Brian Tyree Henry and Aaron Taylor-Johnson looking towards the camera in Bullet Train Image via Columbia Pictures By Victoria Luxford Published Sep 27, 2026, 12:08 AM EDT Victoria has written about film for a variety of outlets across the world, including The Guardian , NME , BBC , The Hollywood Reporter, Rolling Stone , Empire Magazine , Metro , and many more. She was previously Film Editor for London newspaper City AM , as well as Global Film & TV Editor for American Express Essentials . Sign in to your Collider account Add Us Summary Generate a summary of this story Like Like follow Follow followed Followed Listen Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap If you think your morning commute seems perilous, spare a thought for Brad Pitt’s Ladybug in the 2022 action-comedy Bullet Train . Currently slicing its way up the Hulu charts, the movie takes the world of assassins and puts it on high-speed rails, as a colorful cast of familiar faces clash in the carriages in David Leitch’s inventive, hilarious adaptation of Kōtarō Isaka 's 2010 novel. With kinetic action that evokes the John Wick franchise, and a multi-character mystery worthy of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express , it’s been a sleeper hit for action fans.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Brad Pitt standing side by side before a fight in Bullet Train Image via Sony Pictures Brad Pitt stars as Ladybug, an assassin with a reputation for being a bad luck charm to all those around him. Drafted in by his handler ( Sandra Bullock ) as a last-minute replacement on a job, he boards a bullet train departing Tokyo with the aim of retrieving a suitcase. His hopes for a quiet journey are dashed when he discovers the vehicle is filled with fellow killers, all with interweaving motives and orders. What begins as a routine job spirals into a chain reaction of mistaken identities and fate‑driven twists that tie every passenger’s destinies together.
Playing out like a video game come to life , the movie ignites the screen with a knowing wink and self-referential humor. Each carriage, and each stop offers a new ‘level’, with the enjoyment coming in the variety of wild encounters and twists in the tale. There’s never time to get bored as a new challenger comes to meet Ladybug, who usually greets them with a tired sigh. While he may not be happy to see them, it offers one of the most diverse and intriguing casts in modern memory.
Action movie quality didn't "fallout" after 2018.
bullet train movie Joey King Image via Sony Pictures It feels like every seat on Leitch’s express journey has a character worthy of a film in their own right, played by an actor who makes the most of every moment. There’s English assassins Tangerine and Lemon ( Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Bryan Tyree Henry ), Prince ( Joey King ), a young hit woman disguised as a schoolgirl, stoic patriarch Elder ( Hiroyuki Sanada ), and criminal kingpin The White Death, played with menace by Michael Shannon .
Some might think that makes for a train that’s too crowded, but the ensemble offers a tonal spread that keeps the viewer interested . Taylor-Johnson and Henry feel ripped straight from a buddy comedy, while King adds a shiver of mystery that belongs in a paperback thriller. Sanada brings a seriousness and gravitas to proceedings, while Shannon works as the puppet master, manipulating all who come aboard. Each chara…