Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula

This is a review of the 2020 Region B2 Blu-ray from Studiocanal. This is a high quality product, with a clear, bright, sharp picture in 2.39:1, with good, clear, sound, and excellent English subtitles. There are some extras.Back in February, I awarded an unequivocal, terrifyingly brilliant, 6 Stars, to the 2017 Korean film, ‘Train to Busan’. My husband and I, big fans of Korean film for several years, had just had our socks blown off by the original film in this series from director Yeon Sang-ho. We could not resist purchasing ‘Peninsular’, even though sequels are notoriously less good than the original ~ ‘Aliens’ and ‘Godfather II’ being stand-out exceptions! From reviews here on Amazon, and reading critics comments, it seemed that this second film might disappoint ~ but no, it is fair to say that we are again, sockless!Scrupulous honesty requires me to say that this film is probably NOT QUITE as good ~ the last film had us actually yelling at the screen. This is, incidentally, not really a sequel, but a film set in the same 'universe' as ‘Busan’. The plot builds on the original concept developed there ~ of a devastating zombie plague, probably resulting from some sort of industrial or bio-engineering accident, raging across South Korea. Initially, the action picks up just days into the outbreak, then resumes about 4 years later. The film title refers to the fact that the Korean peninsular has become a rigorously policed quarantine zone, with Korea an ungovernable pariah. The action centres on the fact that Korea’s riches are unprotected, except for the lethal risks of getting past the zombie hordes!The entire premise, served up in a very sharp screenplay by Sang-ho and co-writer Ryu Yong-jae, makes good sense. Escaped Koreans have become a social and economic underclass. Unscrupulous criminals can see a tasty opportunity. And inevitably, not everyone unable to escape is infected ~ yet. Take these promising ingredients, stir in masses of gibbering and raging zombies, a splendid post-apocalyptic city-scape (in this case, the handsome port city of Incheon) and a car factory’s worth of abandoned vehicles, and you have a rich and engaging mixture, ready for filming.This time, Sang-ho delivers the opposite of the classic ‘horrors in a confined space’ which we saw with ‘Busan’. There, virtually all the action is confined to the titular train. Here, we hurtle round Incheon, assisted by some very well-choreographed, but sometimes technically less-than-perfect CGI. Yes, the CGI is not 100%, but it still makes for tense, nervy, viewing, and Sang-ho’s cast give it their all!There are several well-known faces from other recent top-of-the-line film dramas: Gang Dong-won plays main protagonist Jung-seok. He was in Kore-eda’s brilliant ‘Broker’(2022). Lee Jung-hyun, as Min-jung, was in the equally brilliant ‘Decision to Leave’(2022). They are excellent. Fourteen year-old Lee Re, and especially ten year-old Lee Ye-won, as Min-jung’s two daughters, are tremendous. There is less variety of characterisation than in ‘Busan’, but the main characters are well-drawn.We thoroughly enjoyed this second film. Again, it is seriously scary and well-delivered by cast and crew. This is a high octane action film to wallow in and relish, when you want to escape a dreary day. Not a 6 Starrer this time, but certainly ‘Peninsular’ deserves a deliciously shuddering 5 Stars!

... great title I know.So Train to Busan is one of my all time fa vourite films and zombie film, I love the atmopshere, I love the drama, I love the characters, the moments of sacrifice, the world building seeing it all unfold! I honest to god adore Busan... so when I heard there was a sequal! I was happy, worried but happy AND... it's decent, not mindblowing but decent.Its basically a Mad Max meets Zombie kinda thing, and I like it maybe not your cup of tea. I can respect that... but when I saw the trailers (very few of them) I thought it was going to be survivors roaming Korea. Not, uh, survivors GOING to Korea... there's a difference, one makes you feel like you know these guys are experts - the other you expect them to die... and, spoiler, spoiler, spoiler - expectations are met... I wish the film was a different plot, but the plot is enjoyable.And I hope if there is another sequal? That it goes more to the originals roots.

Good

(A full in-depth review of Peninsula will hopefully be available soon on my own film & TV review site - link in my Amazon profile!)Having sought out Seoul Station and re-watched Train To Busan in time for this sequel, I was intrigued to see whether director Yeon Sang-ho could capture lightning for a second time. I kept my expectations tempered and went in knowing only that this would be a standalone sequel... and the result was a bit of a mixed bag. The film starts promisingly, with the zombie outbreak in full swing and depicting the evacuation of South Korea. An outbreak on one of the evacuee ships results in a slaughter, and it is an intense and emotional beginning to the film.Following this, the rest of the film takes place four years later where South Korea has been abandoned and quarantined off from the rest of the world. It's here where we follow a new cast of characters and follow the consequences of the outbreak. Of this trilogy of films, this leans far heavier on the action pedal than it does horror... and that can be both to its advantage and its detriment. I've seen unfavourable comparisons made to things like the Fast & Furious films, which I personally think is a little unfair but I can see why it might turn some people off. There is a much greater reliance on ridiculously big action set-pieces and noticeably a lot more of them CGI-based too.This is also sadly the weakest outings for the zombies themselves. After posing a genuine threat in Train To Busan, here they're much less impressive against characters who are better armed and adept at dealing with them. The zombies are often reduced to just ragdolls and the human antagonists keeping them as effective guard dogs on chains doesn't do them any favours. Said human antagonists are also pretty uninspiring for the most part too. There are things about this film I unambiguously like however, among them the ragtag family group at the heart of the action. The grandfather, mother and her two daughters are all genuinely likeable, with the two young girls being incredibly entertaining in the way they dispatch the zombies. I found myself honestly caring about them all and wanting them to make it out, and in the moments where it seems one of them may not make it, I did find myself tensing up. Like Seoul Station, Peninsula is pretty underwhelming when compared against Train To Busan, and neither film is really essential. It's an alright sequel, but I doubt it will have the same longevity as its predecessor.

Toda la descripción en Castellano y después la compras y ni audio ni subs...La caja está muy chula, pero la he devuelto.

Pessimo solo in lingua cinese

Great film and actor lm very happy with the seller and product

Started really good then got a bit stupid and over the top. Loved the prequel Train to Busan but this unfortunately was a huge letdown