pull off her victim, routine. But Tangerine realizes she is lying. Ladybug appears and falls from the trap. He ends up protecting her from Tangerine and kills him. The Prince escapes with Ladybug and the briefcase. A new arrival, Kimura’s father, arrives and reveals that he is there to have vengeance upon White Death. He realizes that The Prince is responsible for his grandson’s state. She escapes, but Kimura and Lemon are revealed to be alive.
When they reach Kyoto, the White Death appears. He is revealed to be The Prince’s father, and he is also the longtime rival of Kimura’s father. Ladybug gives the briefcase to White Death, and White Death explains that the assassins were all called to the job because they all participated in his wife’s death. Ladybug knows nothing about this, but tries to explain himself. The briefcase is opened and the bomb explodes. Lemon, Kimura, his father, and Ladybug escape on the train with White Death and his minions in pursuit.
The train finally crashes, and White Death is ready to kill Ladybug. It is revealed that White Death thinks Ladybug is Carver, he doesn’t know Ladybug is just filling in. He goes to kill Ladybug but gets shot in the head by The Prince, who then gets run down by Lemon while driving a fruit truck (shown in a post-credit scene). Kimura and his father survive, and Ladybug sees Maria arriving to rescue him. They leave the place of the accident together as firemen arrive at the scene of the crash.
