Movie Review: Peninsula (2020)

Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula (2020) co-written and directed by Sang-ho Yeon

As people are fleeing the Korean zombie outbreak seen in Train to Busan, Jung Seok (Dong-wan Gang) is getting his sister and her family out on one of the last boats leaving for Japan. As they drive through the countryside, they bypass a family whose car has broken down. On the boat, one of the passengers is infected and mayhem breaks out, resulting in the deaths of Jung's sister and her children. His brother-in-law (Do-yoon Kim) survives. They wind up in Hong Kong as refugees with nowhere to go. 

Four years later, they are recruited with two other people by some Chinese criminals for a heist. The four people are to go back to zombie-infested Incheon, find a truck full of money that was left near a bridge, and bring it to the port. The Chinese will split half of the twenty million US dollars, enough money to make everyone comfortably rich. The brothers-in-law agree to go, but in true heist-film fashion, the plan does not go off without a hitch. The hitch is two-fold. First, there's a group of ex-military running around capturing supplies and survivors whenever they can for their own entertainment. So the truck gets snatched the them with the brother-in-law inside. Second, the family Jung left behind at the side of the road is also running around collecting supplies and looking for ways to escape. They save Jung from the military folks. He immediately recognizes her though his long hair and injuries make him unrecognizable to her. The family had been with the military people but split after the military went all Mad Max. The survivors in Korea quickly realize that the truck is their ticket out of the zombie hell they've been living in for four years. Everyone schemes to escape, though few scheme together.

The movie is presented as a sequel to Train to Busan though no characters are in both films. The setting has become more post-apocalyptic as the people try to survive the zombies and each other. They also drive around in cars that have been armored and adapted for fighting with zombies (so definitely Mad Max vibes). The abandoned city has lots of junk in the streets and zombies hiding all over the place. Thematically, this movie is no where near as strong as the first film. The family here is less compelling than the father and daughter in the first film, which was the real heart and purpose of the original. The action is more frequent, creative, and destructive (probably due to a higher budget?). Some moments do not make much sense and seem in the movie to heighten the tension. The tension does not get high enough to distract the viewer from the inconsistencies and melodramatic happenstances. The movie is more like Army of the Dead than Train to Busan.

Mildly recommended. Peninsula is entertaining but I don't think I will watch it again (I did rewatch the original in preparation).

Movie Review: Train to Busan (2016)

Train to Busan (2016) written and directed by Sang-ho Yeon

Recently divorced dad Seok-woo is a fund manager in Seoul, South Korea. His job demands a lot of time and attention, so naturally his daughter Soo-ahn wants to move in with Mommy, who lives in Busan (about an hour by train from Seoul). It's her birthday and he's bought the same gift he gave her for the last big celebration. He realizes he has to let her go but he insists on riding the KTX train with her to Busan. They board with no problem though some unrest is springing up in the city. A girl with a bite wound to her leg manages to jump on the train unnoticed. She is a victim of the unrest--a rapidly spreading zombie plague! Soon enough, the train is filled with zombies and the dad has to man up and work with others in order to get his daughter to safety.

The central relationship between father and daughter is well-written and acted, giving the movie a strong core. He clearly starts out neglectful but would be a good dad if he paid more attention. The crisis wakes him up and turns him into a better father and a better man. The theme of fatherhood is underlined by a couple who are part of the small band of survivors. The wife is pregnant and they have their own tensions. The group has to fight their way up the train to a car full of people. Unfortunately, that car has a corporate executive who takes control and incompetently manages the situation. He's what Seok-woo could turn into without becoming a decent man. Thus, the perennial zombie theme of selfishness vs. selflessness is also brought to the foreground. Thematically, the movie is very satisfying.

The action is tense and exciting, with good editing and direction. The characters use more cleverness than brute force to make their way through the train, making the set pieces more thrilling and less gory. The zombies are unnerving without being excessively gory. They have milky-white eyes and contorted limbs with black veins ruining their complexions. They do eat people but the movie doesn't have any of that tearing-limb-from-limb or pulling out internal organs like in many zombie films, so the gore isn't so extreme. Some of the supporting characters are underdeveloped and look a bit cartoony (like the corporate executive) but the main characters are very good.

Overall, an excellent zombie movie with a lot of heart at the center. Well worth seeing.