Centered around a group of assassins on the JR Central Shinkansen that end up in conflict with each other, the film features an ensemble cast consisting of Brad Pitt, Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Andrew Koji, Hiroyuki Sanada, Michael Shannon, Benito A. Martínez Ocasio, and Sandra Bullock.

Yuichi Kimura, "The Father", boards a bullet train in Tokyo in search of his the person who pushed his young son, Wataru off the roof of a building, leaving the boy comatose.

Meanwhile, guided by his handler Maria Beetle, operative "Ladybug" is assigned to retrieve a briefcase full of cash from the same train, replacing a sick colleague, Carver.

Also on the train are two British assassin brothers, codenamed "Lemon" and "Tangerine", who just rescued a man ("The Son") from kidnappers and are taking him and the briefcase to his father, a Russian-born Yakuza crime lord called "The White Death".

Ladybug encounters Tangerine and, after avoiding The White Death's men, kicks him off the train as it departs, but he manages to climb back aboard from outside.

Emerging from the wreck, impaled with The Elder's katana, The White Death tries to kill Ladybug, but The Prince's rigged gun explodes in his face.

The Prince threatens Ladybug, Yuichi, and The Elder with a machine gun but is run over by a truck full of tangerines driven by Lemon.

In addition, Channing Tatum and Ryan Reynolds appear in uncredited cameo roles as a train passenger and as assassin Carver, respectively.

[8] The film's director, David Leitch, appears briefly as the 17th person killed (albeit unintentionally) by Lemon and Tangerine while rescuing The Son.

[11][12] It was announced in June 2020 that Sony Pictures had hired David Leitch to direct the adaptation of the Kōtarō Isaka sequel novel from a screenplay by Zak Olkewicz,[10] with Brad Pitt being cast in the film the following month.

[14] Joey King subsequently entered negotiations for a supporting role,[15] while in September, Andrew Koji was added,[16] with Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Brian Tyree Henry joining in October.

[24] That same month, singer Bad Bunny (credited as his real name, Benito A Martínez Ocasio) was also added to the cast,[25] and Sandra Bullock joined the following year in February to replace Lady Gaga, who had dropped out due to scheduling conflicts with House of Gucci (2021).

[5][3] In the United States and Canada, Bullet Train was released alongside Easter Sunday, and was projected to gross $26–30 million from 4,357 theaters in its opening weekend.

The website's critics consensus reads, "Bullet Train's colorful cast and high-speed action are almost enough to keep things going after the story runs out of track.

[42] Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times rated the film three and a half out of four stars, calling it "wildly entertaining" and praised the performances, "the creative and blood-spattered action sequences" and most of all the writing.

[47] Peter Debruge of Variety wrote, "Bullet Train feels like it comes from the same brain as Snatch, wearing its pop style on its sleeve – a Kill Bill-like mix of martial arts, manga and gabby hitman movie influences, minus the vision or wit that implies.

"[48] The casting of several non-Asian actors, including Brad Pitt and Joey King, prompted accusations of whitewashing characters who were Japanese in Kōtarō Isaka's novel.

Bullet Train screenwriter Zak Olkewicz argued that the decision to cast beyond Japanese or Asian actors proved "the strength of [Isaka]'s work" as it was a story that could "transcend race".

Director David Leitch noted that discussions had taken place during pre-production to change the film's setting, but it was ultimately decided to keep Isaka's original location of Tokyo due to its international appeal.