Bullet Train (film)

Bullet Train is a 2022 action comedy film. It is directed by David Leitch (John Wick, Atomic Blonde). It is a Live Action Adaptation of the novel of the same name (originally titled Maria Beetle) by Kōtarō Isaka.

"Ladybug" (Brad Pitt), an assassin just returned to work following a hiatus, is in Tokyo, Japan at the behest of his handler Maria Beetle (Sandra Bullock), who has given him a simple assignment of grabbing a briefcase on board a westbound bullet train and getting off immediately afterwards. Unfortunately, he soon finds that things are never that simple. Yuichi Kimura (Andrew Koji), a Father hunting the person who pushed his son off a rooftop, is trying to make up for his neglect that earnt him a chastening from his former Yakuza Elder father (Hiroyuki Sanada) by acting on a tip that the perpetrator is on board the same train. Twins "Lemon" (Brian Tyree Henry) and "Tangerine" (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) are also on board the train to bring back the son of mobster "White Death" (Michael Shannon). Various other characters also make their moves, including a mysterious young lady known as the "Prince" (Joey King).


 * Absurdly Sharp Blade: The Elder's katana slices through train seats without slowing.
 * Archnemesis Dad: {[spoiler|The White Death, who the Prince wants to kill, turns out to be her father.}}
 * Black Dude Dies First:
 * The Cameo:
 * Masi Oka as a train conductor.
 * Karen Fukuhara as a stewardess.
 * Channing Tatum as a passenger.
 * Contrived Coincidence: Seriously, what are the odds of so many killers being on the same train?
 * Demoted to Extra: Minegishi was an important character in the original novel, and the son being escorted by Lemon and Tangerine was his. Here, he was killed in the backstory by the White Death during the latter's takeover.
 * Experienced Protagonist: Ladybug has been in the business for a while before his hiatus, including crossing paths with various other characters on past jobs.
 * Extremely Short Timespan: The whole film, barring flashbacks, takes place over the course of an overnight journey.
 * Hoist by His Own Petard:
 * Inferred Holocaust:
 * Meaningful Name: The Prince's moniker holds more significance than just being a sign of her parents' thwarted hopes of a boy. It foreshadows that she's
 * Mundane Made Awesome: A seemingly ordinary Fiji Water bottle gets a title card and backstory.
 * Only Known by Their Nickname: Almost everyone goes by codenames. Yuichi is the only clear exception, since "Maria Beetle" is ambiguous enough that it could go either way.
 * Race Lift: Most of the named characters in the original novel were asian, mainly japanese. Here, despite the setting staying on Japan, almost all of them except The Elder are white, mixed(Andrew Koji), jewish(Joey King), or of african descent.
 * Ruthless Foreign Gangsters: The White Death is a Russian who climbed the ranks of Minegishi's organisation until he could secretly form a rival group, do a violent takeover, and supplant his former superior as head of the Japanese underworld.
 * Soft Water:
 * Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo: Between the Mt Fuji shot, taking place on the eponymous most iconic of Japanese public transport, the cyberpunk neon colouration, the demon-masked mooks, the Cherry Blossoms raining on katana-wearing Yakuza - one of whom is even wearing a kimono - framed by a torii, cute mascots and fancy toilets, it is an unabashed greatest hits of Cool Japan.
 * The Voice: Maria is not seen in the flesh until the end of the film.
 * The Voice: Maria is not seen in the flesh until the end of the film.