Train to Busan was one of the better zombie movies in recent memory. The animated prequel, Seoul Station was pretty good too, which made me eager to see what a live-action sequel would look like. I guess we find out in the awkwardly titled, intermittently effective Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula.
A soldier tries to get his family out of Korea to escape the zombie virus. While aboard a boat headed to Japan, an infected passenger kills his sister and nephew. Four years later, he and his bitter brother in-law team up to sneak back to the zombie-infested mainland for a daring heist that could net them $20 million bucks. Naturally, things do not go as planned.
The idea of a zombie heist movie has potential. (Zack Snyder is doing a similar thing with the upcoming Army of the Dead.) The opening sequence works really well. The scenes that set up the heist aren’t bad either. It’s just that once the action switches over the mainland, things become rather uneven.
The film works in fits and starts. Whole sections feel like they have been taken from other (better) movies and stitched together a la Frankenstein. There are moments that will remind you of Escape from New York (with zombies instead of roving gangs), Day of the Dead (the army captain who runs the place has a screw loose), and Land of the Dead (there’s an arena where humans fight zombies; not to mention the hero’s use of fireworks to distract the zombies). The final car chase that feels a bit like Mad Max Meets Escape from New York has a few good action beats, but some of the CGI car stunts look awful phony. Some moments are better than others, although they don’t exactly come together to make a satisfying whole.
It may not quite click, but Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula is more ambitious than many recent zombie flicks. I certainly admire the attempts to open up the world of the first film. It’s just that in doing so, you trade world-building for the concentrated dose of adrenaline-fueled suspense that the original had. The bloated two-hour running time doesn’t help either. Whatever qualms I had with this one, I’m still onboard for the next Train.
AKA: Train to Busan 2. AKA: Peninsula.
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