Bullet Train Explosion ending spoilers follow.
Shin Godzilla director Shinji Higuchi is back with a new Japanese thriller that does exactly what it says on the tin, bringing bullet trains and explosions galore to Netflix subscribers all over.
With support from the real life East Japan Railway Company, Bullet Train Explosion takes us aboard the Hayabusa 60 shinkansen bound for Tokyo, which is usually a lot of fun, but not so much here. That's because a bomb has been planted on the train that will immediately detonate if the shinkansen slows below 100 km/h.
The bomber is demanding a ransom of ¥100 billion for the lives of everyone aboard, so the train crew and the Japanese government have to work together to defuse the bomb and find the culprit.
If that all sounds a bit like the Hollywood movie Speed starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock, that's because the two are actually connected. Higuchi's movie is a remake of 1975's The Bullet Train, which in turn inspired Speed two decades on.
"Remake" might not be the right word to use here though because Bullet Train Explosion is actually linked to The Bullet Train in surprising ways that are key to understanding how this movie ends...
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Bullet Train Explosion ending explained: Who hid the bomb on the train?
At the beginning, we're introduced to a wide variety of passengers from all walks of life including a politician named Yuko Kagami, YouTuber Mitsuru Todoroki and student Yuzuki Onodera, as well as train driver Chika Matsumoto and train steward Kazuya Takaichi.
The 300-plus people riding the shinkansen freak out when they learn that there's a bomb on the train, but midway through, the vast majority are rescued in a daring feat that leaves just nine people remaining onboard (including each of the characters named prior).
Hearing that the government might find other means to stop the train from reaching Tokyo and causing untold devastation, the student named Yuzuki walks off to call her dad in private, away from the others.
A bit suss, right? When Yuzuki rudely tells her father she's on the train and she's fine, he's immediately put out of joint. But then he begins to theorise that whoever planted the bomb must be the same person behind the original 1975 attack, as depicted in The Bullet Train.
Yuzuki's dad was present at the time, so he suspects that this whole stunt might be an act of revenge for the role he played in stopping the original train from exploding.
Yuzuki laughs it off, however, saying an "old fart" like him has no hope of killing the new bomber, and that's because she's the bomber. Yes, this seemingly innocent schoolgirl was the one who planted the bombs, and her reason why might be even more surprising:
"Hearing you brag for years about putting a bullet in the bomber's head made me want to put a bullet in my own head, so I decided to plant my own bombs."
It turns out the original bomber blew himself up to save his honour and avoid jail, but Yuzuki's father, a policeman at the time, took the credit and pretended his bullet was the one that ended this threat.
Outraged by her audacity, Yuzuki's father pledges to never forgive his "snotty kid". But he's the one who makes a bigger mess when Yuzuki hangs up the phone and triggers a bomb she kept hidden in his living room.
With her father dead, his body parts all over, Yuzuki has never looked happier. The girl is having a full-blown party in her head as a huge smile creeps across her face.
Now that's out of the way, Yuzuki calls HQ up in front of the others, promising to tell them how to defuse the bombs, just like the one she used to kill her father a few moments earlier.
It turns out that the bombs will deactivate on their own "if one of these passengers takes my life". Yep, really. Yuzuki has a small heart monitor in her chest thanks to a chronic illness she's suffered from most of her life. When she dies, the app synced to that monitor will send out a signal that defuses the bombs.
After she hangs up, the other remaining passengers are understandably shocked to their core.
While they decide what to do, the train company moves forward with a new plan to keep the train running past Tokyo, buying them more time. They also confirm that Yuzuki's father didn't really kill the bomber, that the higher-ups did indeed turn him into a hero for optics.
Meanwhile, Yuzuki's teacher tries to appeal to her student's better nature. But then the crazy comes out of her and she grips her teacher's wrists too hard, pointing out she must have known how unhinged Yuzuki was all along.
"This isn't just one person's fault... Everyone lies to themselves... I decided to shatter that dumb illusion and see how far I could poison everyone... I wanted everyone to be real for once and drop the act."
Ok, gurl.
While this is going on, investigators discover that Yuzuki obtained the bombs from an older man she connected with online who handles explosives at work. They quickly track him down in Saitama to bring him in for questioning where he reveals that Yuzuki's father used to beat her. Or that's what she told him anyway.
What's more shocking though is the twist that this guy's father is actually the original bomber from 1975. Improbable? Yes. Pulpy good fun for fans of the first movie? Absolutely.
He also sheds more light on Yuzuki's mission, explaining that she targeted the shinkansen precisely because it's a "reminder of the hatred she has for her father", a "despicable man who took pride in his lies".
Back on the train, sweet, sweet Takaichi begs for the life of his earnest young colleague who's on the verge of death thanks to wounds sustained from the previous rescue attempt.
Yuzuki's response? "Please just kill me." Takaichi says he'll never do that, but what does Takaichi then do? Exactly that.
Yuzuki is super excited, even taking off her choker to get ready for an actual choking, but Takaichi can't go through with it, and the pair break down, sobbing.
A new plan is put into action by the train company who decide to uncouple the train twice using split-second switch changes. The result will eventually pull the middle carriage away to safety while the rest of the train explodes in a less densely populated area.
Everyone left cushions the carriage to brace for impact, knowing that they're in for a very bumpy ride. Even the train driver pops out, apologising for everything as if it's somehow her fault.
The plan then goes underway, and of course, it all pays off. The two switches are pulled at the exact moment they should be, the majority of the train safely explodes away from people, and all nine passengers survive as their carriage flips to the side and eventually screeches to a halt.
The rescue team quickly arrive and everyone at the train company cheers before immediately going back to work, because that's just how this train company rolls. Their diligence is why every single train in Japan is always on time, as opposed to the UK where every single train is not.
One official tries to understand Yuzuki better, telling her that the bomb specialist took advantage of her hate.
"Does thinking like that make you feel better?," she replies. Just a "poor, miserable girl" used by an adult? Yuzuki laughs this off, claiming it's just another example of the "illusion of normalcy".
But then the man surprises her with the reveal that everyone did raise the ridiculous ransom she asked for, proving that humanity is not as bad as she assumed. "I wouldn’t say the world is completely hopeless..." he says somewhat smugly as Yuzuki is taken away.
Bullet Train Explosion ends then as all crazy days should, with a McDonald's, because that's what Takaichi and the driver promised each other before everything went to hell. And boy have they earned it.
Bullet Train Explosion is now available to watch on Netflix.
After teaching in England and South Korea, David turned to writing in Germany, where he covered everything from superhero movies to the Berlin Film Festival.
In 2019, David moved to London to join Digital Spy, where he could indulge his love of comics, horror and LGBTQ+ storytelling as Deputy TV Editor, and later, as Acting TV Editor.
David has spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and in 2020, he created the Rainbow Crew interview series, which celebrates LGBTQ+ talent on both sides of the camera via video content and longform reads.
Beyond that, David has interviewed all your faves, including Henry Cavill, Pedro Pascal, Olivia Colman, Patrick Stewart, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Dornan, Regina King, and more — not to mention countless Drag Race legends.
As a freelance entertainment journalist, David has bylines across a range of publications including Empire Online, Radio Times, INTO, Highsnobiety, Den of Geek, The Digital Fix and Sight & Sound.
