Bullet Train is an action meets comedy film based on a black comedy novel written by Kōtarō Isaka, titled Maria Beetle (Maria Bītoru). The book, which was only recently translated into English, is very different from the action portrayed in the film, according to an article written in Bustle. Indeed, the film centers around a group of assassins who all find themselves on the same bullet train for different reasons. Supported by a jam-packed cast that includes many famous actors — such as Brad Pitt who stars as Ladybug, Joey King who plays Prince, Sandra Bullock who plays Maria, Aaron Taylor-Johnson who stars as Tangerine, and Michael Shannon who is the ultimate antagonist, White Death — Bullet Train is as funny as it is action-filled thanks to these assassins.
Bullet Train’s best assassins range from those who are logical and those who shoot first and ask questions later. When all of these different personalities find themselves at odds with one another, can they come together and defeat the biggest assassin of them all, the White Death? When it comes to being an assassin, you can bet there is killing involved. Here is a ranked list of the best kills in Bullet Train.
10 Lemon’s Temporary Death
Sony Pictures Releasing
Lemon’s temporary death is an honorable mention as it is one of the more emotional and heartbreaking deaths in the film. Lemon, played by Brian Tyree Henry, is the supposed twin brother of Tangerine (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). The pair is on the bullet train when they are reunited with an old rival, Ladybug (Brad Pitt). During the encounter between Ladybug and Lemon, Ladybug puts a sleeping drought in Lemon’s water, which makes it look like Lemon is dead when really he is just asleep. Lemon gets into another argument with Prince (Joey King) and Kimura (Andrew Koji), which results in him shooting the wrong person. Prince ends up shooting Lemon in the chest unaware that he is wearing a bulletproof vest. Tangerine finds his brother passed out in the bathroom and assumes he is dead. It’s revealed not much later that he is, in fact, not dead, but it is the last time the two see each other alive.
9 The Wolf’s Wedding Party Murders
Columbia Pictures
During a flashback scene, it’s noted that Ladybug was in attendance at The Wolf’s (Bad Bunny) wedding, where his friends, family, and newlywed wife are all poisoned. The Wolf thinks Ladybug is the reason behind the death of his beloved, so when he finds Ladybug on the bullet train, he immediately tries to kill him out of revenge. Although The Wolf is mistaken in thinking Ladybug committed these murders, he does remember him from the wedding, further pushing the theme of miscommunication that is laced throughout the film.
8 The Downfall of Minegishi
Despite not having any lines spoken in the film, the death of Minegishi (Nobuaki Shimamoto) and his men is instrumental to the film as it helps create the backdrop of the White Death’s (Michael Shannon) brutal reign. It also helps to show the animosity between White Death and The Elder (Hiroyuki Sanada). The action sequence of these deaths includes kills by the sword, fire, and lots of blood. Some of the kills are in slow motion to further add to the thrill of the deaths.
7 The Son’s Bleeding Eyes
The Son’s (Logan Lerman) death is a mystery for most of the film. He is on the bullet train thanks to Tangerine and Lemon, who were hired to bring him to The White Death. When the twins leave The Son unattended, they return to find him bleeding from his eyes — and dead. It’s not until much later in the film that we learn that The Hornet (Zazie Beetz) was the one who killed him. We find out that The White Death also ordered his death as he feels he is the one responsible — along with Carver (Ryan Reynolds), who was supposed to be on the train but was replaced by Ladybug due to a stomach thing — for the White Death’s wife’s death.
6 White Death’s Henchmen Meet Their Fates
Once The White Death and his henchmen finally board the train in the last quarter of the film, the henchmen are quickly picked off by the remaining assassins, which now includes only Lemon and Ladybug. The Elder and Kimura are on the train, too, but their focus is on the White Death. The kills include being pushed out of the train, hit with a fire extinguisher, blown up, etc.
5 Tangerine’s Sad Death
Tangerine’s death is another sad one. After a few altercations between Ladybug and Tangerine throughout the movie, Ladybug kills Tangerine by shooting him after Prince convinces him Tangerine wanted to kill her (a tactic she uses many times in the film). Whether or not Ladybug intentionally meant to kill Tangerine, when Lemon is revealed to still be alive and immediately asks for his brother, it makes the death all the more emotional.
4 The Wolf’s Accidental Death
The Wolf’s death comes at the hands of Ladybug, who spent the entire tussle being confused as to why the pair were even fighting. The Wolf, who was on the train to seek revenge against Ladybug and the Hornet, meets up with Ladybug as he tries to exit the train after retrieving the briefcase. It’s this briefcase that ends up saving Ladybug’s life as he uses it as a shield from a knife thrown by the Wolf. The knife bounces off the briefcase and lodges itself in The Wolf’s chest, killing him.
3 The Hornet’s Comical Death
In tribute to the action meets comedic nature of the film, at least one of the deaths needs to be funnier than action-filled. This is the case with the death of the Hornet (Zazie Beetz), who is also killed at the hands of Ladybug. With every other sentence out of the Hornet’s mouth including the word “bitch,” the Hornet is taken down by her own weapon of choice: poisonous snake venom. While she has the anti-venom on her, Ladybug is able to outsmart her and inject himself with the serum, which saves his life later on in the film.
2 Prince’s Satisfying Death
Prince’s death is perhaps one of the most satisfying deaths in Bullet Train as she is arguably the most hated character. As the daughter of the White Death, she manipulates all of the assassins on board the bullet train and manages to stay alive until the very end of the film. After being dubbed, correctly, by Lemon as the Diesel (thanks to his love of the show Thomas the Tank Engine), Lemon ironically runs her down with a truck carrying a load of tangerines. This acts as a homage to his twin brother, Tangerine, who only died because of the Prince’s manipulation.
1 The White Death’s Death
The White Death is the driving force behind the assassins all finding themselves aboard the bullet train. As they manage to pick each other off, the White Death makes his way onto the train at the last stop. He engages in a battle with The Elder that includes sword fights and a round of Russian Roulette, which is interrupted when the train runs off the tracks. Despite having been sliced in half at the shoulder by the Elder, the White Death survives the crash and is about to kill Ladybug, who he thinks is Carver, with the Prince’s rigged gun. Earlier in the film, the Prince rigged the gun to reverse the direction of the bullet, killing the shooter rather than the target. The White Death doesn’t realize this, so when he goes to shoot Ladybug, he actually blows his own head off — quite graphically, too.
