Warning: This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for Bullet Train.Speeding its way into theaters,Bullet Trainhas quickly cemented itself as one of 2022’s best action flicks. The film showcases David Leitch’s impeccable style, exciting action scenes, sidesplitting comedy, and of course, its many interesting and cool characters.
Bullet Trainis an adaptation of the Japanese novelMaria Beetle(which is the name of the Ladybug’s handler, in a fun little Easter Egg). Whilethe original book by Kotaro Isaka differs from the film, the movie sees Ladybug (Brad Pitt) on a simple, straight-forward mission to retrieve a briefcase from a high-speed bullet train. However, this mission quickly becomes complicated, as we soon learn that the train is filled with numerous deadly assassins. Ladybug must survive an onslaught of attacks, and answer the question, what are all these world-class assassins doing on this train?
David Leitch’s latest action epicis a stylish, action-packed, high-speed thrill ride, with many awesome and memorable characters. Mostly all the characters we are introduced to are assassins, with cool title cards displaying their interesting and unique code names. Such as Ladybug, Lemon, Tangerine, The Prince, and most intimidating of all, the deadly White Death. What helps these characters stand out is the phenomenal performances fromthe star-studded cast, with Brad Pitt leading the film, alongside Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Bad Bunny and Hiroyuki Sanada. Not to mention, the film’s hilarious cameos, which we won’t spoil for you. With the many memorable characters from this thrilling action-comedy, here’s how we rank all the major characters in the movie.
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8The Father
The Father, also known as Kimura, is the very first character we are introduced too. Kimura comes aboard the train seeking vengeance on the person who is responsible for putting his son in a coma. Played by Andrew Koji, Kimura is the only character on the train, that isn’t an assassin, and is simply just a father trying to protect his family. Which, sadly one day he fails at, when his son is pushed off a building and put into a coma. Unfortunately, he doesn’t end up getting his revenge, but he does, however, manage to save his son. While The Father has an interesting backstory and a heartbreaking reason to be on the train, sadly, Kimura doesn’t really get much to do in the film.
7The Prince
As the most strategic and arguably the deadliest assassin on the train, The Prince poses as an innocent young girl, who for most of the film has the upper hand on the train. Played by Joey King, The Prince seeks out her vengeance against the feared crime boss, The White Death. However, in the final act of the film, we learn that The Prince is none other than the daughter of The White Death, and all she wanted was to kill him to prove herself to him. Since she is the sneakiest assassin on the train and uses her intelligence and “luck” as her best asset, The Prince escapes, getting caught and being killed many times. But, one’s luck will always run out, and she lets her anger get the best of her, as she screams into the air, aiming an assault rifle at our last remaining characters, that she is now The White Death. All this before she gets run over by a truck full of Tangerines in a truly satisfying and hilarious death scene.
6The White Death
The White Death serves as the main antagonist of the film, and is responsible for all the deadly assassins being on the same train at the same time.Michael Shannon once again plays the villain role to perfection. The White Death is terrifying and intimidating, with a chilling backstory. This Russian roulette-playing expert fighter, who originated from Russia, moved to Japan to win the trust of one of Japan’s biggest crime organizations. He quickly worked his way up the ranks due to his unmatched skills, until he eventually organized an attack on the criminal organization, killing its leader and taking over the empire for himself. However, since the death of his wife, he hasn’t stopped planning his revenge, which is why he has been pulling all the strings in the movie and why he brought all of these assassins on this train.
The second we meet The Wolf, we can sense his anger and thirst for vengeance immediately as he lunges at Ladybug, trying to kill him. Played by Bad Bunny, we get to witness his evil, but also heartbreaking backstory in a quick montage. As a quick-tempered youth, The Wolf would often beat on people for no such reason before he was hired by a deadly Mexican cartel, where he would work his way up the ranks. Soon he met the love of his life, and it wasn’t long before they got married. However, what was supposed to be the happiest day of his life quickly became a nightmare, as everyone including The Wolf’s wife starts spurting out blood from their mouths and eyes, after mysteriously being poisoned. This sends The Wolf on a path of vengeance, which sadly comes to an end fairly quickly, in an awesome fight between Ladybug, in which Ladybug kills The Wolf. While The Wolf may not have had a lot of screen time, but his presence was certainly welcomed and resulted in one of the coolest fights in the movie.
4The Elder
If you put Hiroyuki Sanada in any role, that character immediately becomes one of the best in the film. The Elder is the Kimura’s father, and after hearing his son is in trouble, he immediately picks up his cane (which also serves as his samurai sword holster) and gets on the dangerous Bullet Train. The Elder has a huge role in the film, as one of the major crime bosses in the crime syndicate in which The White Death took over. After The White Death staged his attack on the crime organization, a wounded Elder stumbled his way home to find it destroyed, with his wife’s dead body lying inside. Thankfully, his son Kimura survived and hid in a closet. Now, The Elder and Kimura get their revenge on The White Death as they team up to take out his army and The White Death himself.
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The Thomas the Tank Engine-obsessed assassin is equally lovable and deadly. Lemon, played byBrian Tyree Henry, is easily one of the funniest characters in the movie. As the brother of Tangerine (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), Lemon and Tangerine are a deadly pair of cockey assassins, with incredible chemistry and love for one another. Lemon is responsible for some of the most emotional moments in the movie, and when he learns about the death of his brother, it not only breaks Lemon’s heart, but also our hearts watching him grieve. Similarly, Lemon gets his chance to prove himself as a lone wolf in the third act, beating up many of The White Death’s gang before sacrificing himself to save Ladybug’s life by diving at a goon, causing them both to fall off the train landing in a lake. Thankfully, in the only post-credits scene of the movie we see, is that Lemon survived his fall and as fate would have it, finds a truck of tangerines and is then responsible for the satisfying death of The Prince.
2Tangerine
There is no denying that Tangerine is the coolest character in the film, mostly due to Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s suave performance as the mustache-touting half of the Lemon and Tangerine duo. Where Lemon is the emotion and heart of the “twins” Tangerine is the muscle and delivers many awesome moments and exciting action scenes. There is a great fight scene between Tangerine and Ladybug, as well as many memorable one-liners and equally hilarious moments with Brad Pitts character, Ladybug. Tangerine is easily one of the most memorable characters in the film, and it’s a shame we had to say goodbye to him so soon. However, fans are still hoping for aLemon and Tangerine prequel spin-off movie.
The heart of the entire film isBrad Pitt’sLadybug, a very skilled, down-to-Earth, but extremely unlucky assassin, whose unfortunate fate led him onto this train full of deadly assassins. But after fighting almost every one of them, like Lemon, Tangerine, The Wolf, and even a venomous snake, Ladybug always manages to come out on top. Brad Pitt makes us fall in love with this assassin by making him relatable, hilarious, and incredibly cool, which is a pure joy to watch. As an added bonus, Brad Pitt did 95% of his own stunts, making the action more believable. This movie would not be as awesome without Ladybug, and Brad Pitt in the lead role.
